Lug Nut Jammed--Probablem Gets Worse
 

I am doing a simple tire rotation like 600 times before but this time one lug nut (that I should have thrown away a LONG time ago) jamms on me FOR good. This is normally a 3/4 socket application but I have used the 12 point so many times it is now an 18mm Application. The long of the short is this, since I was in full blown cobble mode, I now have a 3/8 drive socket with a 1/2 inch impact adapter broken off in it STUCK solid on the lug nut which is STILL very firmly on the stud!

Any ideas?

Thanks for any help or suggestion that anyone has to offer.

Spray the whole thing with your favorite penetrant and let it sit for an hour or two - something like PB Blaster or the like.

Then, hammer the socket & adapter off the nut; use a sledge, not a claw hammer. Or, use a 12" 1/2" extension and try to wiggle it off.

Next, get one of these from your local autozone:
http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/detail.jhtml;jsessionid=HMFUV5W5H4UKYCQIUBSCGWQKBCQHQJCK?prodId=IrwinProd100518 and put it on the longest breaker bar you can find - 2' should be sufficient.

Even a 500lb 1/2" impact gun can't compete with the force you can apply with a breaker bar.

Also, never use 12 point sockets on anything that requires "real" torque. You'll just round things off.

Oh, and it would probably be a good idea to replace the lugnut and the stud.

Assuming you have not yet wiped out the threads, carefully split the lug nut, using a nut splitter, a Sawzall or a die grinder.

As you remove metal from the lug nut, it will start to flex slightly. Your best bet is a short-stroke hacksaw/sawzall type machine. Make an X on the top of the lug niut by sawing first in one direction, then reposition yourself and saw in the other position, making one large X-cut on the top poprtion of the lug nut. If you then heat this, it may literally fall off. If not, gloves and vise grips.

Don't burn yourself if you use heat, Best torch tip is a 00 tip on the oxy acetylene. Heat slowly in a couple spots on top, almost like a jeweler.

Of course, this assumes that your lug nuts aren't recessed into the rim...

The Irwin extractors are the way to go. I've had to use them many times on rusted lugs, and it either snaps the stud or removes the nut; either way, problem solved.

I had a similar problem on my '93 CE. Some moron tightened the lug bolts so tight that 3 of them broke off in the wheels. It took two of us all afternoon to drill them out. I then had to go to Mercedes and buy 20 new bolts at $6 each. What really ticked me off was the original bolts were the double type, that is the head of the bolt was flush with the face of the wheel.
Apparently Mercedes no longer offers these.
Anziani
'93 300CE 180K
'95 E420 117K

You are of course quite right

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm not having a lot of luck even getting the piece of the 1/2 to 3/8 adapter out of the socket. I like the idea of putting the long extension in and wiggling it but am not having a lot of luck getting the nipple piece of the adapter out.

I tried to get an ez out in deep enough to pop it out with no luck so I started drilling to see if I could bust enough material out to just have it fall out.

I really like the Irwin set of whatever those are called because the lug nut is recessed as you suggested.....when I get to that point I am absolutely going to get those. I saw them at ACME Tool Supply when I was going for the ez out and almost picked a set up....with your confirmation I will go back and spend the money.

Thanks again.

Any other thoughts on getting that nipple piece out?

Curious which Mercedes it is that uses "lugnuts and studs."

Pipewrench on adapter and/or socket? Maybe put a towel on the wheel to protect the finish.

Maybe dry ice to freeze and shrink the adapter? You may be able to get some from an ice cream store or a super market.

Try tightening down the other lugs to reduce the tension on the stuck bolt.

And buy a good cross-style lug wrench!

If they don't use wheel studs and nuts, what do they use? I admit, I haven't had to take the wheels off of mine yet...

Lug bolts my friend. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...AILER/3708.jpg

Same for Volkswagen.

Same for BMW.

It's a German thing.

Toolkit is supposed to have a temporary "stud" for hanging the wheel on when remounting. Good idea to be sure your toolkit has one before you need it. You can mount the wheel without one, but it won't be pleasant.

Huh. That seems rather counterproductive.

Everytime you tighten two threaded items together - a nut & bolt, for example - you slightly deform the threads on both, which weakens them. This is why most things that are going to be repeatedly re-torqued are on a stud/nut setup, from wheels to race engines.

If your anchor point is the flange or wheel bearing itself and something goes south - you'll have to replace the whole thing.

The original poster, for example, may end up stripping out the threads on his flange, so instead of just spending 5 minutes knocking out a $3 stud out and popping in a new one, the entire thing will require replacement.

This is really a "danger" when people take their vehicle to shops that just impact the crap out of the wheel fasteners, often torquing them to 2 - 3 time the spec, thus speeding up the damage.

I wonder if anyone has ever converted to a stud/nut setup. It wouldn't be that difficult.

i take it that a 3/8" 12point socket is wedged on the lug bolt with a 1/2" adapter broken off in the square socket hole ??

take a sharp steel chisel on the side of the socket and hammer it opposite of the way you were going

When this happened to me a few years back on my E320, my indy took a 5 lb sledge hammer and a large punch, about a foot long. He put the tip of the punch on the head of the lug bolt, and hammered away at it a half dozen times, quite hard. Then he used an 18" breaker bar and the lug bolt came loose. Prior to that, a guy using a 4 foot piece of pipe over an 18" breaker bar couldn't move it at all. He says he sees this problem all the time on W210s with the long-neck bolts.