Well, my week has started off some what sorded...Yesterday as I was in the process of switching the Summers for Winters I had a little trouble getting one of the front wheel studs off (Front Passenger)...I frickn well snapped it off...it was so tight that I litterally snapped it off with my bare hands... It is not as if I was being overly rough, and I certainly did not over torque the studs when I installed new brake pads earlier this year. Upon talking to one of the head wrenches here at MINI Durham, I was enlightened to the fact that aftermarket studs have a tendency to stretch / corrode / cross-thread after prolonged use. This just so happens to correspond with the fact that when rotating the tires they were harder and harder to get off. My MINI went on the lift at 11:30 am...and it took all day to try and get the broken bolt out...nothing worked This season seemed to be all that the studs could bare and I broke not only this one, but one on the rear drivers side when I was replacing my rear brakes. So $500 on wheel bearings and hubs later (all parts at cost and ZERO labor)I have learned an expensive lesson about aftermarket wheel studs. If I have any advice, it would be to be proactive and toss any aftermarket studs... The cost for them do not justify the cost of having to replace a perfectly good wheel bearing / hub. I have since tossed these in the trash...they dont justify being recycled... A
Did they try welding on a leverage bar to the snapped end? Not even sure if that would work, but it seems like it would grip better than a pair of vise grips. I have aftermarket longer bolts. They've never failed to come out cleanly.
This is a great reminder to put some anti-seize on the studs whenever you remove the wheels. Prevents this problem. dp
Arghh, this has been driving me nuts.... These are lug bolts y'all are talking about in this thread, not studs. OK, I feel better now... And a little anti-seize on the studs helps the lug nuts go one and come off better, and I mean a little...just enough to barely cover.
My garage WILL have a lift... after I pay for the other $50K worth of things I couldn't afford that I already bought. :arf: