Not sure where this should go but I need some advice. The poor rusty heep I've been working on has finally growled to life. WOOT! But its first test drive told me the brakes need a major looking at. They are dragging badly and probably haven't been looked at in a long while. I went to pull the front tire and only after lots of work did I manage to get 4 of the 5 lug nuts off. Unfortunately the last one decided it didn't want to play nice and the socket spun on it. Its now to round to get anything on it and its recessed into the wheel. So does anyone have any ideas or suggestions as to how to get this off? I had been soaking all the wheels everyday for over a week kinda expecting issues but this...ACK! Not really sure what the fix is for this. Air hammer/cold chisel? Drill out the stud? Try and pull the entire thing and grind the stud from the back??

 

Put some heat on it

 

Have you tried hammering a smaller socket onto it? you might lose a socket but im sure your not working with expensive Snapon and Mac sockets lol.
also posting a picture of it will help

 

Normally I'd agree but I think this one is to far gone for that to help. I was on the impact gun pretty good and didn't let off the trigger fast enough before it spun on me. There isn't enough shoulder left on the lug for anything to grab. I may try heat and then driving an under sized socket on it but it doesn't look promising. Thanks for the input... any other ideas if that doesn't work?

 

Guess we were typing at the same time...haha! The shop was closing before I could really get to scratch my head and get after it. Most of my tools are actually good stuff. My impact stuff however is crap from harbor freight (someone stole my Mac set). The wheels are the ones that look like daisy's to me? I'll see if they show in the pic. Of the lugs, only one still had that crap fake chrome cover and surprisingly it was one of the ones that came off?? These are the little, open faced lugs where you can see the stud. Not much of a description... sorry.

 

You could try JB Welding a socket onto it. That probably won't be strong enough, but if it works, hey, great!

If not, usually the best bet is to weld another bolt on or something that you can wrench off. The heat from welding will also free up the lug nut to spin a bit easier.

 

I can't work on it tomorrow (shops closed) but I'll try several things. I just don't think I can get the welder to burn one nut/lug to the stripped one without welding it onto the stud to? And due to the shroud formed by the wheel there isn't a lot of room to get much of a socket on there and I doubt a thin wall one would last to me going all gorilla on it? Already bent the 1/2" drive breaker bar. Do you think drilling the center out of the stud would relieve some pressure? It may be wishful thinking but it seems like having the stud brake would be preferred to the way it is now.?.

 

my key stripped on my lug nut locks. i bought 4 21mm sockets and hammered them over all four and boom they came off. not sure what size socket you would need but it works everytime for me. i would heat it also.

 

never seen what heat does on a rim with air in the tire i see...

 

15 seconds of heat from a pencil torch on a lug nut followed by a quick strike of a hammer isnt going to make any tire explode.

welding a rim is a different matter

 

But it may ruin the patina of my hy-dollar blingy wheels!?! JK.
I think I will start with the smaller socket and larger hammer idea. Followed by drilling out the center of the stud and once its off I'll fight getting a new one to replace it. Not many parts stores speak English around here (Germany).

 

X2

 

if your are proficient with an air hammer and small chisel setup at an angle to turn would be my choice. I have used on much smaller bolts (the turbo manifold bolts 6.4l ford diesel) a few hits check for turning over and over. it has saved me plenty of hours just be patient. Good luck wish I could help you more.

 

Thanks Steve... Advice IS help! I'm not even sure if the shop here has an air chisel... let alone one that works! I've been in the Army a good long while and this place has one of the worst run, poorly maintained do it yourself auto skills shops I've ever seen. Mostly I try and bring/use my own tools but some stuff is just to obscure... Hmm... Now that I think about it, I wonder if I DID bring my air chisel... *scratches head* Gotta look tomorrow

 

Just drill it out as long as you are center you'll be fine. That's the easiest way to get them off. At about 1/2 you can wiggle/pry the tire off .