Thread stripped on wheel lug

[PranK]

Ola SAU'ers.

I had the rear wheels off my car yesterday and one of the lugs just did not want to come off. I eventually forced it off and it looks like maybe it was cross threaded but then somebody used a gun to tighten it (for once it wasnt me who broke something). Maybe the alignment joint.

Anyhoo, the lug has no thread at all for the bottom 1" so I'm hoping the damage was done to this and not the hub itself. I dont want to just start threading something in there willy nilly so thought I'd check with you guys.

Maybe this is a "not me" fix in which case I can take it down the road.

How long can I drive on 4 lugs? 🤔

C

[joshuaho96]

6 minutes ago, PranK said:

Ola SAU'ers.

I had the rear wheels off my car yesterday and one of the lugs just did not want to come off. I eventually forced it off and it looks like maybe it was cross threaded but then somebody used a gun to tighten it (for once it wasnt me who broke something). Maybe the alignment joint.

Anyhoo, the lug has no thread at all for the bottom 1" so I'm hoping the damage was done to this and not the hub itself. I dont want to just start threading something in there willy nilly so thought I'd check with you guys.

Maybe this is a "not me" fix in which case I can take it down the road.

How long can I drive on 4 lugs? 🤔

C

I've driven a week on 4 lugs no problem. Probably don't push your luck much longer than that.

[GTSBoy]

Yeah, driving on 4 is why you have 5.

This is a poxy Eruo, no? Female thread is in the hub? Did you try one of the other bolts in there to see how it feels?

[PranK]

1 minute ago, GTSBoy said:

Yeah, driving on 4 is why you have 5.

This is a poxy Eruo, no? Female thread is in the hub? Did you try one of the other bolts in there to see how it feels?

I gave a very half arsed (maybe even quarter arsed) attempt at putting another bolt in but I was a bit concerned about doing more damage.

That said, surely the hub steel is stronger than the bolts?

[PranK]

And yeah, female is in the hub. All other corners have had stud conversions but I needed to remove that conversion on this corner when I did the wheel bearing a few months back. Haven't put the studs back in since.

[PranK]

Just tried a bolt and the tip of the bolt came out smooth as a baby's bum. 

 

[GTSBoy]

It's.......helicoil time!

[The Bogan]

Try chasing with a tap if you have one, the female thread may just be full of swarf left from the munted bolt

[GTSBoy]

He's gunna have to drive on 4 studs down to Total Tools to buy the tap and handle!

[GeeDog]

If you don't want a half-assed fix (and I think you don't), and don't have the correct tap, just get a "thread doctor" to come & fix it. They do this for a living, and will either just re-tap it or put in a helicoil. Might cost $100 - $150.

On the other hand, if you are just driving on the street, I suspect it would run forever on 4 studs. If you are still doing track days it's a different story.

[PranK]

Yeah, I'm not comfortable with even the slightest chance something could go further wrong so I want it fixed ASAP. I went down to my tyre joint and i'm booked in for an alignment on Monday. They said they'd get their thread guy to come out and try and fix for me.

If I did this myself with a tap I don't think I'd ever listen to music in the car again, I'd be listening for wheel noises.

Appreciate the help guys.

[Duncan]

Don't worry about missing wheel nuts/bolts until the 3rd one fails. 4 will be fine indefinitely unless you are heading to the track.

But if I can just add, I know brand tradition is important, and I kind of get it with an over the top modernisation of a kidney shaped grille from the 70s....but using a wheel bolt is an arsehole of a way to locate and affix a wheel compared to a stud and nut

[PranK]

16 hours ago, Duncan said:

But if I can just add, I know brand tradition is important, and I kind of get it with an over the top modernisation of a kidney shaped grille from the 70s....but using a wheel bolt is an arsehole of a way to locate and affix a wheel compared to a stud and nut

You have my 100% support here mate. Changing wheels sucks balls. That's why I did the stud conversion.

Bec's X5 has 20x12's on it. You should try holding those in place on a spinning front hub while you try to locate the hole for the fricken bolt. (Nobody raise the unnecessary size of those wheels please 😉 )

[PranK]

And the reason there's no studs in that hub now is because i needed to take them out to get the hub out of the wheel bearing when I replaced it. Also you can't adjust the handbrake with studs in

 

[Duncan]

Time to upgrade from BMW to Skylines mate. If you are super rich and find some sucker to buy the BMW, you could even afford an RB series one

[tridentt150v]

prob only an '89 32 though!!!

[PranK]

Can't even afford an R31 Ti auto.