Yes, you read right. My car has the ZR-1 Style wheels on it, and some bozo kid at a local NTB used an impact and broke two lug nuts. Not the studs, that would be an easy fix. While these lug nuts are on the car, they were on it when I bought it. There is some rust in the cracks where broken so they must have been abused in the past. That's not the issue. The issue is, how does one remove these sections where only the round part against the wheel is still on the stud? Lug nut remover tools from SnapOn and other places are not working, there is nothing for them to grab on to, in some cases because they are too close to the wheel flat mounting area itself.

I do not want to ruin the wheel. I'm willing to grind or drill the studs off but have you tried to drill those studs, they laugh at my titanium drill bits. These are both next to each other on the right rear wheel. Somebody local recommended buying a Milling bit and using a drill and mill these off. What are anybody's recommendations to remove these broken lug nuts.

I enclose a picture that shows these lug nuts, one good original, and the two broken sections so it better explains what I'm trying to work with. The rounded mushroom top is the part left on the wheel studs. Major problem and I don't mind wild suggestions if I can find the way to repair it.

Never mind on the picture, it says I cannot post attachments. But basically it shows a shallowed splined main lug nut body, going down to a wider mushroom section that goes against the wheel. I'll change all these out to real lugnuts later, but for now I need this fixed. If you want pics, please send me an email or some idea of how I can post them, it greatly simplifies the problem issue and I have reduced it in size to 1024 x 768, 163k. Thx, Ken

 

I had to drill out a stud on my wife's Focus 2 summers ago & the only thing that would work was a hammer drill & masonry drill bits. Yes, I tried various titanium & cobalt bits first - they either broke or dulled themselves into oblivion

 

I'm not quite sure what's left of the lugs, but I'm thinking:

- Carefully use a dremel to split the lug?

- Soak the bejeesus out of them with PB or such and grip them with a pair of vise grips?

- Use a nut splitter?

 

I'd use an impact socket that is just smaller than the remaining diameter of the stripped off lug nut remnants and hammer the socket onto it then try to back it off normally with an impact gun. This is how tire shops get lock-lugs off when owners' loose the lug nut key.

 

Go check the Craftsman tool section for the "Bolt-Out" kit. This has sharp-splines "sockets" that are designed to dig into the broken bolt/nut tightly.

I'd be real surprised that the tire place doesn't have a similar it. This is basically what they would use for dealing with a missing wheel lock key.

If you can't get to it from the wheel side, you might think about seeing if you can get the whole hup out or not, and grind the back of the stud off and then knuck it thru from the back. Not sure if this is possible with the wheel and rotor still in place or not...

 

They are inside the deep well of the wheel. There is only 1/8" almost to each side of the stud. So there is no way to get into the stud area easily as you are working in a 1" diameter hole and the stud top almost reaches the top of this well. The round part of the nut is about another inch below that by the wheel surface so regretably, none of these will work. The picture would have explained a lot if I could have posted it. Ken

 

The only part left is the round part of the nut, there are no sides on the pieces left and nothing to grip to. These lug nuts look like an exaggerated mushroom almost. and only the round part is against the wheel. The stem was splined for the lug tool. That part is broke off.

They are inside the deep well of the wheel. There is only 1/8" almost to each side of the stud. So there is no way to get into the stud area easily as you are working in a 1" diameter hole and the stud top almost reaches the top of this well. The round part of the nut is about another inch below that by the wheel surface so regretably, none of these will work. Ken

 

You might be able to get a long chisel up in there from the back side of the hub to knock off the end of the stud, then you could push or pull it through.

 

Any chance of mig welding a smaller nut onto the leftovers ?? The heat itself, should help break the bond.

 

If you have to destroy the lugs to get the rest of the remaining nut pieces of,do so,The studs are very easy to replace when the wheel comes off.

I cant think of anything else,unless it was possible to go behind the wheel,If you can,take the bearing hubs off and/or then cut the back of the studs off the bearing hub so the wheel falls out,taking stud and broken piece with it.

 

I think the 11" wheels will make reaching that area impossible with a chisel, but I do not mind destoying the studs as that is easy to fix, but I'd like to keep the wheels from getting damaged.

 

I wish, it has been thought of before now and there is no way to get a welding rod in there, with that deep lug well and doing any welding. There is too much wheel material around it to get to the nut easily. I'd love to have a miniture milling machine to mill down the stud and nut just to get to the wheel off and fix the problem with new good diameter lug nuts. These were a mistake, but not by me. Still, I learned something from this experience. Ken

 

Oh, how I'd love too if it was possible. I'd ruin all five lugs to get the wheel off and fixed correctly if I could. But those wheels have deel lug wells the studs are down in so doing most things are inpossible, like getting to those studs from the sides. Only the top is accessible. Ken

 

You could try drilling the stud from the front.

Center punch the studs so the bit won't travel.

Use a bit just big enough to allow it to go through the nut.

Then just use channel locks to break them off.

 

I cant believe nobody has sugested using C4 to remove them. Could you possibly use an impact chisel to work them out or at least damage them to the point where you could use a large punch and about a 5lb mallet to hit the stud and break them without damaging the rim? Also some people are very good with a torch.

 

I like the idea and have done so but even with titanium bits, they barely drill. Somebody mentioned using a masonary bit which I never thought would work but I'm about willing to try anything. Going to a machine shop right now to take one of the old lugs up there so I can see if they can come up with a solution to grab a hold of the round part which is the only part left against the wheel, but there are two of these to do. If they made a miniture vertical milling machine, that would work. Thx. Ken

 

I love the C4 idea... for the C4 Vette. I got to see some in use (4oz.) and it took the car about 40 ft into the air. I had no idea it was that impressive but it is. Using the PVC idea as a wheel shield as the lugs and studs are down in the wheel, I'm not sure an impact chisel would work on the hardness of the studs to get down to the lugnuts even, as it's the nuts that have to be damaged and made to let loose of the wheel. But it's an idea and I'm heading to a machine shop now to see what they recommend before going forward. Thx. Ken

 

[QUOTE=84CFIZ51;1570288421]I cant believe nobody has sugested using C4 to remove them[QUOTE]

Apply liquid nitrogen then with wack it with a hammer

 

How about taking a small cobalt bit and drilling a few holes from stud to outside of nut, and then try to split the nut with a small cold chisel ??

 

I just had to do this last week. I used a Dremmel to grind off the flange on the back of the stud, then knocked the whole thing out from behind.