HELP! Wheel stud sheared.

[paddy69]

Hi!
Been doing my timing belt on the Berlingo van. It seems to have all gone OK! Van running again, just a matter of time will tell.
Big problem I have now, though, is a wheel stud sheared off. I had new tyres put on a couple of months ago and the tyre people must have torqued these things up like nobodies business. Consequently one has sheared off when trying the get the wheel off.
Any tips/tricks/hints what the best way is to sort this? Can the old stud be got out on the vehicle or does the hub have to come off??

Cheers!

Phil

[geoff]

Do you mean one of the bolts holding the wheel on ? No studs on my van.

If the head has sheared off leaving the threaded portion in the hub then it didn't ought to be that tight and may come out with a pliers if there is anything protruding, otherwise you could try using an easy out stud extractor. Either way it should be easily done on the vehicle with just the road wheel removed.

FYI the torque specified for roadwheel bolts is 90 Nm

[Gadgetman]

That happened on my previous Berlingo, too...

Actually, it happened when a mechanic was removing the wheel to do a bit of brake work on it.
The stud broke flush with the hub.

These bolts are pretty solid, so drilling in it to use a bolt extractor is a bit of a pita.
(And you risk breaking the extractor, of course)

What the mechanic did was that he used a small cutting disc to cut a groove in the bolt(and incidentally into the hub, also), then he heated the hub with a torch, and finally used an impact screwdriver.
Job done in a couple of minutes.
He'd done that a few times before, he told me.

The small cut in the hub doesn't matter as long as you don't cut more than 2 or 3mm, and use a small cutting disc, so that less of the area is cut into.

Happens more often on cars where the owner uses a tire service to swap tires.
(Summer/winter tires... )
A lot of people here, especially in cities, don't have room to store the set they don't use, and instead pay for a 'tire hotel' service. And as everyone change over at the same day(usually the first day of snowfall... Yes, that means they drive on summer tires on slippery roads to get to the service... ) there's often a bit of chaos, so mechanics often forgets to put any grease or paste on the bolts...
And using the correct torque?
No...

They use the same air-tool to both remove and tighten bolts, and adjusting the power is usually done with a little knob that quickly fails, so it's left in the max power setting.

[dumdum]

Gadgetman do bolts come with any grease from the factory? Genuine question, the answer is no, and there may be a reason for this that manufacturers who spend millions on r+d only know

The fact is if you use grease you have to do a bolt up to a different torque to get the same resistance to movement, look up greased and ungreased engineering charts for bolts, they are 20nm different on an m12 bolt from memory.... Also some car makers specify not to use grease on wheel bolts, specifically ford for one with washered wheel nuts... Food for thought...

As for the broken wheel bolt as long as an incorrect length bolt hasn't been used normally they will come out very easily, if not the slice and impact driver works or a stud extractor is also good

[Solent]

A very light smear of Copperease would be better then grease. Torque as per recommendations, I've never had a wheel nut/bolt come loose or sieze or break in many years of doing this to lots of different vehicles.

After a tyre outfit or garage have been let loose on them, I always slacken off and re-torque properly, I am always amazed how over tight they leave them.

[dumdum]

A very light smear of Copperease would be better then grease. Torque as per recommendations, I've never had a wheel nut/bolt come loose or sieze or break in many years of doing this to lots of different vehicles.

After a tyre outfit or garage have been let loose on them, I always slacken off and re-torque properly, I am always amazed how over tight they leave them.

Copper ease would be the grease in question, its just fine copper particles in a grease, and I agree that most are ok (as I said ford specifically say don't use grease or any lube on nuts with washers), I have however come across wheels that come undone with copper grease, my 19" on my 406 coupe did frequently until I did them up dry, strange but true...

---

And I do use a torque wrench on all wheels, finger tight then 110nm on pugs, 150 on middle sized vans and 200 on boxer/transit sized, is normally good as a rule of thumb, altho some like megane 225 require 150nm due to high loads...

[unclealec]

HELP mark II!!
2013 Partner Tepee, alloys, tried to take front nearside wheeloff todsy and

DISASTER!!!

The locking nut key turned with much resistance then freed off. Except it didn't. Thebolt has sheared.

In the first photo, you can see, alongside an ordinary non-locking bolt, the locking key with the snapped-off head of the locking bolt.
This leaves (as you may just see inside the recess of the wheel in my second photo) an unthreaded circular cross-section "stud" inaccessible because of the wheel recess.
I can see the flange that bears on the wheel.
You know what is coming next - how do I remove this?
I presume that drilling out is the best option, butifanyone has a better suggestion I would like to hear it.

Another question - can anyone sell me a couple of spare non-locking bolts of the correct profile?

[oilyrag]

The combination of heat and something to twist the remains usually works. The threaded remains may not be that tight in the hub itself and a sharp punch might, if you are vey lucky, allow you to tap it round.  
However a thick washer welded to the stump followed by a large diameter nut welded to the washer will heat the thing up and as soon as the welding is done apply a spanner.  
Even if you have to limp down to your local garage it's a good way to get if out.

[unclealec]

Thanks for the suggestions oilyrag, but the remains of the bolt are well recessed into the receptor hole in the wheel, and I can't see how I could weld a nut on. 
Also, unless I machine up a thin-wall nut, there wouldn't be any clearance for a socket.

I'm talking a bolt  outer end about 1" recessed into the wheel hole.

I will try with an assortment of nuts and see if one would be a good fit onto the stub with enough protrusion to weld.

[oilyrag]

Ah, I mistakenly thought that you could get the wheel off for access to the remains but clearly not. So the threaded stump has a flange that is still gripping the wheel ?
Tightening the other nuts may take some of the load off of the one in question - it looks a tricky job to get down the hole - maybe try welding a bolt, threaded end in, to the remains and then use the bolt head to try to wind it out.
Alternatively weld a large nut through its centre to the stump and fill the hole with weld, followed by a couple more nuts until you have enough hex sticking out to get a spanner on. Pack kitchen foil round the nut to keep it central
Patience of s saint required.