Well, I was test fitting some wheels I bought for my 2005. The aluminum hub centric ring was tight going on. So i decided I would stop. Take all but one lug but off with no issues. But the last one I guess stripped the splines. So the lug nut doesn't come off. The whole thing just spins. So now I can't even put my old wheels back on. Anyone have any tips on how I can get this off? I have tried to tighten the lug nut & loosen it, but no luck since the whole stud appears to be spinning. I also tried holding the wheel at an angle to remove the lug nut, but that didn't work either. I'm stuck.

 

Good luck. Happen to me before. I had to drill it out. Took forever.

 

+ impact wrench. Also do a search on youtube, there might be other way to do this. Good luck!

 

yeah, no luck on that. i've got the snap on cordless impact.

only thing i've found so far was a tool called lug ripper. looks like it was made for exactly this situation. only thing is the tool is like $300. sucks that i just need it for the one lug nut. but i guess if i have to get that, at least i'll have it in the future.

 

another option is try hold the stud below the hub, not sure if you can see it there... if you do then use something hold the stud.

 

from what i was looking at i couldn't see much. if i had a lift, things would be so much easier. lol.

 

 

Ouch that sucks. Is the car driveable? I mean can you install the other lug nuts, drive it to local garage that has this tool, and let them deal with it? Surely that does not cost $300, unless you really want to buy that tools.

 

well, i found one on ebay for $260 from an authorized dealer. i'm on the fence about buying it. hate for it to happen again and then have to shell out more money where if i had the tool i could just resolve it myself. but that's a lot of money for a "what if" scenario, lol.

thing is around here labor rates are over $100. at the chain repair facility i used to work at, their current labor rate is around $125/hour. when i worked there, something like this would be at least one hour labor charge. and when i worked there, we didn't have any tools like the "lug ripper". so there was always a possibility damage to the wheel could occur. so i'm figuring if i was charged an hour labor, i'm almost halfway to the cost of the tool.

what sucks more is that reading about these issues, it looks like i will end up having to replace the hub. but from an earlier issue, i was told that if i ever had to remove the rear calipers, i'd have to replace the rear spindles since the bolts were issues from before. i have replacement spindles that i got off ebay. it's just that this is going to add up real quick something as simple as a $3 part failure.

 

If I understand what's happening, would an impact wrench work? It sounded like the nut is spinning and spinning along with the stud? So more torque potentially wouldn't help? Not sure, I might be misunderstanding.

I cannot visualize it, but I know when I messed up the rear parking brake, everything was tight in there. I wasn't even sure I could put the springs and pins back in place without the hub being removed (I could). I would bet the front is easier......

I wonder if you had the vehicle towed (AAA Plus?) to a shop, it would turn out to be not a big deal? My mom lost her wheel lock key (boy those things are so stupid, my LS has them), and she had no choice but dealer. Charged her $200 to remove all 4, and replace them with a normal lug nut. I watched YouTube and it wasn't easy peasy, but doable to remove locks. For a shade tree the hard part would be getting the wheel lock out of the tool....good luck.

 

yes, i can literally hold the end of the lug nut and spin & move it around. the stud has broken loose from the hub so if i turn the lug nut, the stud spins with it. i have a snap on cordless impact and that did not work. well, nothing will work until i can either drill out the lug nut or somehow secure the stud to stop it from spinning.

i called one shop that we deal with (now i work at a parts supplier) and he jokingly said " sounds like you need a fat guy like me pushing on the wheel while someone takes off the lug nut". but that just seems like it's just going to spin the lug nut as the wheel is sitting against it and just damage the inside of the lug nut well on the wheel.

 

Can you post a picture or two? That might help with our ability to offer meaningful suggestions...

 

definitely, i will take some when i leave work.

 

I am trying to picture the scenario you are talking about, while visualizing what the lug nuts on my car look like. So, are the lug nuts recessed in, so that you can't really access them? This is the way they are on OEM wheels like mine. I'm assuming you can't or you would have just grabbed onto it or used a hacksaw or something. If this is the case, the first thing I would try is what that guy suggested to you. If you put outward pressure on the lug nut, it's possible that it might put enough friction on it for you to remove the lug nut. I can't see it causing too much damage, but then again, I'm not sure what the wheels look like. I don't know, but I would try this first I think.

EDIT: You know...if the lug nut was cross threaded so bad that the stud just spins now, I'm not sure this would work. I'm assuming you put a lot of force on that thing. What about trying to chisel it off? Start off slowly and create a knotch at the top of the lug nut, and then just start hammering on it until it splits enough to remove it. You risk damaging the wheel, but it's definitely low-budget.

 

i took a video. sorry its shaky. but you can see what the stud & lug nut are doing.


at the end i'm actually pulling & pushing on the lug nut. you can see it not only spins, but moves in & out,