Went to rotate the tires, and the rear driver side wire wheel won't come off. The rearend is out of a 78 Mustang II with four lug True Spoke wire wheels. The last lug nut (mag wheel type with 1" shank) spins in place. I'm guessing the knurled/splined end of the wheel stud is rounded out. Tried an air ratchet, and tire iron and the lug nut and stud spin in place. Before I start drilling and using an air chisel, I 'm hoping someone will help get me out of this pickel. Four lug wire wheels are as rare as hen's teeth so I'd like to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. Is there a way to use freon to break the mag lug nut? I do have a oxy/acetylene torch, cut off wheel, and a BFH. Is it possible to make an access hole in the backing plate and try something there?
Just an idea.. Try this.. It's worked for me on fasterns that were stuck before.. Jack up the axle in the air, rotate the wheel so the affected lug is down at 6:00, sit on your *** and pull on the top of the tire towards yourself, have a buddy hit the air gun while you hold pressure on the tire.. Just a thought
Can you pull the axle and brake drum with the rim attached. If you can you should be able to get to the stud from the back side. Cut it off or tack it to the axle and then remove the lug nut.
If you can't get it out any other way, you can remove the heads of the 4 bolts that hold the axle & backing plate in place & slide the whole ***y. [axle-backing plate &brakes] out of the housing. I know, PITA , but might be your only option ! dave
GNU- neighbor came over and we tried what you suggested. Didn't work. Joe- It is impossible to pull the axle and brake drums with the rim attached. Dave- The Ford 8" has 4-link rear susp that limits access to the backing plate bolt heads. Thanks for the ideas so far. I may be forced to sacrifice the wheel and cut several of the spokes away so a cut off wheel can cut through the mag wheel type lug nut and wheel stud. If that doesn't work, then maybe torch time. Have given thought to drilling holes in the mag lug nut and splitting it with an air chisel.
Can you get an open end wrench over the nut and drill into the end of the stud? Maybe you'll catch a break and catch the stud while drilling and turn it out of the nut.
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Looks to be plenty of room to blow off those rectanglar headed axle retainer bolt heads. Then disconnect the brake line and pull wheel-drum and axle and maybe backing too. Torch time !!
I'd try post #8 first and if not successful for some reason....I agree with post #10 as to being plenty of room to cutoff the bolt heads.... Ray
Can you split the head (chisel) and rotate it to get it all the way across split open and spread it till the head breaks off and with out head wheel should slide off .I dont know if that will work but if the rims are rare, the work on the lug nut.........YG
Definitely. Try drilling straight into the lugnut (you can hold it from spinning with a friend on a wrench. If that doesn't work, cut the heads off the backingplate on the backside. You have plenty of room back there (if you don't think so you aren't really trying). If the axle needs to come out, does this rearend have a C-clip in the center?
If you have a good 1/4 inch wide chisel that is sharp, just take a little out of the lugnut at a time like cutting a keyway until you get to the stud then turn your chisel sideways and spread it enough to tap your stud through. Just work at it slow so you don't wreck your wheel and keep your chisel sharp.
There is no C clip in the for d 8 inch, they are the same as the ford nines. You should be able to acess the retaining bolts for the axle from behind the rim and pull the entire axle out enough to weld the stud in place so you can undo the lug. Might want to split the chrome cover off the lug nut and spray some penertant on the stud to. I hear ya on the rare bit, decent 4 lug rims are really hard to find....
I've had this happen on an OT car. Figure the stud is shot anyways. So I just drilled the lug nut off. Depending on the wheel design you might want to surround the area around the lug nut with a few layers of blue tape to protect it. Probably take 20-30 minutes to drill the lug off. If you're careful you won't damage the wheel.
Thank you for all the suggestions. I will go with the popular opinion to drill it off as first suggested in Post #8. Could run into a snag tho. The wheel stud is vey long. The stud goes thru a 1/2" spacer and sticks out 3/8" from the wheel. So the stud travels thru a 1/8" washer into the lug nut acorn which has a hex crown 3/4" long. The stud has a quick start dog end for easier starting of the lug nut, and the drill bit will have to hit it dead center. Johnboy13 and Alchemy- Yes an open end and/or a box end wrench will fit over the lug nut to keep it from spinning. May the FORCE be with me.
DJLATIN- Did you start with a 1/16" drill bit and work your way up to a 9/16" bit in 1/16" increments? What is your technique/process? Thanks
Take your time to find the center of the lug and center punch it. Start out with a small drill bit and keep moving up in size. You only have to drill deep enuf to remove the head of the lug and the wheel should slide over the shank of the lug nut. I do this all the time with motorcycle screws that a previous owner stripped. They are smaller but it should work the same. Take your time and keep the drill bit lubricated. Good Luck.
Remember, the most important thing is to drill the pilot hole as straight as possible, as this is the guide for the larger drills.
Is there any gap at all between the wheel and hub surface that it sits against? If so (even 1/8") stick a metal cutting blade from a sawzall between the wheel and hub/drum and hold it tight against the stud while you spin the lugnut with the impact gun. This takes a little time but it will cut the stud right in half and you can get the wheel off. You will have to move the saw blade a couple times probably as it will wear the teeth off of it in the spot thats doing the cutting. This has been sucessful for me a couple of times in the past. GOOD LUCK!
Excellent point made here!! You only have to go as deep as the hex head of the lug nut to get the wheel off. You will have to use a drill of the same or slightly larger than the shank, but once that is accomplished the rest is easy....... Ray
how about a holesaw same size or slightly smaller than the shank of the nut. Center punch the lug, drill a pilot hole and use plenty of cutting oil
Remove the other lugs. Turn the bad one to 12 o clock. Put the other tire in a wheel tray. Push the car away and break the lug off.
Here's an idea. The stud is hardened steel, but the lug nut probably soft steel. All you have to do is cut off the hex crown of the nut. I would only drill so far through the lug nut to expose the stud, then take a sharp chisel and split the lug nut open lengthwise on both sides. I'd also try to get at it with a Dremel and a small cut-off wheel. OOPs, nevermind. On a second look at your photo, I see the shank of the lugnut is what actually holds the wheel on so you gotta get that, too.
I would p*** on the splitting the lug because once you beat the **** out of it and it doesn't come off you have a bigger mess to work with. Take it from someone that has learned the hard way!
Could you possibly put the nut at the 6 o"clock position, have the rear end a ways off the ground, put a deep impact socket on the nut and slip a piece of heavy wall snug fitting pipe on the socket and snap the stud by prying down? Just wondering. I have knocked a lot of studs off with a BFH on steel wheels before. Lippy
done this before a dremel with flexible shaft using the good reinforced cut off wheels. i do this all the time to cut bearing races out and they are hardened. well worth the money where space is at a minumum and you don't want to screw up the area around where your working. might take some time but it will work.
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