Spinning Wheel Stud & Seized Lug? What Would You Do? 

You did well to keep your cool, I would have been ranting and raving all day.

What works much better than a 1/2” drill bit, is a 1/2” 4 flute end mill ....I’ve done it that way and it cuts so much better

I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in thinking that drill bits are sacrificial tools. Sometimes you have to use up the capability of one tool to get the job done.

Brother I just drilled out a stuck lug on my ram. If the lug is stuck take a good four-way lug wrench put a bar on it with constant pressure right before breaking point and hit the end of the 4 way with a 3 or 5lb hammer it will alway come loose...or break lug off. I learned this after drilling out the lug

Your bit is shot because you're not drilling the way it likes. Get carbide bits and don't get them hot at all. Peck, back off, peck, all while using oil, not wd40 as wd40 gets absorbed and evaporates too quick.

Same problem on my lincoln, just ordered all new lugs Be in Friday 😊

So if you can wedge it tight enough you can get sometimes get the lugnut to spin slightly more than the stud and walk it off with only minor scraping of the mating surface of lugnut to wheel. This works the same at putting a prybar or screwdriver under a fastener when you have a spinning nutsert. Otherwise if you are a good a double cut carbide and cut down between the stud and nut and crack the nut off with a chisel. While have a rag around the nut and against the wheel between the chisel and wheel. The reason you go between the two is so you don't skip off.

Just wondering you could weld a tab on to the nut and use a slide hammer to pull the stud to the groove to get a better bite as well the heat from the weld could help un seize the nut in the process? great mechanic excellent content . From Ireland

I use an oversize nut, or nuts stacked, to pull studs into position. I lube up everything, EXCEPT THE SPLINES, so that it can all slip and rotate while turning.

I recently dealt with something in the same vein. I had a locking lug nut (mc gard) shatter right down to the seat when attempting removal. The only way to deal with it was to get an 8mm carbide bit and drill the stud out.

The lug nuts with aluminum caps in my opinion are a hazard because they warp/bend and you sometimes cannot get the lug nut off with a traditional socket wrench. If you have a flat tire on the road, you are SOL. I replaced all these lug nuts with solid steel lug nuts.

Ive learned to put a prybar between wheel and hub, apply outward pressure, and let air impact do the work. Snaps the stud right off

Kenny..... I'm 74 and a darn good mechanic 🎉, and I can learn from any of your videos. Simply, because there is ALWAYS another and maybe an easier way to do anything!!

Hi i had that problem before and i solved just sliding a saw blade between the rim and rotor golding it with a players and using the impact to turn the lug nut and the blade cut the stud in couple minutes. May be the idea help to next time ur videos are very clear and helpfull thanks

I've had to do this numerous times. When I get to the stage where I've gone as far as I dare with the drill, I usually find I can simply knock the stud out from what remains of the nut with a punch and a few good hits.

What keeps the new stud from spinning in the hub like the old one? The knurling obviously failed to secure it in place. The hub was probably damaged by the spinning stud and slightly wallowed out. I might of tacked it in place while on my bench. I’ll add that this is something I’ve never had to deal with.

Drill a 5mm pilot hole first, then follow up with the 1/2 inch bit. WD40 is mainly paraffin. Cutting oil is way better...😳🤔🇬🇧

In a situation like this I would have used the 1/2" bit to make a dimple in the center of the stud and then use a small bit - say 3/16" to drill a pilot hole. The 1/2" bit will drill a lot easier then. With a 1/2" bit in a drill press you can get some real leverage behind it that you can't with a hand held drill.

Ps I also would have drilled a 1/4 hole first

Many thanks to the bone headed engineer who thought those chrome caps would work. Had a similar problem on my Jeep Liberty. All of those worthless caps are in the scrap metal bin!

With the greatest respect to your skills Kenny, I would have used a smaller pilot drill to the depth of the wheel nut, and then progressively opened out the hole until the nut threads were drilled out. In my opinion, either High SpeedSteel Drills, or best of all are old fashioned high carbon steel drills cut better than titanium at this sort of job. I would not have lubricated the job either, let the drill do it's work, and keep the speed lower to prevent overheating. Your programmes are excellent and I look forward to watching each new upload. Thanks and best wishes.

Very informative video Kenny thanks

Take off the other 4, pull wheel away from hub, use a sawzall with long blade to cut stud. If that doesn't work, then resort to drilling.

Oscillating tool + diablo metal blades , cut stud from behind in between rim and hub . Worked for me the , bend a little the blade to get there , works only with rims like this one with enough access space .

I held a socket with a vice grip and drilled through the drive square

Breaking a stud off is easy, unless you WANT to break it off.

Hi kenny I have to say you are a very good mechanic, but drilling out this stud is kind of bordering on metal fabrication, speaking as someone with over 50 years in metal fabrication the mistake you made is not starting with a smaller diameter drill around 4mm in diameter, then step up a couple of bigger sizes before finishing with the 1/2" drill

First of all before I put that expensive big drillbit in there I would’ve drilled me a 3/16 pilot hole and then use my big drillbit

Drill it out while it’s still attached so it’s a little easier.

I have done what you did with cocking the wheel and if there is enough space between the wheel and hub I take a Sawzall with a hacksaw blade and cut the stud in half. The blade will bend enough thru the wheel opening. If not enough space or you have a solid wheel, then how you did it.

If you use something better than WD40, your bit will last longer.

lisle makes the bearing tool to insert the new stud

I worked at a store shop and ran into this stuff all the time. I have experience as a machinist helper, and I fabricated a set of sockets with a bronze sleeve to keep the nut from moving while drilling the stud.

Instead of titanium, use a cobalt drill bit. It will cut faster and last longer.

A pilot hole would ease the journey, from past experience. A cobalt bit is a bit tougher.

I was told by the machine shop to use cobalt grade drill bits as they are tougher than standard HSS drill bits . My ford focus was a nightmare using HSS drill bits. rgds Don

My brother in law would have took an angle grinder and give that wheel the beans!

"You could have completed the task within minutes if you had a socket extractor."

Once you find the center of the stud start with a small drill bit and keep going up in size until you get to the proper size. That way you will not dull your larger bits. It has always worked well for me.

Wow. I am speechless. Right idea. Terrible execution. On every front. Starting with that wanton use of the chisel. Then, that drilling, geez.... That wasn't cutting well. Turning way too fast and.... Just, why?? I woulda poked a hole in that flimsy lug nut cover. Awl, center punch....the drill bit can get through that too, I'm sure. And pilot holes are very helpful. I think I woulda done that in three easy pokes, instead of that drawn out mess. Then slamming the wheel around and prying with the socket and extension instead of just finishing your drilling?? The only damage caused was done then, and at the start with the damn chisel!! Hey, the wheel is off tho.

Die grinder and carbide tip, just grind the thing off. - Oh..... Nut? Just use an air chizzle and split the nut.

Hi Kenny. Something similar happened to me in the uk in a lay-by with my Ford Transit van. Had a blow out and had to fit the spare. I drilled two smaller holes in the nut at 180 dg. to each other and then split it with a sharp cold chisel. Thanks for your videos. I really enjoy them

I had the same problem. I solved with a very thin and a small cut-off wheel 3 inch in diameter it was attached with an extension to a small drill. I precisely placed the cutoff wheel between the wheel and the hub component, where you placed the crew driver as the spacer. It was very quick and very low risk. I only had about .3 of a cm between the wheel and the hub. I managed to not damage any other parts of my 2016 Acura ILX. If you want the video, let me know sonIncan send it to yoi.

Why won't you just split the nut with an air chisel

Excellent

man, mechanic or owner, who needs this bullshit problem in today's times, what a pain in the ass !!!! i dont think any time in history have mechanics had more weird time consuming problems than the last 5 years. the things people do to there cars, and then want miricles.

Those are the most piss poor excuse for a lug nut they ever came up with. First thing I do when I buy a new car is check and see if this is what is on the car and if so off they go.

I have used a hole saw around the stud very carefully nut is softer metal run saw down stud wiggle wheel. Seat will pop off

You can hear the whistling, that means you're no longer cutting effectively and need to sharpen your bit/replace it

Too bad he couldn't get sawzall blade in behind where the screw driver is at and cut the stud

I installed 5 studs in an auto parts parking lot because studs started breaking during a road trip. The whole strut and wheel bearing was from a salvage yard. We hit something on the road which took out the strut and bearing. Studs probably had been over torqued before I got it. Lucky I was able to put them in without pulling the hub. Manually crank each stud in. Had to improvise because the lack of tools at hand.

center punch lug nut cap drill it so your not using a chisel then drill away

My channel name is to show I'm always learning, and hopefully, people watching will realize they have an opportunity to add something new to their memory bank. (They don't know everything!)

Hi kenny enjoy your video s

8 hour day.. customer just wanted a tire rotation

I used a chisel to cut the lug but it was a steel wheel and still time consuming.

just a side note. on styles like this where the caliper bracket is bolted in front of the spindle and not behind, just pop the center cap, free the axle nut, caliper bracket and remove the brake hose. next undo the bearing and take it all off then you can just grind out the back of the stud and punch it out. obviously check the bleeder valve beforehand to weigh out if this is a good route. this way guarantees you will not damage the rim and is less hassle if everything comes off nice, especially since you had to pull the bearing anyway so this would of nullified the drill time and damages from going through the front. nothing wrong with the way you did it and hindsight is 20/20. for me personally this just alleviates the stress of damaging the rim and feels like less of a headache.

Not sure if this is the case here or not. I found this happening with cheap aftermarket wheel hubs.

Possibly sneak a saws all blade in there

My question is how did the nut almost get removed and then the stud came loose letting it spin like it did.I was just helping a young couple and this was their problem on the one stud plus a nail in their tire, after filling the tire with air i was able to get them on their way to get the tire fixed so i dont know what ever happened to their problem

Use a pin punch n push stud past the nut

I have used a good hardened impact socket for a drill bit guide to both hold the nut and align the drill to the stud just a bit of advice from a machinist 1/2 inch drive socket and a drill one size smaller and the rest is easy

Great tip ... I hope I never run into that. Once you had the wheel loaded up on bad stud I would of tried Impact gun one more time.

Thanks for the video. I ended up breaking one of my titanium bits and went and bought a cobalt drill bit and got the lid off.

Like Kenny mentioned, the art of using drill bits is, the larger the bit is, the slower the RPM needed? The smaller the bit, the faster the RPM, and the use of cutting oil is recommended? Great job, as usual, Kenny.

Ford Ranger neighbors truck. Spinning studs so I wedged a chisel or beater screwdriver behind stud head and loosened lug nuts. Replaced studs good to go.

I had a problem where the studs were a poor fit and would spin if there was any corrosion in the lug nut. I got around it by drilling a small hole in the chrome cover and spraying some WD in each one. Let it soak a bit and the nuts came off easily.

Kenny's new book: How to finesse a broken stud to save your day!! Well done! You keep doing you, Good Sir!! 💯💯👏👏👏

This video just saved my ass. I do all my own automotive and home repair. I’m 45 and can count on 3 fingers how many times I’ve paid someone to fix anything for me. I’ve done some major repair work on home and auto, by myself. I’m great at solving problems, this one had me stuck. Thanks for the help brother.

Dewalt elected 20v? I have an electric impact that plugs to the wall, and a 20v. But not together

Wow what a LAZY dangerous mechanic to even attempt to shave the stud down for it to fit and then tell people maybe you can shave down the knuckle even though you didn't. You even had the hub off and you still installed a shaved stud? Wow. Will anything happen, probably not but still. How lazy can you get. Will not be going to your shop EVER!

Stripped the splines on the stud. Nut probably cross threaded on. Soooo.... What I've done is this. My Matco air hammer is pretty decent. I bought a couple of the hardened chisels for my air hammer. I used a bench grinder and worked the chisel down to about half is diameter being sure to keep the mass centered. Anyway, going slowly and sneaking up on the actual nut I cut it down one side and then the other. Never hitting the wheel. Before the nut is actually cut in half it'll let you do the bendy back and forth thing with a flat blade screwdriver and finishes breaking on it's own. Take the wheel of and then deal with the stud. That's how I approach it. About twice a month. Takes about 15 minutes or so.

I was stranded with a flat and a similar situation and placed a shortened metal hacksaw blade between the wheel and hub and manually sawed the lug using access between spokes, took forever but I got it off

StrongArm Lever Arm Rig drill motor holding fixture chained to the wheel spoke , apply heavy load , slow rpm’s and cool drill bit with engine oil . 6/4/23

These jobs depend on the customer, because 2 out of 5 will try to blame you for the stud breaking free. if you worked in a major metropolitan area, aka a big city, you'd know what I mean. people try everything. but whomever it is, always prepare them for the worst case scenario. what if it was a "tuner" with $2500 rims? you can't spit on them.. one human mistake and you have the battle of your life on your hands. but you do get stuck, because you started working on it and the stud ran around on you. you have to be the man and see it through. being a mechanic also gives you vast experience in psychology. it's an unanticipated bonus I guess. nice save Kenny Wrench. 🏁

This is what I have ever done , never had fail , I use a socket of the same size as the nut , hold the socket with vise grips and drill the nut in the center , starting with a smaller size drill bit and then using a drill bit of the size of the stub , 10 to 15 minutes of work , it will break free !

All get our? What does that mean? Redneck slang?

Good vid! I had a similar thing happen to my 2010 silverado rear drum brakes first time putting snows on. I also drilled the the stud, I sacrificed the cheapest deep socket I had and welded it to a short bar, then drilled my the hole back through the socket. It worked but lubricating it with curse words seemed to help. an old term "there is more than one way to skin a cat" But every way the cat is cold.

Sometimes you can get the cuttring torch in the back and cut the backside of the stud off.

Ok I was a GM AND FORD TECH I AM CERTIFIED YOU PULL HUB OFF! YOU DO NOT! GRIND ANY METAL OFF ON A PART LIKE THAT! IF THE CUSTOMER LEAVES YOUR SHOP AND GETS IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND LAWERS GET INVOLVED AND THEY WILL! YOU ARE LIABLE!

Top instructional. I would have ruined the rin. My mate in 1985 bought a year-old M3 BMW. Despite instructions, he got a wheel balance and ended up with lead weights on the outside.

I torch them out as long as I can get a rim from my local junkyard and the customer foots the bill for the rim every time no problem but I also always invite the customer in to look at the problem I'm having to so 🤷

Kenny why does the new stud look different than the rest ?

A parking lot mechanic way to removing spun wheelnuts: you get someone or something to push hard on the inside of the wheel, thereby attempting to hold the wheelstud in place, at the same time wrenching or impacting on the nut to unscrew it.

we set the car down, with spinning lug at 12oclock, pull bottom tire out while setting on the ground with block of wood under the tire to put more pressure than the other tires. with the weight of car, we usually get those out. if not we use the drill

To answer your query: Employ an 'Lithuanian Flyrod', 1/4 stick of dynamite.

Drilling it out is nice for saving the wheel. But that wheel is cheap, especially when buying a single. Those big drill bits are not cheap. If drilling didnt work, torch that nut off. If the wheel can be saved, great. If not, put the spare on (if it even comes with one LOL), and get another wheel. Stay gold.

I'm a retired machinist, and when we had to remove broken studs, bolts or pins I would use a smaller drill diameter that was about the same as the larger drill's web thickness to predrill. The larger drill needs a lot of pressure for the chisel edge of the bit to dig in.... but with a predrilled hole, the chisel edge doesn't have to work the metal out and will drill very easily, very little pressure.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise Sir. You have saved me tons of money by following your videos. God bless you. Take care and stay safe.

Ispent 3 days once....hffff

I'm a great believer in the drilling-out technique. On smaller screws, it's much easier to drill using an absurdly large bit to just lop off the entire head from the bolt or screw.

That's a pain in the butt job lol. I've found them like that once or twice while towing. Not all that common but it happens. Thanks Kenny as I never fixed one myself and would be stumped lol. Thanks and take care🙏

See I was going to suggest putting in a pilot hole but others have beat me to it. Great video! I couldn't think of a more annoying issue to pop up when rotating tires. I'll bet before you grabbed the camera there were some words used that couldn't be on here 😅 Nice job!! I bought a box of 1/8" cobalt bits and always run pilot holes. When you think you're deep enough take either that worn bit or a 1/2" rod and put it in the hole and break that nut off. A little extra leverage would make it a bit easier. Hopefully I never see anything like this but at least I'll know what to do. Thank you!!

Just had this. The rim had gotten so hot it burnt.my thumb. I assume thats why the lug seize to rim. But ingot a 6ft pipe fence post Broke a s9cket Got an impact socket Pulqling up from 3 ❌️ Pulling towards from 12 ✅️ Then i saw a guy smack one a few time with ded hamme

I would use the LUG RIPPER Specifically designed for stripped lug studs.

From the sound, that drill bit was dull early. Try more lube, and stop and sharpen the bit if dull.

#1. Protect the rim with some tape. Don't hack it up and damage it like you did. That is unecessary. #2. I would take all other lugs off and using a safe jack stand and jack, lower the car on that area so that the one problem stud is really tight. It will be since you will have about 700lbs. of pressure on it. 2,800lb. car/4 wheels. This is not advise. It was simply what "I" would do. Do not do this. Messing with jacks and wheels can kill or injure you severly.

I tried the same what u did nothing happen..what idid i melt the bolt stud with arc welding machine,,melt me 3stud spinning like that.

To Remove: 1st; Big Drills go slow, little drills go fast. If'n I was to drill it, I'd be doing the preverbal 1/8" starter bit first at 2,000rpm, then work my way up to finish w/ 1/2" drill bit at 300rpm drowning each step with lots of light oil. BUT, I spent 25yrs in a muffler joint, so I automatically think "Blue Wrench." Step 1: Find a piece of muffler pipe conduit or form some sheet metal into a tube, that fits over the nut to protect the wheel. Have H2O spray bottle to quench handy. Then "skin" the cap off the lug nut, quench. Then "skin" the actual lug nut off the stud -OR- burn the stud out of the nut like Ken did with the 1/2'' drill bit, but stop and quench to keep from burning the wheel paint. -OR- Use a fine bit in an air chisel to skin the cap off, then skin the nut off the stud. I've even used a stick welding rod at home befor I bought a set of torches, to melt the stud out of the nut. To Replace the stud: 1st grind the stud length way back. It doesn't need to stick out past the end of the nut by more than ONE THREAD. 2nd: Look for the best place to try and fit the new lug into place, then grind a minimal amount off the stud head, then a minimal amount off the hub or knuckle where the interference is. Then coat everything with BreakAway penetrating oil. Coat the hole, the spline and the threads. Then don't be shy, just blast the new stud in, and clean it up with a thread chaser, then draw the stud home with a big lug nut or pile of washers and another lug nut of correct thread. I use BreakAway cuz it has a very light vehicle in it such as methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, naphtha or acetone, that carries a heavier oil deep into crevasses but dries quickly leaving behind a heavy oil. PB Blast stinks like Diesel, I'm not getting paid like a Diesel mechanic, so I'll be damned if I'm going to smell like one. And WD just stinks, and conjures up bad memories of starting wet engines. P.S. I don't do Concours work. "Ben Tested Tough" ben/ michigan

I've got the same problem with a 2015 kia sorento. I worked on trying to drill through the lug and and stud. I put a standard length 3/4" drive 13/16" socket on the lug nut and clamped some curved jaws vice-grips on the socket to keep the lug nut from spinning. I got a cup of water to dip my bit in to help keep it cool and put oil on it every time before I'd start to drill. Drill for 10 seconds then cool and oil my bit. I started drilling with a 1/8" bit and only stepped up 1/16" every hole till I got the 1/2" hole drilled. The stud was extremely hard to drill through.