Lug nut stuck on broken wheel stud - cannot remove wheel

Drive it like a Pruis, and you'll be okay.

Why is it not seated? Where the threads messed up? Is the nut just spinnings?
Or is the whole stud moving? Which is a different story.

You can check harbor frieght or a hardware store for a nut splitter. I should fit on it to split it.

How are the other 4?
Remember, Toyota says 76fp of torque. Don't let some tire store tell you otherwise.

Please keep up to date on how you get it removed.

 

Based on your scenario, the stud hole in the hub is probably stripped. No OEM stud is going to work. You may get lucky and find someone who makes a stud with oversize splines, but the only way to really fix it is to replace the hub.

 

It's very unlikely that the stud is spinning.
A nut splitter will never get into that area.

I'm assuming that it is not a Chrome Cover lug nut, and the Chrome Cover is the thing that is actually spinning.

You have a few choices, imho, the order I suggest
1) Get GOOD COBALT drill bits.
Or, spend $50,000+ on cr*p drill bits, and spend the rest of your life doing what should've been a 5-10min lug-nut removal.

I suggest Irwin Colbalt Stepped drill bits. (Very good quality, easy to get, can get them for a decent price).

Code:

https://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-16-Inch-8-Inch-Cobalt-10234CB/dp/B00126H1XU/?th=1
IRWIN 10232CB Unibit 1/16-Inch 6-Steps Cobalt Alloy Steel Step Drill Bit
$29.99
Size: #2 (3/16-1/2")

A great kit:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00126KYV6
IRWIN Step Drill Bit Set, 3-Piece (10502CB)
Visit the Irwin Tools Store
4.6 out of 5 stars 188 ratings
$73.11
Size: 3PC SET


Some videos that I found quickly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Oi_DU-r5Wc
DIY Seized/Stopped Lug Nut Removal
Mar 4, 2021
South Main Auto Repair LLC

Also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_22i4OZ4yE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3DkrbOpM9c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47d2_I54qWM

2) Air Chisel

3) Torch Oxyacetylene


I've done all three of the above. It depends on the rim.
Imho, with a steel rim that has a plastic wheel cover over it, then #2 or #3 are faster.


Good Luck!

 

Impacts are NOT good for that sort of thing. A turned down air gun, or by hand wrench is best.
VERY easy to seat a new stud by just using a ratchet, I've done several this way.

Have you tried turning the wheel and perhaps hammer/punch the stud in enough to catch?
It's not very likely, but something to try.
You'll have to do your own search for a nut splitter, there are several types.
I've seen people use and air chisel to eventually split it apart. The chances are high that you will
also damage the rim. But if you can reach it from behind the wheel will only mess up the hub.

If the hub is reemed out, it is SAFEST to replace the hub. But as least you'll have the wheel off!

Perhaps not using air hammers on 76fp bolts?

 

I can not see how any nut splitter could split a recessed lug-nut.
Such as, on the OEM Prius wheel, on the car in the image below:

Code:

A nice big, in focus, clear image recently shared on Reddit. :-)
Must be a California car.  To be that age, and in that nice of a shape.

https://i.redd.it/g33bu0yijzb91.jpg

For steel rims, where the lug-nut isn't recessed, a nut splitter may work.
Although, imho, most of the lower-cost nut-splitters sold are unsafe (when trying to split a Grade-5, or better, nut). Those lower cost nut splitters have a tendency to "grenade". Or, for the blade might splinter, break, and have pieces of the blade go flying.

I agree that impact chisels aren't good choice, and could damage the rim.
The same is true for a torch.[/code]

 

Does the lug-nut have a Chrome Cover on it?
It's hard to tell from the picture.

If you are not sure, can you remove a similar lug-nut, and take a good, high resolution, in focus, picture of the bottom of the lug nut.
Fwiw, you can see, and feel, a Chrome Cover on a lug-nut.

Below is a video on how to remove a spinning Chrome Cover Lug-nut.

Code:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG3V59HQCQ8
How to Remove Spinning Lug Nut Caps
Jan 26, 2017
1A Auto: Repair Tips & Secrets Only Mechanics Know
1.8M subscribers


Also,
Search Youtube for chrome cover lug nut spinning:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chrome+cover+lug+nut+spinning

A screw extractor is the "exact opposite" of what you want to do.
You do not want to remove the stud/bolt, you want to drill out the stud, until you fully drill it away, or start drilling out the lug-nut so that it can fall/be-pried off.



Please, Do Not Use a Screw Extractor!
I can not stress the above enough.
If you use a screw extractor, my guess is that there's a chance that you'll need cut off the wheel.
Fwiw, the low-cost screw extractors that people often buy, are prone to break.

Google:
Remove broken screw extractor

Good luck!

 

What is not clear is...... does the "NUT" you are using, have a chrome cover?
If so, you can use a hammer and a chisel to brake apart he cheap sheet metal chromed cover
off the actual nut. Then you can remove the nut, and the whole wheel before going further. You
actual stud may be okay.
But, if the nut was cross threaded on the stud, with or without the chrome cover, it's a different situation.
If the nut is cross threaded, it would be safer to use a hand grinder and grind off the stud from the back
of the hub.

 

i would take the rest of the nuts off and put an impact on the spinning lug while pulling the rim away from car

 

yeah yanking on the tire across from the damaged stud might force a jam bite that lets you get the nut off with the impact.

I think it'll need a new hub though. I don't know of any deeper-splined repair studs.

Good luck!

 

Why not? That’s how the mechanics put the oil filters back on which has been discussed many times here

 

Bring it to a shop!
I say "ABC", you say "EFG".
I say "123", you say "456".
???


Either do exactly what the videos show, and I said, or take it to a shop.
No Choices, No Substitutions, No "better ideas", do it exactly.


That DeWalt Drill Bit and using an impact - are not the correct tools for this.
Get the bits I said, and a real drill, or bring it to a shop.

Did you think I highlighted Cobalt because I have a Cobalt fetish?
You need a Cobalt drill bit for hardened metal.
The wheel stud is hardened metal. You need a Cobalt drill bit for hardened metal.


You could very easily end up with a very expensive repair.
Or, you could do the removal correctly.


As for grinding the stud from the back of the hub, there's no way to get to the back of the hub.
Pulling the stud out with the lightweight aluminum wheel attached, would likely damage the lightweight aluminum wheel.


I linked videos showing how Real Life Experienced Professionals do a repair like that.
You have more than enough info above.

It's your car, your time, your money.
Good Luck.

 

Some store chain has Cobalt as a tool brand, don't they? Lowe's, right? (Ok, they spell theirs with a K.)

Maybe it wasn't clear about needing a bit made with cobalt in it (to cut harder metals), versus having a bit of Cob- , er. Kobalt brand.

 

Here is what I would do:

Tighten all the other lug nuts normally and just drive as usual. You won't notice anything. Plenty of people in the world drive with a lug nut or wheel bolt missing their whole lives.

As time permits find a replacement used wheel. They are cheap at junkyards.

Try to find someone with an arc welder. Have them weld a rod (or an old hex key) that you can get a strong grip on onto the end of your spinning lug bolt (narrower diameter than your bolt)- you'll have to smash the chrome cover off per advice above first to get access to the end of the lug bolt.. Hold the welded on rod - effectively holding the lug nut, and use an open ended wrench to remove the lug nut.

If you can't do the above, buy an angle grinder - they are cheap at Home Depot - and cut the wheel off around the spinning bolt. Then cut the bolt. Then put on the replacement wheel you bought

It will cost you a few dollars but it's not insoluble.