Posted by Benjamin Hunting Know How
A seized lug nut can turn the simple task of changing a tire into a frustrating experience. It doesn’t have to be that way — there are a number of tricks on how to loosen a nut that just won’t budge, so you can get the job done and get back on the road. Let’s look at the basic steps you should go through when dealing with a stuck lug nut.
1. Soak ItMost of the time, a seized lug nut won’t lighten its grip due to corrosion, which happens when water, road salt and oxygen mix where the threads meet. It can also occur at the base of the nut, cementing it in place.
The least labor-intensive way to break a rusty lug nut free is by soaking it in a product like WD-40, PB Blaster or some other oil-based lubricant. Spray it at the base of the nut and wait, as long as you can, for the oil to work its way through the threads and between the nut and the metal of your hub. If you can, try leaving it overnight.
If your socket isn’t tight enough, it won’t be able to properly grip and turn the seized lug nut. In fact, a loose socket is more likely to spin around the nut and round off its edges, creating a second problem for you to deal with. Ensure that the socket you are using is the right size, and that it’s on as tight as possible before applying torque.
3. Mechanical AdvantageYou can increase the amount of torque by lengthening the arm of the driver used to spin the socket. Use as long of a driver handle as you can, and then fit a piece of hollow piping over the handle to further extend the arc. This can add two to three times as much torque to that initial turning action, which is often what is needed to break the lug nut loose. You can also hammer it, or jump down on the bar (as long as it’s tightly secured), to add extra turning force.
Avoid Power ToolsWhile it might be tempting to use an impact wrench to remove a seized lug nut, it’s not the best idea.
More often than not, an impact driver will simply round off the nut rather than break it free if it’s really stuck. The above steps — combined with patience and time — are the best options for easy lug nut removal.
Check out all the tire and wheel products available on NAPAonline or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA Auto Care locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on dealing with a seized lug nut, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA Auto Parts store.
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.
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Know How
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hardware, lug nut, lug nut remover, nut, removing rusted nuts and bolts, rust, wheel stud, wheels
Having been bitten by the car bug at a young age, I spent my formative years surrounded by Studebakers at car shows across Quebec and the northeastern United States. Over ten years of racing, restoring, and obsessing over automobiles lead me to balance science writing and automotive journalism full time.
I currently contribute as an editor to several online and print automotive publications, and I also write and consult for the pharmaceutical and medical device industry.
by Ron Coddington
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. This means we may earn a small commission for qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
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Last Updated on May 5, 2022
If you drive a conventional car, it will likely have five lug nuts (or bolts) at each wheel (some models only have four). These twenty fasteners could be the most important ones on your entire car. That’s because if five of them on any wheel break or come off while you’re driving, you will most assuredly have an extremely troubling experience.
Happily, the scenario I have described is extremely rare. And that is a credit to the automotive engineers who design these fasteners and how they are used to attach your wheels.
A big piece of the designing of these fasteners includes making them some of the strongest nuts and bolts on your car.
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Sometimes, however, when a flat tire occurs or you just want to rotate the tires, a lug nut will have seized and cannot be removed. It just won’t budge. And on rare occasions, the lug nut is rusted and this corrosion makes removal nearly impossible.
In other cases, surface damage allows the flats on the lug nut to round off as you struggle to remove it. In this article we will discuss what you can do to resolve these problems.
Important
Before beginning this project, please review the important safety tips for working on your car in this article.
Table of Contents
We’re going to focus on problems with conventional lug nuts screwed on to wheel studs.
However, several brands of European cars use lug bolts which screw into the wheel hub. BMW, Audi and Volkswagen are examples.
Some of the techniques discussed here can work for lug bolts as well. This will be noted in the appropriate sections.
Related: Lug Nut Sizes and Types (w/ Charts for Most Car Manufacturers)
The following are three common causes for a wheel lug nut refusing to come off. The lug nut or bolt may be:
In this case, use of an impact wrench or wrong size socket while installing a lug nut or bolt has rounded off (stripped) the hex-shape of the fastener. Or maybe it’s seized and your attempts to remove it with a lug wrench or socket have rounded it off.
In either case the fastener cannot be gripped such that it can be removed.
Read Also: What’s the Purpose of Wheel Spikes?
A zealous mechanic armed with an impact wrench may have over tightened one of the lug nuts on your car.
Now it’s seized. It cannot be removed using the lug wrench that’s packed with your spare tire.
Note: Prior to purchasing new tires, confirm that the tire shop you've selected always uses a torque wrench when installing the wheels. Proper use of a torque wrench ensures that each wheel fastener is not under or over tightened.
The lug nuts and studs or bolts are severely rusted. This is common on older cars and cars that have been left unattended and uncovered in outdoor weather for many months. In this condition, the fastener also may be seized and just won’t turn.
Related: 5 Ways to Remove a Stubborn Bolt
Whether the lug nut is stripped, rounded-off, or seized due to either over tightening or corrosion, the loosening process will typically be the same except as noted below.
Begin with your car on the ground; not on jack stands or lifted up in any way. Make sure the transmission is set to Park or it’s in gear and firmly set the emergency brake.
These steps will keep the wheels from rotating as you attempt to loosen the fasteners.
Note: This step covers the rusted nut or bolt. If the fastener is seized or its head is stripped, proceed to Step 2.
First, the nut and stud must be soaked with a penetrating oil. If the nut has a closed head, drilling that head can help get the oil into the threads.
To do this you will need high quality drill bits such as cobalt alloy steel drills in 5/64″ and 7/64″ diameters.
Buy two of each since these small drills are very easy to break.
Drilling will be benefitted by the use of a lubricant. Three-in-One oil or equivalent will be adequate for this job. Also have a cup of cool water nearby. Now put on your safety glasses. Use a center punch and hammer to dimple the center of the lug nut.
Begin drilling with the smaller drill bit. Wet the tip of the bit with oil. Steady the drill motor with two hands. Drill at a very slow speed. Be careful to not bend the drill bit; this will break it pretty quickly.
Frequently stop drilling especially if the oil begins to smoke. Dip the hot bit in the water to cool it. Wipe away chips and reapply oil to the bit and hole. Repeat this process until the bit breaks through to the top of the stud.
Install the 7/64″ bit in the drill motor and repeat the above drilling procedure. Hold the drill motor firmly because the bit may want to suddenly grab in the hole and rotate the drill. Drill through again to the top of the stud.
You now have access to a reservoir for soaking the nut and stud with WD-40 or equivalent. Insert the WD-40 tube into the hole and wrap the tube at the nut surface with a shop (or paper) towel to catch any back spray. Squirt a bit of this lube into the hole.
Also spray WD-40 around the base of the lug nut. If time permits, allow the penetrating lube to soak overnight. It will then be more effective in freeing up the nut. Next morning add another squirt to the hole and base of the nut.
Corroded lug bolts will not benefit from the use of WD-40. With the wheel installed, the lug bolt threads are virtually inaccessible.
See Also: How to Remove a Stripped Oil Drain Plug
Select a 1/2″ drive 6 point socket that fits snugly on the nut or bolt. A deep socket may be required. A severely rusted fastener may be worn down such that a one size smaller socket (or smaller SAE equivalent for a metric lug nut; or smaller metric equivalent for an SAE lug nut) can be tapped on with a hammer.
Sometimes a one size smaller 12 point socket will tap into the rusted hex shape and grip pretty well.
If the nut or bolt head will not receive a conventional socket or is worn to a rounded shape, use of an extractor socket may be necessary. A suitable lug nut extractor set such as one by Irwin (best) or ABN (good) can be purchased online or at a quality auto parts store.
Use a socket size that is snug on the hex shape and hammer it in place. Using a short hardwood dowel against the socket while hammering can help you avoid striking your costly alloy wheel.
Use a 1/2″ drive breaker bar that’s ideally 18″ to 24″ in length. Install it into the socket so that the handle extends horizontally and is in the position to be lifted upward to loosen the nut (if using a floor jack) or pushed downward (if not using a floor jack).
Place your floor jack under the breaker bar handle and pump it up to lift the handle.
You can generate up to one quarter of your car’s weight in pounds of force using this technique. Do keep your distance as the bar will bend and want to spring off the lug nut or off the lift pad of the floor jack.
Relate: How to Use a Hydraulic Floor Jack
If you have no suitable floor jack, you can apply considerable force to the breaker bar by sliding a pipe over the bar handle. The pipe should be slightly larger than the breaker bar to fit snugly. A three foot long pipe will work well for this.
Position the breaker bar so it is at an upward angle of about 10 degrees and to the left of the nut. You will be pushing downward to loosen the nut. Use your weight to apply force by carefully stepping onto the pipe.
Hold onto the side of your car to steady yourself. Use extreme caution to avoid slipping off the pipe or falling should the bar and socket pop off the lug nut or the nut suddenly break free.
You can reverse the bar position so that you must lift the pipe to turn the lug nut.
Put on a pair of leather gloves to improve your grip. Note that lifting this way can be hard on your back so don’t overdo it. Also the pipe may bend so be cautious about the socket popping off the lug nut.
Loosen the other lug nuts. Now you can jack the car up, properly support it and remove all the fasteners and then the wheel. Safe jacking procedures can be found HERE.
On rare occasion, the above fastener removal procedure will not get a lug nut or bolt off. If this should happen, a last ditch removal procedure is possible using a tool called the Lug Ripper.
To successfully use this tool will require you to precisely follow the manufacturer’s instructions at their website. Failure to do so can damage the tool rendering it unusable.
Be aware that this toolkit is not cheap. However, purchasing it may prove less expensive than taking your car to a qualified repair or tire shop for corrective action.
After successful removal of the stuck lug nut or bolt, you may choose to resell the Lug Ripper on Ebay, Craigslist, or local marketplace to recover much of the cost.
Following the removal of a seized or rusted lug nut or bolt, you should purchase and install new fasteners for the entire bolt pattern. Replacing just the damaged fastener could result in an out-of-balance condition.
Wheel studs that had seized or rusted lug nuts should be inspected.
Any stud that displays damage and/or fails the inspection above should be replaced. If you are in any doubt about a stud’s condition, always replace it.
Ron Coddington
Ron is a degreed mechanical engineer.
He has been a car hobbyist for over 60 years. Notable cars in his garage have included Corvairs, Alfa Romeos, Corvettes and both rotary and turbo-charged Mazdas. He brings that wealth of experience to this website to help you succeed in servicing and upgrading your favorite ride.
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The problem of rusted fasteners usually arises during the dismantling of structures. Corrosion turns the bolts with the nuts screwed on them almost into a single whole. This greatly complicates the dismantling process, but does not make it impossible. Structures can be disassembled without damaging the main elements if you know how to unscrew the rusty fasteners. To solve the problem of rusty fasteners, both mechanical methods and the use of chemicals that dissolve rust are used.
Tools and methods for removing rusty fasteners
A wrench is thrown onto the mount cleaned from rust, on the handle of which a pipe is put on. Such an extension of the handle makes it much easier to separate rusted parts fastened with nuts. 
A drill or a grinder will also work. Drilled holes or sawn furrows will have the same effect. The bolt head can also rust to the metal, so after the procedure, you can try to knock it out of the hole. Removing the nut using the combined method
Mechanical action on a rusted nut shows good results, but it happens that brute force is unacceptable, since dismantling must be done with care.
If you need to separate rusted elements without rough exposure, chemical methods will help.
So, if you need to unscrew a stuck nut, a socket or box wrench with 6 or 12 points of contact will do. With this tool, you need to alternately tighten and loosen the thread with sharp movements. But this method is only suitable in cases with a small layer of rust. Otherwise, brute force may cause the thread to come off when you try to unscrew the fastener.
If this does not work, go over the surface of the nut with a wire brush and apply WD-40, kerosene, turpentine or diesel oil to it. After waiting 15 - 20 minutes, lightly tap the nut with a hammer to knock off the top layer of corrosion, and then try using the wrench again. You can supplement this scheme with a lever, as described in the first paragraph of the list, which is indicated above.
Note! To unscrew the nut with the help of chemicals, you can not use lithol and grease. They quickly harden, which makes it impossible to unscrew the rusty fasteners.
Not only acids can help pull the nut. Other chemicals that are available in stores also show good results. So, motorists use their own technique, which helps to remove stuck fasteners. They are treated with a solution of gearbox oil and acetone in a ratio of 1 to 1. The problem area is lubricated with this mixture several times with a break of 40 minutes or longer. And after processing the fasteners, they make several blows with the tool.
What not to do to unscrew
When dismantling and twisting the bolts, there are some nuances. The main thing is not to use parts touched by rust, and when unwinding rusted ones, do not apply solutions to uncleaned surfaces. If you need to knock out a bolt, you should not use a hammer without putting on a bronze lining - it will allow you not to spoil the tool.
Tips
All the methods described above are effective. But the best way to deal with corrosion is to prevent it. Prevention consists in following three simple rules that will eliminate the need to fiddle with parts damaged by corrosion:
use high-quality fasteners;
tighten fasteners in accordance with the degree of tightening of similar threaded connections;
before tightening, treat the part with grease.
Our site has everything you need to start effective prevention. These are high-quality fasteners from reliable manufacturers that meet the required standards.
Rusted fasteners are one of the nightmares of motorists. Yes, “you don’t need to bring it to such a state,” but, nevertheless, the problem is familiar to almost everyone. Dealing with a rusty joint is not as difficult as it might seem. There are many tools and methods to help unscrew a rusty mount, without much time and physical effort. So
Clean rust off the mount with a metal brush
Spill the nut with one of: WD 40 fluid, Tsincar, brake fluid, acid solution (acetic, citric), Coca-Cola
Wait a bit and try to dismantle the connection. If this does not help, repeat all the manipulations again.
In such a situation, it is advisable not to use an open-end wrench.
If this is the only option, then the key must be chosen correctly. Hex sockets work best. They are stronger and the risk of rolling the head is less.
If you are unable to unscrew the nut fastener immediately, do not try to do it again and again. The only thing you will achieve is to damage the key.
Sometimes it helps to tighten the bolt or nut a little harder before unscrewing, since the load on the screwing is a little weaker. If this does not help, then it will not be possible to do without processing with special substances.
The composition of WD 40, or “Vedeshka”, as motorists call it, not only helps to disassemble the soured connection, but also serves as a lubricant that reduces friction. This tool is ideal for soured threaded connections. Its only drawback is its high cost.
This is one of the old, tried and true methods of soaking rusty fasteners.
