Lug Stud Stuck/Spinning

[zrk]

General mechanic - said they knew what they were doing. High regards in a nice Chicago neighborhood. Great reviews from friends and neighbors. I figured -- why not throw the local guys a few bucks and I don't have to pull the wheels off. Saves me an hour, drives local business. Mistake.

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[Ground Beef]

Sigh - yeah.

Shit Shop over-torqued ALL of the lug bolts, by a lot.

Got it fixed. Replaced all of the hubs. Cost them $3,800 out of pocket to fix at a better shop. The good shop had to drill out a bunch of the lug studs, replace the hubs and did a stud conversion. Shitty/bad shop wrote a check. Car was out of commission for two weeks.

So, this happened simply because the bolts were over torqued? I'm trying to think of the physics of how this can happen...sucks man. PM me the 'bad' shop, so I can avoid that one please.

 

[zrk]

Yup. Over torqued did all the damage.

 

[underdonk]

Yup. Over torqued did all the damage.

I cannot imagine torqueing lug nuts enough to strip multiple out. Must have been an impact gun at maximum setting. I feel like the dang thing would pull me off of my feet and spin me around like a cartoon character before it did that kind of damage. They must have had a grizzly bear working on your car! Sheesh! Glad you got it sorted and the other (bad) shop did the right thing without much convincing.

 

[zrk]

I cannot imagine torqueing lug nuts enough to strip multiple out. Must have been an impact gun at maximum setting. I feel like the dang thing would pull me off of my feet and spin me around like a cartoon character before it did that kind of damage. They must have had a grizzly bear working on your car! Sheesh! Glad you got it sorted and the other (bad) shop did the right thing without much convincing.

I took a couple of phone calls and a pretty grumpy visit by me to convince them they did $3,800 of damage, but they did eventually do the right thing. It certainly wasn't a cakewalk, but it wasn't pulling teeth either. I'm very happy it's behind me.

 

[Axix23]

Here's a video of them trying to be gentle removing some of the bolts that were over-torqued but didn't stretch.

this video is cringe worthy. I was worried about your rear qtr panel getting hit with the long tq stick. I would of went the other way. It’s always easier to push down then go up for me.

 

[jorligan]

Not sure how they got it so tight. Even an impact wrench can't get it that tight, I bet they used the wrench from the beginning to start the bolts and crossthreaded it immediately

 

[ericchen_ec]

Didn’t want to create a new post.

something similar happen to me, previous owner had a stud conversion kit, 2 of them came off by itself, I tried to install new ones but they don’t even reach the proper torque setting before they come loose. Same with lug bolt, won’t even bottom out, doesn’t even hit 30lb ft before it starts free spinning.

Looking for the cheapest fix? Is Helicoil a good suggestion, I’m not sure if it’s applicable on a wheel hub.. rethreading maybe? Trying not to buy a whole replacement hub

 

[Traxion]

Looking for the cheapest fix? Is Helicoil a good suggestion, I’m not sure if it’s applicable on a wheel hub.. rethreading maybe? Trying not to buy a whole replacement hub

Not worth your life to run a helicoil IMO. I wouldn't want to put 95+ ft/lbs on a helicoil and loosen/tighten on it repeatedly. Get new hubs.

 

[nibble]

Didn’t want to create a new post.

something similar happen to me, previous owner had a stud conversion kit, 2 of them came off by itself, I tried to install new ones but they don’t even reach the proper torque setting before they come loose. Same with lug bolt, won’t even bottom out, doesn’t even hit 30lb ft before it starts free spinning.

Looking for the cheapest fix? Is Helicoil a good suggestion, I’m not sure if it’s applicable on a wheel hub.. rethreading maybe? Trying not to buy a whole replacement hub

Never used helicoil so I cannot say how much torque it can handle but I assume it is not nearly as much as OEM. Also, hub will be heated and cooled as you drive. I wouldn't trust it either.

my stud conversion kit failed recently... this one one took 1 year before it gave.. - the other took 2 years. now I switched over to longer lug bolts instead of stud conversion kit since I use 5mm spacer. I also heard it should be replaced periodically. One tip, never torque the wheel when it's hot.

 

[nibble]

BTW, That video is insane..

 

[ericchen_ec]

Never used helicoil so I cannot say how much torque it can handle but I assume it is not nearly as much as OEM. Also, hub will be heated and cooled as you drive. I wouldn't trust it either.

my stud conversion kit failed recently... this one one took 1 year before it gave.. - the other took 2 years. now I switched over to longer lug bolts instead of stud conversion kit since I use 5mm spacer. I also heard it should be replaced periodically. One tip, never torque the wheel when it's hot.

New wheel hubs only like $200, won’t break the bank I suppose. I do have a set of wheel studs, and I literally received my project kicks lug nuts not too long ago, they’re pricey. But might just play it safe on the next ones and go back to the lug bolts. We’ll see though, I feel as if the previous owner overtorqued the stud conversion hella, couldn’t get it out with the double nut method at all, have just been letting them come loose by itself in fear of damaging the threads

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