Drilling out knackard locking wheel bolts

[andye30m3]

I've been having a bit of a nightmare with one of the locking wheels nuts on my c-class.

A few weeks ago was changing the rear pads passenger side went fine but I snapped the key off on the drivers side.

- Bought a new key from mercedes which also snapped
- bought some locking wheel nut removers which aren't deep enough so won't work
- took it to a local garage who didn't have any joy with their removing tools
- today hammered a impact socket on and have managed to snap most of the head off of the wheel bolt leaving about a 5mm deep bit left around the outside with recess in the middle.

so it looks like ill need to try and drill it out

Does anyone know where I can buy a suitable drill bit as I understand the bolts will be hard steel which standard drill bits won't touch

[Mr2Mike]

Cobalt drill bits will do the job, but beware that they are quite brittle so you won't get away with flexing them like you can with normal high speed steel.

[shin0r]

Tried hammering on some 15 or 20mm copper pipe, hammering on a socket set? This has worked for me in the past

[McWigglebum4th]

I got a set of wheel nuts off buy welding a bar onto the top of the nut

Not the best thing in the world for shiny alloy wheels

But it works


And you can throw a smoking red hot nut into the undergrowth which is hugely satisfying

[B'stard Child]

You want one of these



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/140927100071?limghl...

If you were local to me I'd let you use mine (or I'd remove them for you) but chances of that are remote

I've never had a locking wheel nut that hasn't been defeated by them

[73mark]

Welded nut on the stud if you didn't go at it like a loon.Just done one on my mrs car thanks to a knob mechanic.Alloy wheels could have cracked them.Wont be going there again

[McWigglebum4th]

B'stard Child said:

You want one of these



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/140927100071?limghl...

If you were local to me I'd let you use mine (or I'd remove them for you) but chances of that are remote

I've never had a locking wheel nut that hasn't been defeated by them

Bought a set

No luck on Mcguard types as the spinning collar just spins

180amp welder no problems

[Jurassic pork]

You could try loosening the other nuts and taking it for a short drive. This could be enough for it to loosen itself. Worked for me before, just be careful. If you feel wheel wobble, you know it has done the job.

[andye30m3]

Cheers for all of the replies

B'stard Child said:

You want one of these



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/140927100071?limghl...

If you were local to me I'd let you use mine (or I'd remove them for you) but chances of that are remote

I've never had a locking wheel nut that hasn't been defeated by them

I've tried 3 different types of those

Ones from halfords wouldn't fit inside the recess in the wheel

Blue point ones wouldn't grip

And the other set I tried wouldn't bite into the side of the bolt

I also don't think you'd get a welder into the recess in the wheel, it's a bit of a nightmare as the rear pads on one side are now all but gone

[McWigglebum4th]

andye30m3 said:

I also don't think you'd get a welder into the recess in the wheel, it's a bit of a nightmare as the rear pads on one side are now all but gone

If you machine a hollow bar that fits into the recess with a hole 12mm roughly down the middle then you will be able to get a stick welder down the middle and leave a nice little plug of weld down there

[Wetwipe]

Similar 'mare with my Range Rover Sport last week. Local grease monkey drilled out the collar and welded a nut to the stud. Bosh, locking wheel nut off in less than 10 minutes.

[(steven)]

I've had some success with Irwin bolt extractors.

If you want to drill I would be looking at cobalt drill bits but it will take you ages with a hand drill and then in all likelyhood your going to need replace the stud so I would consider it a last resort.

I assuming your using these extractors with an impact wrench.

[mighty kitten]

I take it were talking about the Merc wheels that have the deep recess and 17mm head long bolts ?
I used a plasma cutter to gouge most of the metal away then a rotary burr to get rid of the shoulder .

My garage is next door to a tyre company so we don't get the easy to remove jobs off them

[gtidriver]

What about the gator grip. £10 on amazon.

[4lf4-155]

What wheel are we talking here?

Mate had a similar problem - it was cheaper and FAR less hassle just to cut the wheel off.

[GTIR]

Can I just offer some advice, from someone who has actually dealt with these indestructible bds?

None of the above will work.
Drilling - the metal is too hard
Grinder - as above
Locking wheel nut remover - the Mercedes locking nuts have an outer shell, so unless you remove this they will not do anything apart from spinning.

I am afraid your only option is to weld a nut/bolt on and remove it. I went to a local garage and they knackered my wheels but I knew they would.

[B'stard Child]

GTIR said:

Can I just offer some advice, from someone who has actually dealt with these indestructible bds?

None of the above will work.
Drilling - the metal is too hard
Grinder - as above
Locking wheel nut remover - the Mercedes locking nuts have an outer shell, so unless you remove this they will not do anything apart from spinning.

I am afraid your only option is to weld a nut/bolt on and remove it. I went to a local garage and they knackered my wheels but I knew they would.

I've drilled them out - they aren't that hard - plenty of lubrication and a good quality drill bit
I've used locking wheel nut removers and in most cases they are frankly briliant
I've welded nuts to the heads

I've never ever cut the wheel off to remove the bolt

[Mr2Mike]

GTIR said:

Can I just offer some advice, from someone who has actually dealt with these indestructible bds?

None of the above will work.
Drilling - the metal is too hard
Grinder - as above

I think it's extremely unlikely that Mercedes make wheel bolts out of a material too hard to be ground. How do you think the stupidly hard alloys that e.g. ball races are made from are finished?

They are usualy too hard for a standard HSS drill bit, which is why Cobalt bits have been suggested. A masonry bit (tungsten tipped) used on a low speed with plenty of coolant may also do the job.

[Daniel1]

Ive drilled, hammered and had nuts welded on. If you cant get a socket over the bolt, get a garage to weld a bolt on to it. It may take a couple of attempts but it will come off eventually.

[r11co]

B'stard Child said:

I've drilled them out - they aren't that hard - plenty of lubrication and a good quality drill bit

Me too. I had to sharpen the bit a couple of times, and had a mate spraying loads of penetrating fluid on to the job as I worked.

Got the bolt off with no damage to wheel or hub! Took hours though.