Wheel bolt nightmare

[TheT6Kid]

When I bought my S60 last month, I didn't spot this problem lurking!
I had a good look at the car but failed to notice a locking wheel nut that was smashed to bits.
There was a tiny piece of the chrome head remaining.
I was at a friends garage and he said "you've got a wheel bolt missing" I only wish that had been the case.

This little 'problem' is defeating everything I can throw at it.
So far I've tried, a pneumatic finger sander to flatten the surface, then a centre punch and drilling- resulted in a tiny pimple after lots of effort..

Next step was to try and weld a nut to the flat suface, the weld just kept snapping...

I did a bit of research and seen a locking wheel nut removal tool, consisting of cutting blades and a impact driver, this thing got great write ups. Contacted an old school friend who works for a roadside assistance service, he had one as part of his tool kit...
Another hour spent today and still the wheel nut remnants are not giving up.

Unless anyone can suggest any other methods I think I am going to have to destroy the wheel to get the

We have talked about spark erosion bit I've yet to find anyone local with the equipment.

Help me! Any suggestions are more than welcome...

[fyldetowbars]

i had no locking wheel nut my local tyre dealer had some kind of impact drill driver thingy he got them of in no time

[p fandango]

i'm afraid i had the same bother, the dealer before had done the wheel nuts up so tight they wouldn't shift. Tried several wheel shops but ended up cutting the wheel off

[james]

a picture would help us more to see exacly whats what

[t5_monkey]

damn that's a tough one!

Hope you get it sorted.

Mad idea 1 - What about drilling into the remnants with a very fine drill head (2mm or something) repeatedly, weakning it to the point where brute force will break it off ?

[TheT6Kid]

[TheT6Kid]

The wheel is salvageable at the moment as there is no damage to the 'hole' the bolt collar is the bit thats chewed up. The damage to the bolt recess could be filled and smoothed prior to refurb.

[TheT6Kid]

damn that's a tough one!

Hope you get it sorted.

Mad idea 1 - What about drilling into the remnants with a very fine drill head (2mm or something) repeatedly, weakning it to the point where brute force will break it off ?

Already snapped a large number of drill bits. Anything too small in diameter snaps, anything too large won't bite in due to the hardness of the shank of the bolt.

Mad idea 2?

[TheT6Kid]

i'm afraid i had the same bother, the dealer before had done the wheel nuts up so tight they wouldn't shift. Tried several wheel shops but ended up cutting the wheel off

Its such a waste, for someone elses careless actions, more than likely too lazy to tighten by hand and just wind and wind with an impact gun!!

[ncarnall]

Try using a masonry drill bit as these have a carbide tip, it will need to be a good quality one. We use them at work to remove broken drill bits all the time. So may help!

Good luck

[t5_monkey]

idea 2 - melt the offending part with a blow torch so you can pull the wheel off.

will need to change the the hub bolt (or possibly full hub) but the wheel may well survive.

Idea 3 - buy another wheel then it doesn't matter how you get it off?!

[graemewelch]

start off with a 4mm drill bit, go nice and slow other wise you burn the drill out and harden the surface of the bolt. this will be the cause of the snaped drills. or if you have access the a stick welder weld on a m10 or 12 bolt and crack it off that way. the heat will also help. your not to far away so if you get stuck give me a shout im sure i could get them out for you

[TheT6Kid]

start off with a 4mm drill bit, go nice and slow other wise you burn the drill out and harden the surface of the bolt. this will be the cause of the snaped drills. or if you have access the a stick welder weld on a m10 or 12 bolt and crack it off that way. the heat will also help. your not to far away so if you get stuck give me a shout im sure i could get them out for you

Already tried welding a nut on, but it just broke the weld. Thanks for offer, its getting personal now, its just a piece of metal it will not beat me! LOL

[claymore]

I'm with Pedro on this one, I did everything you did on a Peugeot 206, in the end I had to cut the wheel off

[TheT6Kid]

Two hours in and a handful of drill bits, but we have had a break through.
This picture doesn't really give an accurate perception of how deep i've managed to drill, but looking at one of the other bolts, i should be in line with the base of the collar and i'm probably about 10-11 mm in diameter. I need a slightly larger diameter drill bit and a fresh pair of arms in the morning.
However i feel like i'm making progress, finally!

[t5_monkey]

keep at it mate you can win!!

[Tomcat]

Well done that man...Don't let it beat you.

[graemewelch]

Already tried welding a nut on, but it just broke the weld. Thanks for offer, its getting personal now, its just a piece of metal it will not beat me! LOL

stick weld or tig it is the key. gets hot enough to penertrate the material that way.mig tends to be a bit on the colld side unless have a powerfull 3 phase set. looks like yr getting there though.

[TheT6Kid]

Can I be smug????? In the end the best tool I had was determination!!

[p fandango]

well done, i bet the rest of the thread came out of the hub easily with pliers once you'd got the wheel off