jthoms1
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
First, I pray this never happens to you.
So, the story begins with me purchasing a beautiful JLUR from a forum member. I didn’t love the wheels he had on it, so I purchased some new bronze ones. I took it down to a shop that mounted the existing tires on the new wheels. All was well…..I love the new wheels. The shop that mounted the wheels did a poor job balancing them, but it was a little country shop, so I took it into Discount Tire to get them balanced with their Road Force balancing machines. I’m hanging out in the lobby when a tech comes to get me and take me to the shop. The short version is that they broke THREE lug nuts, leaving the bottom acorn portion on the stud. Of course, at this point, there is nothing they can do. They told me whoever worked on it last had over-torqued the lug nuts. I was pissed as you can imagine. The short version of the story is that I took it home and attempted to remove the remaining portions of the lugs, no joy on every method and attempt. So, after some Googling, I learn the only option is to drill out the stud and replace it. What a COLOSSAL PIA. I destroyed a number of titanium bits and learned the hard way how to effectively drill into steel. So, some pictures and lessons for you, in the event this happens to you.
RCA (Root Cause Analysis) - I have figured out that this was a combination of several issues. First, the lug nuts the prior owner had purchased were likely cheap eBay or Amazon lug nuts. He undoubtedly wanted to upgrade to black lug nuts and bought a $25 set. Second, the guys who mounted the wheels did in fact over-torque them. Third, the tech at Discount Tire used an air impact wrench to attempt to remove them and didn’t have the sense to move to a breaker bar after he sheared one off. I could forgive the first and maybe the second, but common sense was an uncommon virtue that day at Discount Tire.
The Fix - Get yourself some Cobalt drill bits. You need a good drill driver and just some regular motor oil to lube the bit. Drill slowly and progressively increase the bit size as you go. I nailed how to do it on the third one. Slow and methodical drilling with lots of lube (no “That’s what she said jokes”). After you bore out the threads inside the remainder of the lug, you can jack it up and kick the tire side to side with other lug nuts removed. With some patience, it will eventually give and break off. Replacing the lug studs is actually relatively easy in the rear. You knock the old one out and reinsert the new from the rear. You have to use some washers on the front and use the lug nut to pull in and seat the new stud. The front requires you to loosen the hub and remove the large nut on the front axle to give you enough space to insert it from the back. Putting the new studs in is really pretty easy.
Buy quality lug nuts - Gorilla and McGard are high quality. Torque to spec and don’t let techs use air impact wrenches on your lug nuts, to the extent you can control it.
So, the story begins with me purchasing a beautiful JLUR from a forum member. I didn’t love the wheels he had on it, so I purchased some new bronze ones. I took it down to a shop that mounted the existing tires on the new wheels. All was well…..I love the new wheels. The shop that mounted the wheels did a poor job balancing them, but it was a little country shop, so I took it into Discount Tire to get them balanced with their Road Force balancing machines. I’m hanging out in the lobby when a tech comes to get me and take me to the shop. The short version is that they broke THREE lug nuts, leaving the bottom acorn portion on the stud. Of course, at this point, there is nothing they can do. They told me whoever worked on it last had over-torqued the lug nuts. I was pissed as you can imagine. The short version of the story is that I took it home and attempted to remove the remaining portions of the lugs, no joy on every method and attempt. So, after some Googling, I learn the only option is to drill out the stud and replace it. What a COLOSSAL PIA. I destroyed a number of titanium bits and learned the hard way how to effectively drill into steel. So, some pictures and lessons for you, in the event this happens to you.
RCA (Root Cause Analysis) - I have figured out that this was a combination of several issues. First, the lug nuts the prior owner had purchased were likely cheap eBay or Amazon lug nuts. He undoubtedly wanted to upgrade to black lug nuts and bought a $25 set. Second, the guys who mounted the wheels did in fact over-torque them. Third, the tech at Discount Tire used an air impact wrench to attempt to remove them and didn’t have the sense to move to a breaker bar after he sheared one off. I could forgive the first and maybe the second, but common sense was an uncommon virtue that day at Discount Tire.
The Fix - Get yourself some Cobalt drill bits. You need a good drill driver and just some regular motor oil to lube the bit. Drill slowly and progressively increase the bit size as you go. I nailed how to do it on the third one. Slow and methodical drilling with lots of lube (no “That’s what she said jokes”). After you bore out the threads inside the remainder of the lug, you can jack it up and kick the tire side to side with other lug nuts removed. With some patience, it will eventually give and break off. Replacing the lug studs is actually relatively easy in the rear. You knock the old one out and reinsert the new from the rear. You have to use some washers on the front and use the lug nut to pull in and seat the new stud. The front requires you to loosen the hub and remove the large nut on the front axle to give you enough space to insert it from the back. Putting the new studs in is really pretty easy.
Buy quality lug nuts - Gorilla and McGard are high quality. Torque to spec and don’t let techs use air impact wrenches on your lug nuts, to the extent you can control it.
