Locking wheel nut *@?/.<d

[JPQuattro]

I tried to remove my rear nearside wheel at the weekend. The locking wheel nut is one of the multi splined jobbies. I have the key. Some over zealous muppet has at some point prior to my ownership overtightened the bolt with an air wrench I guess.

I used a torque wrench to try and shift it but couldnt move it. However the tool has stripped the splines out so now i cant get the wheel off..

Have tried the smaller socket method without success.

Any ideas please - Audi want £105 +vat to release it and even then thats if it works by their methods...

Only idea I can think of is to have a socket or nut welded onto the bolt, which of course is not ideal.... Help please!

[mcgowan.b]

Hmmmm, Thats got to be a nasty B%!ch. I've had truly horiffic dealings with stubborn bolts that just won't give.

If its the same as my car, as in the studs thread into the hub, and not the ones where bolts are sticking out of the hub and you just screw nuts on (Excellent discription there), my advise would be as follows.

There should be a depression in the middle of the bolt. I would drill a hole into it, and use a heavy duty easy out to prize the fella out. (I mean heavy heavy duty, as these have broken on me in the past - Yuck)
That said, I would use this method after some knuckle scraping and vast amounts of frustration, and usually I would have lost my temper, and felt like exacting revenge on the car.

It depends really as you do run the risk of making a complete balls of it Leaving you in the position of going to a *********** then with your tail between your legs after it all goes pete tong.

Someone else here should have a better suggestion though

[lostplanet]

you could try the easy out method but put plenty of good heat into the bolt if possible before you put the easy-put in and try to undo. Heat normally releases the majority of tough bolts.

The other method is to Migweld on a short bolt and undo it as normal, the welding process will heat and release the thread and then should come un-done no problem with a large ratchet and socket. This is hoping that some monkey hasn't cross threaded the bolt in question.


To not have this happen again take the time to grease all the wheel bolts/nuts with copper slip (on the thread and the bolts shoulder where it fits in the wheel), and tighten sensibly remember the locking wheels nut bolts don't need as much tightening as normal bolts. shame the monkey at garages don't think when they wind the bolts up with an air gun.

[AutoTDI]

Can somebody please enlighten me with regard to air wrenches? Can they be set for a specified torque, or do they just deliver the maximum at all times? What is this maximum value? I've also had problems with over-torqued nuts, but thankfully not the locking variety. Actually, if they're going to be over tightened, they hardly need to be locking anyway. I've even experienced this problem on brand new cars, delivered straight from the dealer. I wondered whether this was the dealer's own (economy) ant-theft device! My solution was to slip a 6-foot length of steel pipe over the wheel wrench and then stand on the end. However, I realise that this won't work in your case.

[lostplanet]

It can be more dangerous to have an over tightened wheel bolt/nut as theres a chance that the thread could snap under load. If you look in any haynes manual you'll see loads of different torque settings for various bolt sizes.

In an ideal world your friendly mechanic/Tyre fitter would go round with a torque wrench set to the manufacturers spec after he has finished his work. but in reality they just want the car off the ramp so judge the torque/tightness with an air gun.

The airguns have a hammer action and can be adjusted to wind the wheel nut up fast or slow, if you held an air gun on a bolt and just keep winding away it will snap the bolt or ring out the thread quite easily.

Most peole who use a gun everyday know that a couple of blips after the initial wind up is good enough to suffice, but some don't. You will usually only find this out when you are stuck on the side of a motorway in the freezing wind and rain trying to change a puncture whether you wheel nuts are over tightend or not.

Any decent mechanic/tyrefitter should have a book full of settings, a good torque wrench and some copper slip and be happy to check them for you for some tea/biscuit money.

as per my manual Audi A4 1995 to 2000 roadwheelbolts 120 NM or 89 ft/lb and use common sense with the locking wheel nuts.

[paul20v]

It can be more dangerous to have an over tightened wheel bolt/nut as theres a chance that the thread could snap under load. If you look in any haynes manual you'll see loads of different torque settings for various bolt sizes.

In an ideal world your friendly mechanic would go round with a torque wrench set to the manufacturers spec after he has finished his work. but in reality they just want the car off the ramp so judge the torque/tightness with an air gun.

The airguns have a hammer action and can be adjusted to wind the wheel nut up fast or slow, if you held an air gun on a bolt and just keep winding away it will snap the bolt or ring out the thread quite easily.

Most peole who use a gun everyday know that a couple of blips after the initial wind up is good enough to suffice, but some don't. You will usually only find this out when you are stuck on the side of a motorway in the freezing wind and rain trying to change a puncture whether you wheel nuts are over tightend or not.

Any decent mechanic should have a book full of settings, a good torque wrench and some copper slip and be happy to check them for you for some tea/biscuit money.

as per my manual Audi A4 1995 to 2000 roadwheelbolts 120 NM or 89 ft/lb and use common sense with the locking wheel nuts.

not all mechanics are idiots and to clarify your friendly tyre fitters are as much to blame if not more thats after they have jacked your car up in the wrong place and squashed your sill or dented the floor pan and thats if your lucky

[JPQuattro]

I finally sorted it today - tried at a garage but they too busy! So I went to Hellfrauds and bought one of those Laser whell bolt removal kits (screws on left hand threaded and extracts bolt at same time - lots of torque needed!)

Anyway it worked , cost tenner!

Happy now because have a standard bolt in its place..

oh and finally managed to fit my towbar...rear bumper was kicking up a fight though..!

[littlejim]

I had to do all 4 wheels on mine just after I bought it.
I welded a 24mm bolt to end of the locking wheel bolt and then used a large air gun to undo them.