Wheel nut has broke in half

[Magpie179]

So as title mentions went to get 4 new tyres for my wife’s ds4 and on the front drivers side one of the bolts was really badly rusted and snapped as soon as he went to turn it!!!!

It basically sits flush into the hub now so at the moment it has 3 bolts in it and one broken one I was going to ring around tomorrow to get prices on getting it out.

father In law mentioned a tool that can screw into it and as you turn to take it out hopefully it takes what’s left of the bolt out or he did mention maybe cheaper to just get a used hub from another car any advice be great thanks

[Pica-Pica]

Magpie179 said:

So as title mentions went to get 4 new tyres for my wife s ds4 and on the front drivers side one of the bolts was really badly rusted and snapped as soon as he went to turn it!!!!

It basically sits flush into the hub now so at the moment it has 3 bolts in it and one broken one I was going to ring around tomorrow to get prices on getting it out.

father In law mentioned a tool that can screw into it and as you turn to take it out hopefully it takes what s left of the bolt out or he did mention maybe cheaper to just get a used hub from another car any advice be great thanks

You can get a set of 'easy-outs', basically a left hand tapered thread. You drill a hole in the centre of thee remaining wheel bolt, tighten the easy-out in (left-handed manner) and the bolt should undo. Like this (not a specific recommendation). I still have a set, but it's decades since I used it.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/metal-bolt-extractor-se...

[shtu]

Easy-outs like that often cause more problems than they solve,

The taper puts the highest "wedge" force right at the surface, the very point you don't want it.
They have a nasty habit of snapping flush with the surface, leaving a chunk of hardened steel there.

This style of set put less stress right at the surface, https://www.bahco.com/gb_en/stud-extractors-for-br...

There's other ways, welding, etc., I'd be tempted to get the drills out.

[Magpie179]

Yeah that’s what he was on about 1 garage has got back to me £35 to take it out think by the time I’ve paid for tool and time to do it is it easier to just pay the £35 lol

[littleredrooster]

I'll pretty much guarantee that if the bolt has sheared because it is seized in the hub, an easy-out extractor thing will just snap and cause many more problems than you already have.

That bolt would probably survive about 180 ft-lbs and an easy-out would snap before it got to 100, from personal experience.

[shtu]

Magpie179 said:

Yeah that s what he was on about 1 garage has got back to me £35 to take it out think by the time I ve paid for tool and time to do it is it easier to just pay the £35 lol

Yep, for £35 just pay the man.

[E-bmw]

While you may well just pay your £35 & get that bolt out consider this.

The likelihood is that what has caused it is over-tightening by a tyre chimp with a DUGGA-DUGGA on it.

So, the question you need the answer to is "did that tyre chimp ONLY do that bolt up in this manner?"

Can you guess the answer to that?

So, what you also need to do is to get a full set of wheel bolts & get the lot changed at the same time & make sure they torque them up correctly, otherwise the same will happen again.

You're welcome.

[catso]

littleredrooster said:

I'll pretty much guarantee that if the bolt has sheared because it is seized in the hub, an easy-out extractor thing will just snap and cause many more problems than you already have.

Agreed, and then you're left with a hardened steel stud rather than a 'soft' one.

If you have access to a welder, then place a nut over the top of the stud and fill the hole onto the stud with weld, leaving you a nut that you can get a socket onto, and the extreme blast of heat of the welder will help free it.

Worked for me recently removing broken studs from the gearbox/transfer box of my old Land Rover.

If not then the £35 sounds like a good deal and it may well be the method they will use anyway.

[njw1]

If the bolt has snapped because it's corroded and/or overtightened you may find that what's left can be tapped out with a hammer and punch now that it's no longer under tension.

If it's actually corroded into the hub I'd buy another hub/knuckle as swapping that out is quicker than drilling and re-tapping in my (limited!) experience. Actually, I'd just pay the man £35.

[Lincsls1]

A thousand million percent! Just pay the £35, pay £135! Just not worth the aggro.