Ruined Wheel Nut Attached To The Car...

[jeebowhite]

Hi Guys,

Second problem to bring to the table...

I have a locking wheel nut, where the centre has just disintegrated. I must have overtightened it, and the middle smashed out as if I had blown it with TNT. Problem is I cant get the wheel nut out now, Ford want to charge £90 to drill out and possibly damage the wheel. I have heard that people have hammered a slightly larger (24mm) socket straight over the stuffed nut, and then take it out.

Has anyone done this before, or got a much cheaper solution that wont rish ruining the wheel, or the wheel stud pin.

Thanks

[stef123]

hammering on a socket does work, there are lots of ways to remove a wheel nut.

most tyre places can remove them for a small fee, last person i know that had one done was about £40 and that was with new locking nuts on all 4 wheels.

i would try the socket first, if not there are kits available for about £20 that screw onto the nut (reverse thread)

[jeebowhite]

hammering on a socket does work, there are lots of ways to remove a wheel nut.

most tyre places can remove them for a small fee, last person i know that had one done was about £40 and that was with new locking nuts on all 4 wheels.

i would try the socket first, if not there are kits available for about £20 that screw onto the nut (reverse thread)

Thanks,

When I get to daylight, I will take a photo, and see if that actually works, to me, it looks hopeless... I took it to a guy who said he would do it for a fiver per wheel (bargain!) however he looked at it and said he probably couldnt even hammer a socket on - only one way to find out though!, Although I am thinking I might leave it till the snow beggers off, and maybe then the car wont shatter when I tap the wheel nut...

[stef123]

Thanks,

When I get to daylight, I will take a photo, and see if that actually works, to me, it looks hopeless... I took it to a guy who said he would do it for a fiver per wheel (bargain!) however he looked at it and said he probably couldnt even hammer a socket on - only one way to find out though!, Although I am thinking I might leave it till the snow beggers off, and maybe then the car wont shatter when I tap the wheel nut...

it all depends on the type of nut fitted, for example ive seen nuts with a spinning collar around them - obviously hammering on a socket is no use here.

failing that, a specialist socket set might be the next thing, or someone who has a set.

[mecca_dan]

ford dealers would be the way to go,

more expensive but if they mess up they'll sort it out. potential damage tgo alloys and wheel bearings etc. but if they dont mention this or get u to sign a disclaimer then u could get it back through them

[stef123]

ford dealers would be the way to go,

more expensive but if they mess up they'll sort it out. potential damage tgo alloys and wheel bearings etc. but if they dont mention this or get u to sign a disclaimer then u could get it back through them

they have already mentioned that it may damage the wheel.

Any luck on this one yet?

[jeebowhite]

Nothing yet, due to poor weather conditions and the newborn, its been a busy time. I believe that the wheel but itself has a rotating bit closer to the stud than the end, so I will probably give that a go before I take it to ford, at the end of the day, if it goes there its going to cost the same! I will try and dig out the right socket size at some point, but as I am now at work for the next 6 days this could take a while. as soon as I have tried it and got anywhere with it I will let you know... My car at the moment is driving me mad!

[mecca_dan]

they have already mentioned that it may damage the wheel.

Any luck on this one yet?

i would be more worried about bearing and abs damage. if the car is in warranty and these are damaged during the removal process then a ford garage would be able to claim these under warranty.well, a decent one would.

[stef123]

i would be more worried about bearing and abs damage. if the car is in warranty and these are damaged during the removal process then a ford garage would be able to claim these under warranty.well, a decent one would.

but they shouldnt be near the bearing or doing anything that would harm it?.. if they managed to damage it i would be quite worried i think. there are special sockets out there that fit nearly every locking wheel nut, i cant see the ford ones being an exception.

[jeebowhite]

I dont think it would do any damage to the ABS, or bearings, its only the wheel nut that is the problem, unfortunately the car has no warranty (to my knowledge) due to its age. I dont know if the special socket will fit a nut that is completely shattered in the actual centre. I will try and take a photo today, and pop it online later!

[Veracocha]

I had this recently when I sent my car in for a four wheel refurb. There is a special impact device that they hammer into the locking nut which in turn unscrews the bolt. Normally costs around £40 as it's a use once device.Mine were the collet type so no way could you hammer a socket over it.

[johnH]

i had this problem back in my peugeot days, the last tire shop used a windy gun to put the bolt on and subsequently over tightend it. i snapped the wrench that came with the car, snapped a peice of my socket set (Halfords replaced), took it to dealership who wanted £80 to diagnose followed by £45 an hour to get it off. took it to a good work mate of my dad who works at arriva...he tried those reverse thread things, they didnt work as the bolt was too small and was designed to be protected against that attact.

in the end he took it to his mates, who owns a garage and they took turn with a torque wrench, windy gun and a hammer...stripped the threads of the locking nut in the end.

i have lost all confidence in locking nuts so i have replaced all mine with normal ones....who steals wheels nowadays? no-one...plus its faster and easier to replace a flat in an emergancy because sods law the bolt will snap when you most need it!

[jeebowhite]

after an agonising few hours at the garage, the nut was stuffed beyond all possible chance. they tried everything to get the damn thing off, unfortunately it appears I bought the one locking wheel nut that was the best and the worst, it gripped on for dear life.

In the end, the garage had to saw the wheel off, throw on the spare, and now I am doubly beggered :) so if anyone lives in medway, or anyone knows where I can get the following wheel from in singular, for a really reasonable price, please let me know :)

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:uPhsYcFM8zvn7M:http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g194/peter312/zetec16.jpg&t=1