Simon_CSK Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Am in the process of removing the wheels on my L322 to get them powder coated. Have three wheels off but have hit a big problem with the NS front. I have three nuts that will not budge even with some heat. I have removed the stailess steel cap and have driven on smaller sockets however the only resut is that the nuts themselves have now rounded. I can afford to damage the finish on the wheel but not the structure and have oreder new wheel nuts so they can be cut off somehow. I did start to drill the studs out but they appear to be hardened. Has anyone had this problem and if so what was the solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 I would go with a small drill bit and drill the nut rather than the stud, then whack with a sharp chisel to open it up. May need more than one hole drilling. Have you tried those Irwin extractors? May work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 I would do exactly as Bowie suggests to weaken the nut. What a good job you found this out at home and not by the side of the road with a puncture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted August 16, 2020 Author Share Posted August 16, 2020 27 minutes ago, Bowie69 said: I would go with a small drill bit and drill the nut rather than the stud, then whack with a sharp chisel to open it up. May need more than one hole drilling. Have you tried those Irwin extractors? May work... The nut is softer metal certainly and having thought about it I may be able to drill the head off the nut with a 23mm drill without damaging the stud. that should allow be to remove the wheel and then the tension will be off the threaded part so can either cut it or unwind it. 1 minute ago, monkie said: What a good job you found this out at home and not by the side of the road with a puncture! Would agree but that is what the RAC is for. Have ordered new stainless steel bolts so am not worried about loosing them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 10 hours ago, Simon_CSK said: Would agree but that is what the RAC is for. I know a lot of people increasingly have this view which is all well and good but in this case there is no guarantee they would be able to remove the nuts, you'd have a further wait for them to get a truck to you. Also what if you were stuck somewhere with no phone reception or it was that occasion you had left your phone at home? I would rather be able to sort it out my self in 20 minutes than sit there waiting for someone else to turn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 10 hours ago, Simon_CSK said: The nut is softer metal certainly and having thought about it I may be able to drill the head off the nut with a 23mm drill without damaging the stud. that should allow be to remove the wheel and then the tension will be off the threaded part so can either cut it or unwind it. I would suggest replacing all the studs after this. Damage of the sort you report on a critical item like a wheel stud would demand that in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romahomepete Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Not helpful in this situation but whenever we get a vehicle new to us one of the first jobs is to slacken all the wheelnuts/bolts and retighten to the correct torque then test the supplied wheelbrace to make sure I can remove at the side of the road. It just makes life so much easier. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 On a series wheel I had the space to get a grinder in and cut the nut when I had a similar problem. Good luck ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Have a look for Induction loop heaters , not cheap but it will work along with Irwin hammer on sockets . Or drill the nut until it splits off as others have said . cheers Steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 7 hours ago, JohnnoK said: I would suggest replacing all the studs after this. Damage of the sort you report on a critical item like a wheel stud would demand that in my book. Would agree however you cannot get the studs as a separate itm one would need to buy a complete hub. However having said that I have removed a stud from a Discovery 2 hub that I had lying around and it looks to be the same size. Certainly the same thread size where the length is the came remains to be seen. 5 hours ago, Anderzander said: On a series wheel I had the space to get a grinder in and cut the nut when I had a similar problem. Unfortunately there are recessed wheel nuts on alloy wheels so that option is not available. I checked warious sizes on the standard wheel nut and found that the main shaft was 22.5mm diameter and the recess where the captive washer sits in 21.5mm. I went to tool station and bought a 22mm HSS drill and have drilled out the nuts. I exposed most of the 21.5mm collar which took the lip off the wheel nut.. That got the studs off enough to remove the wheel which are now away to the powder coaters. I still have the threaded part of the nut welded to the stud so, probably tomorrow afternoon, I will take the Dremel and cut along the length of the tread to remove it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 A stilson may well get it undone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Bowie69 said: A stilson may well get it undone? Scored them with a dremel as deep as I could go then hit them with a very sharp chisel until they started to turn. Then put mole grips on and turned them off. Now just need my new wheel nuts and my refurbished wheels and I am good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 They are left hand thread on those ! 😆 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 On 8/16/2020 at 8:27 PM, Simon_CSK said: Have ordered new stainless steel bolts so am not worried about loosing them nothing like replacing a soft material with a hard material if you have to do this again, only place for stainless is on a boat holding the panel trims on #SayNotostainless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Valid point however I don't intend to have a repeat of this. The calipers are stiff so I am going to replace the front pads and make sure the sliders are operating correctly, then when I put the wheels back on I am going to make sure that they cannot get stuck on by putting a tiny bit of oil on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Stainless is far more likely to gall up, I wouldn't do it, honestly... As long as there is copper slip in there, there is no reason for them to weld on again. I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 6 hours ago, Bowie69 said: Stainless is far more likely to gall up, How? The whole idea is that stainless will not rust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Explanation here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galling Some info: https://www.essentracomponents.com/en-gb/news/product-resources/how-to-prevent-galling-on-stainless-steel-bolts More here: http://www.estainlesssteel.com/gallingofstainless.html I have had new stainless bolts gall up on me meaning I had to get the angle grinder out to remove them, just because I fitted it with an impact gun -the speed was too much for the material, it galled up and jammed the nut solid. This can happen with hand tools quite easily over time, especially high torque applications. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 44 minutes ago, Bowie69 said: Explanation here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galling Some info: https://www.essentracomponents.com/en-gb/news/product-resources/how-to-prevent-galling-on-stainless-steel-bolts More here: http://www.estainlesssteel.com/gallingofstainless.html I have had new stainless bolts gall up on me meaning I had to get the angle grinder out to remove them, just because I fitted it with an impact gun -the speed was too much for the material, it galled up and jammed the nut solid. This can happen with hand tools quite easily over time, especially high torque applications. Ok point take however I will need to use them until I get the replacements as mine were totally destroyed taking the old one off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 21 hours ago, Bowie69 said: Stainless is far more likely to gall up, 100% agree, stainless is really good at galling. Probably one of it's worst characteristics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 14 hours ago, Bowie69 said: This can happen with hand tools quite easily over time, especially high torque applications. I have had to loosen bolts torqued to 70Nm with a 1m cheater pipe before, thanks to galling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 5 hours ago, JohnnoK said: 100% agree, stainless is really good at galling. Probably one of it's worst characteristics. Galling is a horrible consequence of Stainless. We have to use it at work for various things relating to needing to not be magnetic and to do with Tritium penetration. If threads aren't coated in graphite or molycote its asking for trouble and a world of pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Stud will not be hardened, that would be a bad thing. Make you use good quality drill bits, Tungsten Carbide if poss. They should drill ok, but you may have to get the hub off to press new ones in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted August 19, 2020 Author Share Posted August 19, 2020 32 minutes ago, HoSS said: Stud will not be hardened, that would be a bad thing. Make you use good quality drill bits, Tungsten Carbide if poss. They should drill ok, but you may have to get the hub off to press new ones in. The studs were undamaged fortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 16 hours ago, landroversforever said: Galling is a horrible consequence of Stainless. We have to use it at work for various things relating to needing to not be magnetic and to do with Tritium penetration. If threads aren't coated in graphite or molycote its asking for trouble and a world of pain. We use Loctite 8009 at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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