Busted locking wheel nut next move.

Moving from the crusty steels back to the summer alloys and the stock twin profile wheel nuts on the front drivers wheel were tight as buggery – which is odd as I torqued all 4 wheel to the same 110nm in November.

Anyway got three off eventually. But the locking wheel nut profile sheared.

All the locking anti theft gubbins are off so it’s in essence a stud looking out. About 20mm long 10mm dia

I’ve run of out hi pen and maap gas I’ve broken/shattered two Irwin bolt grips,it laughed at the ugga dugga….. The ugga dugga just broke the bolt I had welded to it off in the end ….

Next move might be cut it off at the neck and grind down to the taper see if I can’t get the wheel off to release the tension and hope it comes off then.

Any other options the hive mind has?

Photos later.

might be too late now as you’ve sheared the head off but doing the others up a bit to reduce the tension on the locking bolt?

All others were re torqued straight away  to release tension

Once drilled through a sheared stud ie into thread and out the other side, then inserted a thin steel rod through the hole, thusly improving purchase as it created a decent t bar.

It worked nicely but to be fair if you’ve already been wanging off it it might not be sufficient.

Just use 4 nuts per wheel and torque them up a bit higher, what could go wrong!

Just use 4 nuts per wheel and torque them up a bit higher, what could go wrong!

Need the wheel off first. Also they are 4 bolt wheels.

Ones. Topec copy. The others a genuine Irwin. Both are broke.

It’s this style. To be replaced with non locking nuts…. In this modern age who steals factory alloys off a Peugeot. – 406 steelies are probably more desirable in the scene crowd

Ah right. Son had this issue on his MX-5 after F1 Auto centres torqued his wheels up way too tight. Although his didn’t disintegrate like your photo. He tried those locking wheel nut removal tools that you’ve managed to break and his stupid hi torque ugga dugga. Neither worked.

A competent local garage couldn’t do it either and gave him the number of a mobile guy they used. Interestingly he did it all using hand tools. If you’re East Midlands based let me know and I can get his number.

If you’re East Midlands based let me know and I can get his number.

North east Scotland unfortunately.

I’d try welding an oversize nut over the bit of stud that’s sticking out and then use a very long breaker bar rather than an ugga dugga. Make sure to get a good pool of weld inside the nut.

Can you to the back of it to apply some penetrating oil?

Lots of heat so the bolt expands and reduces tension whilst also reducing friction from the heat?

Grind/burn it off, get the wheel off then weld a nut on again after to try and unwind it without tension?

and then use a very long breaker bar

I had a 1m bar on it first time round with the welded nut.

Might go with the bigger nut and more weld in the pool round the stud I’ve been hammering on a tight fit nut (that I’ve drilled out to be a press fit then welding till the stud and nut are cherry. Getting a good load of torque onto the bolt. It’s just solid.

Will get more maap and hi pen tomorrow ,,(both have been applied liberally thats why I have none left)

Angle grind flats on it, or even a proper hex if you are gifted with an angle grinder.

If it still resists, oxy- acetylene to heat and hammer it from the sides before trying again.

Still failed, grind it flat and drill through. After being heated to beyond colours it should be soft enough to drill. You need to be very accurate with a drill. Start small, say 6mm and work up.

When you finally get the wheel off bin it if you needed heat.

I see we crossed posts. Your idea of welding a big nut on sounds good.

Edit: to predict the bolt shears just where it enters the hub if you weld a big nut on; the point at which it goes from soft to hard as the part in hub will have been kept cool by the mass of the hub.

Angle grinder plus stilson wrench.
Make the nut into a rectangle shape by nipping down two opposite sides.
Then use some large stilsons on it

Then use some large stilsons on it

The stud.is recessed in a dish on the wheel and close to the angle . Can’t get my 12 or my 48″ stillsons in any useful position on the stud. Which is a shame. Very little resists the 48″

Very little resists the 48″

I’ve seen stuff try but that definitely will, available area is too small for the jaw unless you weld some scaffold pole around it or have a BMX peg handy.

Left-field thought, do you have an SDS? If so get it on chisel mode and massage the end, it’ll either help shock it or just put a nice stipple on your wheel. Might help to do that once you have a nut on that can keep the tip in place.

Seen folk use brake pipe flare nut 

No helpful ideas but is why I ditched the locking nuts from both our cars. When was the last time you heard of a set of wheels being stolen in your local area? In my case decades ago.  I’ll take the wheel theft risk over the higher risk that one of the locking nuts gets mashed or the key lost at some point.

Seen folk use brake pipe flare nut

That looks to be an innie rather than an outie.

As an aside, why are they still called wheel nuts?  They aren’t, they’re bolts, I don’t think I’ve seen a wheel nut on a car built in my lifetime.  My 1977 Fiesta had bolts.

My Mondeo and Focus both have nuts as did my Civic. I thought bolts were more of a French thing, my C8 had them and likely so did my Clio (not sure if I ever got round to taking a wheel off). Come to think of it my mum’s Vivaro which is really a Renault Traffic has bolts as well.

Anyway, I had a later thought about induction heaters, remembered my neighbour talking about them regarding servicing vans and how handy they are. More expensive ones just heat up faster but you can hire them.

Angle grind the tit off and use an irwin on the large diameter

Least sensible option: put the other bolts back in, loosely and then drive it, until you hear the klunk-klunk of it falling off?

welding a danned great nut on is far more sensible.

If all else fails W Motors in Montrose will get it off.

Polish guys. They fix everything.

Got any box section steel with a decent sidewall?

Make the remaining metal into a square with a grinder and slot the box section over that.
Use stilson wrench on the box steel .

Your going to end up drilling it through .

Welded on a big nut . Applied lots of heat and plusgas.

Got plenty torque into it….. Sheared the bolt behind the nut .

New drill bits ordered. -yay

**** knows how it’s got this stuck . Weird all 4 bolts on this single wheel needed major break out.

Well at least you didn’t break the stud remover. Again.

And Im allowed to laugh because you know exactly how crusty my Mondeo is and I’ve still not got round to unforking that mess. You can have your turn when I try to get the (remaining parts of the) suspension bolts out.

At least yours is just a wheel nut.

I don’t think I’ve seen a wheel nut on a car built in my lifetime

Too many people put open wheel nuts on the wrong way around. There are three seat designs: tapered, spherical and flat. Turning your tapered seat nut into a flat seat by getting it wrong is a problem

Plenty of manufacturers use wheel nuts, including Ford and Kia. Closed wheel nuts solve the orientation problem

Predictable 😉 You’ve ordered cobalt or possibly carbide drill bits I assume. Lot’s of lube, pressure and slow speed. I find a big SDS drill better as it turns slower and is easier to hold accurately while applying lots of force.

I’d grind a flat and seriously centre punch to start. If you’re really accurate you can drill right through and just wind the remaining thread out. Slightly out and you’ll end up faffing with tiny grind stones or replacing the hub.

Going to drill out the taper then remove the wheel . If the remainder doesn’t come out conventionally I’ll get it up in drill press to drill through.

Struts coming out anyway. Springs seen better days.

I love the salted roads of the north east. Eats your whole car.

Well it’s off

Waited for the replacement wheel nuts as destruction was assured.

Drilled through the centre.

Drilled with the biggest drill I could and countersunk it.

Still couldn’t break what was left even with a 6ft pry bar through the wheel spokes.

Ground the taper off the wheel so wheels fit for the bin. It then fell off.

Remains turned out of the hub by hand.

So it has absolutely been over torqued but of course no one has been to a commercial garage with it…..

Snapped spring replaced , new shocks , new track rod ends and new lower ball joints , new wishbone bushes and new anti roll bar links – both sides and the tracking done  Like a shiny new car (underneath)

Now to find a new(to me) set of steel 15s for my winter tires to be moved onto.

Some very unexciting pictures. And yes it’s rusty. It’s 10 years old in the north east of Scotland. Not 3 years old in the south west of England.

Pics taken on your potato cam again?

No I borrowed yours

I feel the expletive count is high in this thread!

Not 3 years old in the south west of England.

You might be surprised to find just how often the roads get salted down here in the Southwest of England…

You might be surprised to find just how often the roads get salted down here in the Southwest of England…

Not that often judging by the cars I bring up here from down there.  Because the local dealers want the same money for rusty shite.

Weld a bar on to it, turn it.

Well done Trail_Rat!

Perseverance pays off. 👍