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A stripped lug nut can be one of the most frustrating problems you will come across while doing vehicle repairs. Most of the time, lug nuts become stuck when someone goes a bit too far while tightening. In this post and the video below we’ll show you 3 ways you can try to remove a stripped lug nut.
A typical lug nut has a cap. When torqued beyond the manufacturer’s specification, the cap separates from the lug nut and allows moisture to get in. This then causes the nut to rust and stick to the hub assembly.
If you ever find yourself stuck with a stripped lug nut that won’t come off, you’ll need to have an extra set of tools nearby. We’ll take a look at some of the most effective ways you can easily remove a stripped lug nut that’s stuck to the wheel.
Normally a stuck lug nut will have smaller corners, and this makes it hard to remove it using the original-sized socket. You may need a smaller socket to provide the grip needed. If you experience difficulty lining the socket, use a hammer to tap on it until it fits.
Once the socket is lined up, connect a breaker bar and try to remove the nut. You can place a pipe at the end of the bar for extra leverage.
If the lug nut is too stuck and won’t turn, don’t keep turning the bar to keep it from breaking.
If you try the breaker bar and socket method and still find that the lug nut won’t come off, get your hands on a powerful impact wrench. Impact wrenches are designed to tighten or loosen various nuts, bolts, and screws, and use torque and short jolting blows to deliver the necessary power needed to loosen a lug nut.
The most powerful variants deliver up to 250 foot-pounds of torque or more. This is enough muscle to bust a rusty and stuck lug nut. If your impact wrench doesn’t get the job done, try a drill.
A drill bit is a much safer tool to use when removing a stripped lug nut compared to an air hammer, an air chisel, or a torch, which can cause serious damage to the wheel easily if handled the wrong way.
When using your drill, start with smaller-sized drill bits and work your way up. Aim for the center of the lug nut.
You can start by making an indentation at the center using a center punch to prevent the drill bit from slipping. You could also use a burr attachment with a die grinder.
Drilling can often be a long and tedious process. For safety purposes and to prevent the drill bit from dulling, have a cup of oil nearby. Dip the drill bit every once in a while into the oil to cool it down before drilling any further.
As you move from the smaller-sized drill bit to the larger ones, keep checking to confirm that you’re still aiming for the center of the lug nut. You can use a parts cleaner to remove the chips that may be filling the hole as you do the job. If by any chance you happen to drill off-center, use the burr tool with the die grinder to correct the hole.
After a decent amount of drilling, the wheel should slide out easily. You may find the lug nut remains stuck to the wheel sometimes. You can remove it using a pair of channel lock pliers, a torch, or an air hammer.
com Remember to shop for new lug nuts at 1A Auto when replacing your wheel. If you penetrated the other side of the lug nut while drilling, you may need to replace the wheel stud as well in the case it’s damaged.
Summary
by Ron Coddington
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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.
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Sooner or later, any owner is faced with a situation where a nut, bolt or self-tapping screw does not want to get out. There are several reasons for this: poor quality metal, violation of technology (overheated self-tapping screws), rust, time, too much effort applied when tightening the connection. Nevertheless, it is possible to unscrew a bolt with torn edges, a licked nut, a rusted connection. In this article, we'll talk about how to do it.
"Licked" edges on bolt heads or nuts are not uncommon. Excessive forces that are applied when tightening, and then when loosening, often lead to the fact that the boundary between the faces of the bolt is erased. If the bolt does not unscrew - ordinary keys are powerless in this case - they simply scroll, and the fasteners remain in place.
Torn or licked edges on a nut or bolt do not allow it to be unscrewedThere are several ways to unscrew shear bolts and nuts:
If there is a plastic or rubber gasket under the bolt, remove it and try one of the suggested methods again. If you cannot unscrew the bolt with torn edges in all these ways, there is only one thing left: cut / cut off the hat and drill out the pin.
Another problem that is familiar to car enthusiasts (and not only) is a rusted nut and / or thread.
In this case, you should not make heroic efforts to unscrew the fasteners. Your faces will simply “merge” and another problem will be added to the boiled thread. If after a couple of attempts, you can’t unscrew it, try the following methods one by one:
Rust can also be treated with grease. Try filling the joint with fluid multipurpose grease (available in WD40 cans). After waiting a couple of hours, we try to work with the key. Didn't work - try other ways one by one.
If the hardened self-tapping screws are unscrewed / twisted a couple of times, their edges lose their sharpness, the screwdriver scrolls, and the screw itself remains in place. If he "sits" in wood, plaster, chipboard or other similar, not too hard materials, you can put a thin elastic band under the screwdriver (for example, for hair). Due to the force of elasticity, they achieve a tighter fit to the remaining faces, which helps to move the self-tapping screw from its place.
Other methods are more "traumatic":
The remains of a bolt or stud without a head can be unscrewed as follows: cut a left-hand thread in the remaining body, drip glue "torque", screw in the left tap, leave for an hour. Apply oil to the main thread and leave for an hour as well. When the glue sets, twist it out. If the remains of a self-tapping screw are stuck in the wood, it is easier to close this hole and install other fasteners nearby.
April 21, 2020
Kirill Kirin
Bolts are used very widely. This fastener is used to connect structures and materials, making the necessary holes in which does not lead to cracks and other defects.
How to remove a broken bolt
There are three main areas of application for bolted connections.
Creation of collapsible structures. Bolted connections are used for their erection and dismantling.
Production of dynamic structures, as well as mechanisms and units. The components and parts included in them are constantly moving or moving.
Construction of reliable metal frames. Fasteners are used to strengthen them.
All these structures fail sooner or later during operation. Destruction of fasteners is one of the main reasons. Therefore, the question of how to unscrew a broken bolt will never lose its relevance.
Photo #1: broken bolted connection
In this article, we will cover everything in detail. Let's start with the causes of broken bolts.
The main cause of bolt breakage is corrosion, which metal structures are inevitably exposed to during operation (especially severely in humid and aggressive environments).
Oxidation leads to uneven wear of fasteners. Devices are destroyed at the most unexpected moments, unable to withstand loads.
Also, bolts often break for the following reasons.
When tightening the hardware, too much force was applied to the key.
The fasteners turned out to be defective (there were microcracks and other defects invisible to the eye).
There was a strong boil. In this case, the heads of the bolts come off with high forces applied for unscrewing.
There are three cases. Let's look at the simplest first.
If the bolt breaks but part of it protrudes from the threaded hole, you're in luck! In this case, the broken bolt can be easily unscrewed in two simple ways.
1. If the protruding part of the hardware is large, clamp it with pliers or an adjustable wrench. Loosening the bolt shouldn't be a problem.
Photo No.
2: bolt breakage, in which it can be removed as quickly and easily as possible
2. If a piece of hardware cannot be clamped due to its small size, proceed as follows.
Make a cut along the diameter of the protruding part with a grinder.
Unscrew the broken bolt with a screwdriver.
Photo No. 3: by the way, screws with damaged heads are unscrewed in the same way
Let's move on to the most difficult case. More often than not, bolts break flush with surfaces or, worse, at hole depths.
Photo #4: the most difficult case of bolt failure
How to unscrew a broken bolt in such difficult cases, we will describe below.
Before unscrewing a bolt or hardware broken flush with the surface, which collapsed at the depth of the hole, it is necessary to prepare for the operation.
Take a core and a hammer. Tap the broken bolt with light strokes. This will loosen the fit of the fixture stuck in the hole.
Heat up the broken area with a gas burner. As a result, internal stresses are removed.
Clean the area of damage from contamination. Wipe everything dry.
Apply or spritz WD-40 to help loosen the bolt.
Photo #5: WD-40 compound is a great assistant for a locksmith
You can unscrew a broken bolt with your own hands using methods of various complexity. Choose the most suitable in your case according to the availability of the necessary tools.
Important! In many cases, you will have to drill holes in the center of the debris. In order not to damage the thread of the hole for the bolt itself, the drill must be located exactly in the direction of the central axis.
For centering, special bushings and centering drills are suitable.
This is a specialized tool designed to extract damaged fasteners from holes. Therefore, the question of how to unscrew a broken bolt with an extractor will be answered first of all.
Photo #6: Extractor set
To unscrew a broken bolt with an extractor, proceed as follows.
Drill a hole of the required diameter in the fragment.
Insert an extractor into it.
Turn the tool counterclockwise to remove the broken bolt.
This method is suitable for unscrewing a bolt that has broken flush with the surface or at a shallow depth. Act like this.
Take a drill and a thin drill.
Drill some holes and connect them.
Get a recess for a screwdriver.
Insert a tool into it and unscrew the bolt fragment.
In this way, large diameter bolts are unscrewed. There is no risk of damaging the thread.
Drill a threaded hole in the center of the fragment.
Cut it with the left tap.
Screw in the appropriate bolt.
When tightened, it will twist the chip.
There are four ways to unscrew a broken bolt by welding. Choosing the right one depends on the nature of the damage.
If part of the hardware sticks out, weld a nut to it. Unscrew the chip with a wrench.
If the bolt breaks flush with the surface, weld a washer (with a hole smaller than the diameter of the bolt from inside the hole) to the broken piece, and a nut to the washer.
Unscrew the hardware with a wrench.
To unscrew a bolt broken at a shallow depth, you can lengthen the chip directly by welding. Then a nut or a strip of metal is welded to it. To remove the chip, a wrench or pliers is used.
If a thin bolt is broken at a great depth, it will not work to unscrew it by welding. If a thick hardware has collapsed, a metal tube can be welded to it (the electrode is inserted into the hole in it).
Their list includes:
triangular files;
hexagons;
sweep;
screwdrivers with metal handles.
To unscrew a broken bolt with one of these tools, proceed as follows.
Drill a hole in the fragment with a diameter slightly smaller than the dimensions of the tool at hand.
Drive the tool into the hole with a hammer.
As a result, it will collapse.
Try to unscrew the bolt.
This method of unscrewing broken bolts is used only in extreme cases (there is a high risk of damaging the thread) or when it is possible or necessary to cut a new one.
For drilling, you will need left-hand metal drills.
Mark the center of the hole.
Drill a hole with a thin left drill bit.
Gradually increasing the diameters of the tools, drill out the bolt.
In order not to damage the thread, carefully control the direction of drilling at all stages.
Photo #7: Drilling broken bolt
You can buy metal drills and other tools that may be useful for unscrewing broken bolts, working with threaded connections or performing other operations directly in our online store at affordable prices.
