Was Popeye the previous owner??

[Roundozo]

So this weekend I decided to check the general condition of the suspension and bushes on the front axle along with the condition of the pads and disks. It didn’t go too well.

After several attempts I managed to get the zed up on some wooden planks so that I could get the jack underneath. I lifted the car slightly but not so much that the fronts were off the ground as I needed to loosen the wheel nuts.

This is when my plan for the day was ruined. Whoever had this car before must have got Popeye to do the wheel nuts up shortly after finishing a can of spinach. I tried just using my wrench first but could immediately tell this wasn’t going to work. I then got a breaker bar (about 4ft long) to add to the wrench handle to increase the force. After a few attempts it started to move, but wait, hold on, the socket isn’t moving? Queue snapped wrench. The force of the breaker bar has sheared off the socket locator square. The wheel nut hasn’t budged one bit!!

I think I’m going to need to take it down to a garage so they can try their air gun on it but I’m concerned the thread or worst off, hub may be damaged due to the tightness of the nuts. I’m also concerned that the force needed to undo them could strip the locking wheel nut locator threads.

What are your thoughts on this issue guys ‘n’ girls???

 

[pdk42]

I hate this sort of thing... Maybe try some easing fluid first?

 

[Stratts]

An air impact might do the job, so a garage is the best bet. But as said, give everything a soaking with penetrant first.

They only need to be about 100 Nm, I really cant work out why people do them up so hard.

 

[Roundozo]

I know, some people seem to panic and think they need to be on as tight as possible. I'll pop some penetrating fluid on them this Friday and take it to the garage on Saturday. All I need him to do is try and loosen the bolts and then do them back up, but not as tightly.

I can then get on with sorting the front end out. Going to replace both wishbones and drop links etc with Meyle HD stuff. Did this on my old E46 and it was great. Not too hard like pollybush but better than OEM.

 

[GreyZed]

A bit of heat often does the trick.

 

[thepits]

When I had work done on my cars which needed wheels off I insisted that the bolts were re-torqued manually, and never an air-gun.

G*d knows what pressure they're set to :evil:

 

[domsz4]

When I had work done on my cars which needed wheels off I insisted that the bolts were re-torqued manually, and never an air-gun.

G*d knows what pressure they're set to :evil:

i find its lazy garages who put it on with the windy gun and sit there for 2 mins letting it rattle away. its not even the quality of the garage.... when i was a student i used to shove part worns on my mondeo v6 at a little ropey place in a back street. the guys there used to take them off with a gun but put them back on with a cross wrentch and torque them up by hand. just goes to show old school training.

have you tried using a proper breaker bar with a fixed 1/2" drive rather than a ratchet?

 

[paulgs1000]

If the wheel bolts have been torqued up that tight they may have been over stretched? Worth replacing? (Note I'm no mechanic - just a thought)

I like to ease off and retighten my wheel bolts when I've had new tyres fitted - I always imagine this scenario happening at the side of the road when I least need it. (I also copperslip the mating faces of the wheels and hubs to avoid the two sticking together - but not the wheel bolts).

Hope you get sorted out.

 

[Roundozo]

Annoyingly I've recently moved house and I seem to have misplaced many of my tools so using a fixed drive isn't possible for me at the mo.

It just really irritates me that a garage who fit tyres would do this. Like said above there is no need for this type of torque on the bolts.

I'll be popping down to the little village mechanic on Sat to see if he either has an air gun or solid fixed drive to see if I can loosen it off. I just hope there is no damage to the bolts or hubs.

 

[Nictrix]

I have seen in quite a few garages now that it is a different person who torques the wheel bolts than the person who fitted them.

 

[GaryT]

if you do use oil, make sure you dont get any on the discs or pads, however save yourself a load od hassle and just take to the local garage/tyre shop

 

[Nelly Welly]

The heat from braking consistently can cause the wheel bolts to become over tightened and cause this issue.

Penetrant will not alleviate the problem and replacing the bolts (will potentially have stress fractures in the root of the thread) is a must.

Using a breaker bar and socket on a 3/4 drive t bar would possibly undo the bolts.

I had the same on a galaxy and ended up cutting the wheel in half to remove it as the heads rounded completely before the tyre fitter (butcher) gave up.

 

[TheHoff]

A breaker bar and scaffolding pole often sorts this sort of problem out...as does heat.

 

[AlanJ]

...as does heat.

.....how do you apply heat and not damage the paint surface of the wheel - unless you use hot water :!:

 

[mr wilks]

I had the same on a galaxy and ended up cutting the wheel in half to remove it as the heads rounded completely before the tyre fitter (butcher) gave up.

whooa that must have been quite a task they can be a almighty b45tard to remove at times though & each time i get a different vehicle its one of my first jobs to undo all wheel nuts & re-tighten by my own hands

 

[Roundozo]

I just cant believe it sheered the wrench head off! It wasn't like it was a cheap set either. :thumbsdown:

I'll keep you all posted as to how it goes down at the local. fingers crossed there's no damage.