lugnut wont come off

[thedirtyneck]

I went to take my tires off and clean my brakes yesterday and one of my front drivers lugnuts will not come off. It spins and spins either way, but wont tighten or loosen. Im guessing that the lugnut itself is stripped and not the stud but does any have experience with this? What should I do. Thanks

Brian

 

[udmsvt]

take it to a tire shop. the stud could be stripped...we have had that happen before. most likely, they will torch it off. how loose is it?

 

[thedirtyneck]

It is real loose i can spin it with just my fingers. I figured the tire shop woudl be the way to go but i dont know how much it will cost. Thanks

 

[udmsvt]

probably 25-30. be sure you go to a reputable place though, or you may end up buying a new rim too. have you tried prying it from the back while spinning it to try and catch a thread? sometimes it workd for me on other applications. otherwise, if you have a dremel, you could cut it off. you will probably need a new wheel stud anyways.

 

[thedirtyneck]

Yeah i think ill try the dremel and see what i can do first, im guessing i can pick up a new stud at advance or the like? Thanks for your help.

Brian

 

[dogfriend]

I had this same thing happen on my Ranger (after installing some crappy rotors from Kragen auto parts)

I was able to get it off by:

1. I had a chrome covered lug nut, so I cut the end off with a dremel tool w/ fiberglass cutting wheel.

2. Drilled the end of the stud for a screw extractor.

3. Used a screw extractor to hold the stud so I could back off the lug nut.

Good luck

 

[jimbo74]

lug could be stripped, so could the stud.... but the rotor may be damaged too.... until you get it off, you wont know what needs to be replaced.....

 

[Crankcase]

If you cut off the very end of the lugnut, you might be able to slot the lug with the dremel, nad hold it while unbolting the nut......

 

[thedirtyneck]

Well i tried most of these suggestions but couldnt get it off and didnt have a screw extractor, that may have worked. I did cut the end off and could see that the stud was turning, so that was good to know atleast. So 40 dollars later i have my truck back from the tire shop with a new stud and lugnut on. Thanks for the suggestions eveyone.

Brian

 

[dogfriend]

Glad you were able to get it fixed.

I should have described the screw extractor better, I used a straight flute style seen here: http://www.mytoolstore.com/hanson/extractr.html
It is basically just a tapered wedge that you can drive into a hole. The edges grab the hole so you can back out a broken screw (or hold a turning stud)

I think that Crankcase's version would probably work also because you could use a flatblade screwdriver in the slot you made instead of using a screw extractor.