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My old man has a Renault Megane 1.4 2003 model. He was complaining that his right front wheel became loose several times, and when tightening the bolts didn’t work he replaced them, but he got the wrong ones, because it still became loose. Then he got the right ones from his dealer, and this time it stayed on.
However, now the right side front spring has snapped in two, so I decided to replace it for him. However, the Wheel bolts was like welded on! I had to use exessive force to get them off. And the last one actually snapped right of when I tried to brake it loose.
The bolt is stuck inside the threads in the hub assembly. I Tried to get it out using easy outs and a drill. But it wouldn’t move at all.. My drill bits gave out one by one. eventeually there was little left of the bolt. I had hoped I could just get out the metal between the threads, but it seems pritty stuck in there. I even tried heating it up with my propane torch, but still no Luck.
What’s my options? I googled it and it seems the threads are m12x1.5. I tried with my thread tap on the other threads, it would just go in slightly then stop..Are all the threads shoot from vibrations/wrong bolts or whatever? The remaining Wheel bolts won’t og in easy in any of the remaining threads, they really need to be forced in order to move in at all.
Can the hub somehow be saved or do I need a new one? A new one is fairly expensive. The hub assembly plus new wheel bearing cost about 660 dollars here in Norway.. 🙁
I had this Idea of drilling the remaining holes and hammer in some studs instead from the back side and use wheel nuts to tighten down the wheels instead of the original bolts. But the dealer said they didn’t reccomend that because it would not be an aproved repair…?
I need some advice here! :huh:
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I would go find an old hub at a junkyard, much cheaper that way than buying a new one.
Also you don’t need the whole hub, which includes the wheel bearing and mount, you just need the outermost twirling part. That should be considerably cheaper as the bearing is the most expensive part.
edit: Dang, looks like it ended, I’ll see if I can find another one. Had to replace one years ago here at the shop, it was a pain to find one.
I don’t think a hub on ebay is going to work out. Shipping alone will kill you. A local junkyard might be a cheaper and faster choice.
[quote=”grg88″ post=75298]I don’t think a hub on ebay is going to work out. Shipping alone will kill you. A local junkyard might be a cheaper and faster choice.[/quote]
I agree, but does depend on where the OP is located.
I tried car-part.com and none of the salvage yards on that network have one listed for sale. I called a few salvage yards in Nashville and no dice either, figured worst case he could call and have it shipped to him if they had one.
Thank you all for your help! I must say I’m overvelmed by everyones willingness to help and even look up parts and stuff. Not every forum is this friendly! So Thanks again! Much apriciated!
That said, I was in the garage trying some more today. I got out most of the metal and tried to re-tread the hole. Seems like the threads are ok, but when I insert the bolt it seems a bit looser then when installed in the 3 others. I can tighten the bolt and it do hold enough force, but again, it seems much easier to screw in by hand than the others so I’m conserned that perhaps there might be a weakness and that’s not good.
At this point I’m wondering if it’s possible to install a helicoil or something in that one hole that had the stuck bolt and repair it that way? Or is such procedure not reccomended in this case? I’m just asking because I’ve seen helicoils used on heavy machinery, hydraulics etc dealing with loads that far outweights anything the wheel hub will ever see.
The scrapyard suggestion is a good alternative. I have sent a few mails, so hopefully someone has something I can use.
Regarding those ebay auctions, I actually looked at the same ones earlier today 🙂 But I’m not sure if it will fit this car. It’s a 1,4 Renault megane, and it was produced from 2003 to 2006. But theese actions are for 1.6 – 1.9 and the auctions says UP to 03. So I guess that means it must be the model before thisone.
That’s a tough call to make without seeing the hub for ourselves. Helicoils are not always the answer but I suppose it’s an option. Drilling out the old bolts and retapping the holes was a good move in my opinion. In the end you may need to explore the salvage yard option if you can’t make what you have work.
Keep us posted.
Problem solved!
I managed to drill out most of the seized bolt. Tried to use various easy outs but nothing worked, so I just drilled away as much as i could and then managed to re-thread using a m12x1,5 tap. I didn’t have high hopes because there was so much hard steel still left in between the threads there, and I was afraid that i might not hit the right spot when rethreading, and then destroying what threads that was left, but it went just fine.
One or two of the outher threads was almost gone, grined down to nothing, but the rest seemed to be in good condition.
I put in the bolt and torqued it down according to specs and it seems to work just fine.
He has been driving arround for many days now with no problems, I checked the bolt today and it has not come loose or anything, so I guess I managed to save the day anyway! 🙂
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