How to remove damaged recessed lug nuts or locks.

[Doug Beard]

First off, I’d like to apologize for the length of this post, but I’m trying to give you as much information as possible so you don’t make the same mistakes I did. About a week ago, I posted a plea for help and some pictures of a recessed lug nut I had damaged beyond recognition. I recommend taking a quick look at that post under the link for my account. Obviously, if the nut was not recessed, I would have just put my giant vice grips on it and that would have been the end of my woes, but this can (and did) look mighty intimidating if it’s you or me and the lug nut is recessed. Anyone familiar with older Chrysler lug nuts knows that the decorative chrome caps fall off the lug nuts themselves after a while. This is a 2003 Dodge Dakota. With the cap on, they are 19mm and there are no problems. If the cap falls off, they are 18mm. I tried to remove the capless lug nut with a 12 point 18mm socket that was not deep enough after discovering the tire iron fit loosely, and I rounded off the lug nut almost completely. I should have used an 18mm hex deep socket to avoid rounding the nut. I then tried a damaged fastener remover socket with helical flutes, and completely destroyed the lug nut.

I have successfully removed the lug nut with basic tools for less than $30 and my alloy wheel is fine. I haven’t had to go to a repair shop since I’ve owned a car, but I went for advice this time, and I could tell that none of the technicians I talked to really wanted to touch my truck. BAD SIGN. They wanted to use a torch to cut the bolt off, and they said my alloy wheel would likely be damaged or destroyed in the process. I really couldn’t bear watching someone do that, so I opted to just do it myself. But if you’re not like me and don’t mind dropping $300 on a new alloy wheel or searching through a salvage yard for one, having a shop do this would be MUCH EASIER.

Here’s what worked

Tools

– Stanley Bostitch 7/8″ (22mm) chisel
– DeWalt 7/16″ Pilot Point Cobalt drill bit (got mine at Lowes)
– Cordless Craftsman Drill
– 19mm Socket

Just a few quick notes on these tools. You will need to drill the wheel stud out in this process. Wheel studs are obviously made of very tough hardened steel, so you WILL need an appropriate drill bit, and even the one I used burned up and dulled after less than an hour of use. When you pick a bit, I do not recommend carbide bits. These are designed for use in a drill press because they are brittle. You could end up with a bit broken off inside the hole you drilled in the wheel stud which would REALLY suck. Even the bit that I used broke and I had to buy another, luckily it did not get stuck in the stud. The harder the material, the more brittle and less forgiving the bit. Not ideal for a hand operated drill, but it’s all I had access to. So be careful, let the bit do the work, keep an eye on the level on your drill, and don’t push on it too hard. Wear your safety gear too!

Also, the chisel I used was made from hardened steel and had a sharp, flat tip that fit comfortably inside the lug nut recess, but reached completely across the lug nut. It also had a hex shaped butt so that I could put a 19mm socket on the end. Make sure you have a socket that will fit on the back of your chisel. I’ll explain why you need this below.

Procedure

The idea is to drill away as much of the wheel stud as possible without damaging the alloy wheel. The DeWalt cobalt drill bits come in a variety of sizes in inches, get one that will work best for your wheel stud. You want to drill away the threads of the lug nut/ wheel stud. You don’t want to hit your alloy wheel, brake disc, hub assembly, etc, so make sure you start your hole dead center of the wheel stud or lock lug nut. You DO want to leave the lug nut mostly in tact though, just get rid of the threads. Stop drilling right before you get to hole in the the alloy wheel where the stud goes through. Take your chisel and set it across the the lug nut and hammer it in so that you put two deep notches in both sides of the lug nut across the hole you drilled. If you drill away too much of the lug nut, it will just split away, and you wont be able to use the chisel to remove the nut. You can then put the socket on the end of the chisel, and use it to unscrew the lug nut. See the picture attachments below and you’ll see exactly how it worked.

Just another note, obviously this destroys the lug nut and wheel stud, but they are MUCH cheaper to replace than an alloy wheel. I have 6 wheel studs on my truck and drove on 5 on one wheel to get a new wheel stud and lug nut, but please don’t do this if you drive a car that has 4 or 5 studs to begin with. I should have had a wheel stud and lug nut ready before I did this, but I couldn’t work it out that way. Patience is key here. I won’t lie, I did nick the alloy wheel in a couple places around the lug nut recess, but I was hot, tired, and a bit impatient. Had I been more careful, I could have avoided that.

Good luck! Be safe! and thanks to all the people who answered my plea for help, and of course, to Eric the car guy for this AMAZING forum!

Topic

[EricTheCarGuy]

Thanks for the post. I’ve also had luck doing this on damaged lug nuts as well as wheel locks.

[Author]

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