I had new tires put on my daughters W210 for Christmas and Firestone decided to impact them on to over 300 ft/lBs. Now the car is ready for brakes and 4 out of 5 lug bolts broke off. These are the long bolts with the smooth shaft between the threads and the head.
I've been trying to drill them out but keep breaking bits. I bought a bolt removal socket but that just broke off the smooth part of the first bolt because of so much torque from the animals and their impact gun.
I'm at the point of cutting the wheels in pieces to remove them and hopefully not ruin the new tires.
Anyone have any last ideas? Are the rims aluminum and can they be cut pretty easily? What material are the lug bolts and has anyone ever had success in drilling out 8 of them without damaging the wheels or the hub?
Ah the dreaded double flange lugs. I went through this experience myself with my W126. I ended up taking my car to a mechanic to have the lugs drilled out and he kept breaking bits, so he got creative and went to the hardware store and bought a bunch of metal hole saws that are just wide enough to slip over the web (part between the head flange and ball seat flange of the bolt) and drilled until the ball stud snapped away from the rest of the lug. I'm not sure how many he used, but it was more than one. The best part was that doing so saved my alloy wheels.
I have heard of others torching wheels to bits or cutting the wheels apart, and that seems excessive to just do a brake job. Make sure you get 20 new lug bolts (that don't have the double flange feature), and don't let goobers touch your car ever again (every time a goober touches your car, you pay more than you should in maintenance and repairs).
Whatever you end up doing, be sure to use plenty of lube and go slow, or you will be breaking bits, saws, etc. If you get irritated, go have a beer or walk into the woods and throw sticks, stop for the day after 3 beers or 4 outings into the woods.
Wanted to thank you for your suggestion. It worked like a charm, once I picked up some metal cutting hole saws. I used a lot of cutting oil to keep the teeth cool and I drilled out 8 lugs without ever touching the wheels!
I did use 4 saws so far and still have 2 bolts on the back wheels that I need to get off, but the front brakes are done, the wheels are back on and the car is back on the road. Thanks to you!
Wanted to thank you for your suggestion. It worked like a charm, once I picked up some metal cutting hole saws. I used a lot of cutting oil to keep the teeth cool and I drilled out 8 lugs without ever touching the wheels!
I did use 4 saws so far and still have 2 bolts on the back wheels that I need to get off, but the front brakes are done, the wheels are back on and the car is back on the road. Thanks to you!
I'm glad to hear that everything worked out alright for you. No thanks needed, just trying to do my part to keep these fine cars on the road.
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