When I got my car inspected( PA state inspection) in Jan 2005 the garage put the front wheel on to tight( a local firestone). Now this morning I wanted to have snow tires put on and the mechanic could not get on of the lug bolts out. He said that he was afraid to break it.

Question is if you do break the bolt what is involved in replacing the hub?
This car is a 95 e320 wagon.

Thanks
Alan

Woah, be very careful not to break it, especially if you have the bolt with a cone. If tha breaks, then it will have to be extracted out and you might get some wheel damage associated with that. Try going to a place that cares for cars and will use some slow technique of taking it off until its loose enough. I heard that mercedes bolts should not be tightned by machine but rather by hand or a torque wrench. If you keep forcing a high powered tool on it, it will eventually break. Maybe try heating bolt up? I learned my lesson when I overtightened my bolts by hand and when my mech took them off, they broke right off! And so I had to leave my car in the shope and extra 4 days! It took so long for the bolt to get off and I got some wheel damage on top of that.

I had the same problem with my SL500. Ended up burning the bolt off without damaging the wheel. The problem is that the cone on the lug bolt gets gauled and hangs on the wheel. Once I got the wheel off, the remainder of the lug bolt came out by hand - no problem with the hub.
I live in PA also. I tell the inspection station to use hand tools for the wheels. About a day or so latter, I torque them to spec. myself.

I just had the tires changed for the first time on my wife's car. There were a couple of lug bolts they couldn't get off with their impact drivers. What they did was take a socket, put it on the bolt, and hit it with a hammer a couple of times.

From what angle? Straight down or from the side?

Straight in, like you're nailing in the wheel

I injured my elbows in part by attacjing some sttuborn lug bolts. I finally freed them with 18" 1/2" drive bar with 6" pipe over the end of it.

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Rob M
Norwich, VT USA
1980 240D Euro delivery 4 speed manual silver/blue
~160K miles

Before you go crazy try this. First spray around the bolts with a penetrating oil let it sit for a hour or so. Next using a breaker bar and 6 point socket apply some pressure on the bar to take out any play. While doing so hit the end of the bar with a large RUBBER mallet. You will be amazed at the torque that is generated. The shock of the hammer directly to the bolt is ussually enough to free most any bolt or fitting. Good Luck
Glenn

i bought a 300sd that had worn out tires on it..

the former owners bought michelins and then never rotated so
the tires were 5 or 10 years old and had not been changed.

i had 2 stuck lug nuts...

i went to mechinic after mechinic for over a month..
maybe two months...i carried the new tire around in the trunk..

I would spray the lug every day with PB something... it was like
wd40..... i would spray it then put duck tape over the hole to hold
the oil in for a little while...

eventually i decided to use a ratched and a breaker bar... and
I broke the ratchet... so then i went a bought a 1/2 inch breaker bar
and the correct socket... and then i was able to get them out..

then we greased the lugs and i take it and have them rotated regularly..
now...

to never grease your lug nuts. they will work loose. dont know if it is true, but i dont grease them.

i put wd 40 on them.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I have very lightly applied wheel bearing grease to wheel studs, and my MB's wheel bolts for decades without ever encoutering any loosening. I touch my fingertip to the grease, and then run it straight from the tip of the bolt toward the head or the hub. As you turn the bolt or the nut it spreads the grease around the threads.
regards,
Mark

This happend to me I couldn't get the lugs off after some moron tightened them with an impact gun. I used and 18" breaker bar and an impact socket and placed one foot on it and jumped on it while balancing my hand on the roof heard a loud pop and the lug broke loose, Did this on othe four and it worked as well.
Good Luck
PS NEVER put greese or antiseeze on lug bolts.

I had the same thing happen to me just last week. I after replacing my front brake pads I put the lug nuts on with my impact wrench (bad choice) I later took the car to sears to get the tires balanced and they initially could not get a couple of the lug nuts off. They did not want to keep trying and claimed that the lug nuts could break off. The mechanic agreed to soak the lug nuts with wd40 and try again. It worked, but I learned my lesson. I am going to buy a torque wrench before my next diy job.

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KCScout
98 S420 My Wife's Baby
97 S320 My road car
83 300D My old road car (love that diesel)
81 300SD Wife's former Baby
81 240D A fun stick shifter
71 220D My first one

Definitely use a torque wrench rather than an impact wrench. I also favor never-sieze on lug bolt threads.

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Fred Hoelzle

If you do break a lug (seen it several times) you should take it to a shop that has a jig designed to drill them out. The wheel doesn't get damaged when the jig is used. Otherwise, I've seen it get pretty ugly