I'm Up Sh!ts Creek With No Paddles.
 

I wrote a few weeks ago about my stripped/crossthreaded lug, well, i brought it to a tire guy by me and he doesn't even want to do the job with the fear of ruining the rim. Basically, I have a cross threaded lock nut which is now on a stripped stud. When you go to turn the lock nut the entire stud turns with it as well. I got to get this damnn fukin thing off the car because I have a slow leak in my tire and i need to get it fixed. This is honestly one of the most frustrating thing i have ever went through with my car. What's a mutha fuka to do in a situation like this? Please, anyone with any constructive advice please respond.

unless to find someone who wants to take the job, you might have to end up putting something in writing that you will not hold the tech responsible if the rim gets damaged in the process.

PMas, I dont have the constructive advice you are looking for but ... I feel your pain, man!

U might as well get a new rim right now, because the chances that ur gonna get that nut out w/o damaging or breaking the rim are slim to none. U see Ive had this happen several times and this is with OEM wheels on other cars. What we usually do is bust out the air chizel and make a big mark on the nut and spin it off. Well obviously after doin that ur gonna need atleast a new lug nut, sometimes even a stud. But if the stud is loose from the back there is very little that can be done. If the stud is stripped from the back (not the threads) and spins as well then ur .Thats the reason that shop didnt touch it, they were gonna end up buying u a new rim. Sorry dude, but im gonna let u weigh this out, There is one way u can get it out w/o breakin the rim but ur gonna have to do it....

...U better have a good drill, and some high quality drill bits. Get a vise grip or something u can use to hold the lug nut into place so it wont move. Start with a small hole down the middle of the stud, then step up to a larger drill bit and continue to do this til the whole stud is basically drilled to nothing. U have to be very careul and patient to to this, if u rush ur gonn damage the rim so take ur time. After the stud is apart from the lug nut pull out the nut and throw the damn thing aside. Then pull ur wheel off and cuss at the thing. After that get a hammer and punch out whats left of the stud and u have to punch in a new 1 the same way and I think u can take it from there. If u dont want to put the stud in then slap the wheel back on and go to a shop and have them do it, u should be alright for a little while with 4 studs but dont wait on it. Good luck.:D (bet u didnt think of that!)

Yeah, i did think of that actually. I was going to try that or possibly burning it off. I just didn't know if I would be able to get a drill through the hardened lug nut. Its about 1/4 inch thick till i can get to the stud. Maybe i can grind away at the lug till i expose the stud?? Should i just bring it to Nissan and see if they can do it?? Do you guys think nissan would charge an arm and a leg...probably right? I just can't believe this is happening, it sucks so bad. I don't want to fuk the rim up because this all started when i hit a pothole and had to pay $100 to get a bend out of it. Now i don't want to spend another $300 for a new rim if I fuk it up.

Is there any possibility of cutting the stud from behind? It's been a while since I messed with the studs on a FWD car but is it possible to perhaps cut or burn the part that holds it in from behind and then just pull it out? Any damage would be limited to an area you cannot see.

Ahh my friend... I've had this problem in the past on an oldsmobile when I was like 17 years old... Nobody would touch it nor could they get it off when someone actually tried.. Soooo you know what I did??

I luckily have an uncle who can fix anything!! and he proved himself again... You have to heat it up man... Break out the blow torch get it red hot and it will come right off...

Actually a drill bit can go through it, but like I said u better have some damn good drill bits (expensive 1z) If u burn it off , ur gonna dis-color the rim and thats gonna **** u off every time u see the rim. Get some damn good bits and have at it is what id do, but as u know its ur call Im just giving my opinion. Have no clue what nissan would do but 1 things 4 sure they're gonna charge big time.

So if i take a blow torch to it you say it will then snap off? Or are you saying a blow torch will get it hot and then easier to drill?

DO NOT use a blowtorch. It will completely discolor the rim. Use John's drill method.

DO NOT use a blowtorch. It will completely discolor the rim. Use John's drill method.
 

Go to sears. By a kit called bolt out, a socket extension. Find someone with an electric impact wrench or a shop that will let you use the impact wrench. Get some one to weld the extension to the bolt out kit. Get the car up on jackstands. Get the bolt out kit and insert it on the lug. Use the impact wrench and keep spinning the lug while you pull out you finally make the stud catch and it will release the lug just enough for you to remove it. worked for me after it screwed up my integra stud.

have fun

The other solution is to just suck it up like a man and just discolor the damn rim and get a new one. Sometimes there isn't always a perfect solution, it's not like the wheels are Foose specials or anything, if you can't get it off, get a new rim later and use that one as coffee table or something.

You're talking about a $400 wheel. No way. A blowtorch ruins it.

what i did, was i just kept torquing the lug nut until the lug snapped off. Somehow it worked. Pretty much it just cross threading itself, but after a bit it just snapped off. Now my stud is like a pyramid sorta at the tip, like a spear, but it worked. just use brute force on the lug with a cross wrench thingy...:laugh:

Eh......what about damaging the wheel? I don't trust that method at all.

Take it to a body shop, they may know what to do with least damage. My cousin had this happen and the body shop got it off in 30 mins.

Well u can always resort to the primal aggresion method rather then precision like I would. Id u dont give a damn about the rim and really want to buy another1 u can just grab a 10lbs sledge hammer and have at it all u want. (Please record this if u do use this method, I wanna see this:D ) Eventually either the rim will break completly off or ull tire out, thats when u bust out a sawzaa and start to */$52=%*! the thing up. Btw Im not serious at all about this, but it will work. But id rather no1 do this but like I said if u do please record it and host it on here. Its worth a good laugh, btw pmas76 in no way am I tryin to disrespect u so dont take this post as a way of me insulting u cuz im not. I know ur smarter then to do this.

the thing is, it doesnt affect the rim at all, because the only points of contact is the lug and the lug wrench. i twisted it lefty loosy... not tighting it. I noticed that the lug was a tougher metal than the stud. My stud gave way before my lug did. What you can also do is take it to another shop and ask them to take it off, or my mechanic told me that he would just drill it off. I myself didnt really trust the drill method since i have 19's and any damage would be $$$. When you twist the lug off, it gets tighter, i just kept going cause it will cross thread until it looses all its threading and then it just popped off. Anyways, good luck

He can't torque it off because the stud spins also. Good idea but unusable in this case.

Another choice is to get the car on a lift then use a die grinder to grind the back of the stud off. If nothing else get a Dremel with one of the flex shaft attachments. Then get a bunch of bits and grind away the flange of the stud from behind.

I like the drill it out suggestion but since the stud is spinning free when you swich to a larger bit it will bind and spin. This will be a pain because you will have to use at least 5 different bits if not more.

300, but same difference. I'm just saying, you spend 10 hours talking about it and trying to save it and you've just spent 300 bones of time, making it a wash

These wheels are now swapmeet specials, screw it up, and buy a new one. I will have 4 for sale soon ! :rolleyes:

Didin't hurt mine.
 

Ehhh when I had to do it, the lugs came out far enough where it didn't interfere with anything else. He didn't have a regular blow torch, the flame was super tiny.. Once it was red hot it span right off.. :confused:

**UPDATE**
 

Well, my father spent three hours today while I was at work and he thankfully was able to remove the lock nut. He bought a drummel set and started to hack away at two different angles from either direction making a “V” till he hit the stud. Then he used a drill and started with a 1/16 inch drill bit and then gradually worked up to about a 3/8 inch drill bit. He had to wedge a piece of wood to hold the nut in place because it wanted to spin with the stripped stud when he went to drill it. After drilling he said the lock nut just fell off. The only scratch was a small pencil eraser size knick on the face of the rim next to the lughole. He said he taped it up and all and was surprised that there was a knick on it. Oh well, it’s a small price to pay for a job well done. It’s better then having to replace the rim. I’ll just touch it up with a dab of silver touch up I have. Now I just have to replace the stud and buy a new set of lock nuts. Shouldn’t be that difficult.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their great advice. I love having so many friends on the org that are always eager to throw in their two cents. Take care.

P.S. I suppose I owe my father a nice dinner for doing such a great job.