I was going to install my rotors today and I loosened my lugnuts. One of them, I'm having a hard time loosening it. Everytime I turn it doesnt loosen at all. I figure, the studs are stripped or it might be something else.
I need advice, thanks:help
PROBLEM! Stripped stud
its a ***** because the lug stud is splined into the hub.
when the spline lets go of the hub, it will just spin like you are experiencing.
if the stud lost its splines, then it can just be replaced. if the hub hole was widened, then you may need to replace the hub.
is the lug nut spining on the stud, or is the stud spining with the nut? it may be hard to tell with closed end nuts. you may need someone to watch the lug from the back of the hub while you turn the nut.
when the spline lets go of the hub, it will just spin like you are experiencing.
if the stud lost its splines, then it can just be replaced. if the hub hole was widened, then you may need to replace the hub.
is the lug nut spining on the stud, or is the stud spining with the nut? it may be hard to tell with closed end nuts. you may need someone to watch the lug from the back of the hub while you turn the nut.
IvoryJ30t wrote:its a ***** because the lug stud is splined into the hub.
when the spline lets go of the hub, it will just spin like you are experiencing.
if the stud lost its splines, then it can just be replaced. if the hub hole was widened, then you may need to replace the hub.
is the lug nut spining on the stud, or is the stud spining with the nut? it may be hard to tell with closed end nuts. you may need someone to watch the lug from the back of the hub while you turn the nut.
THanks for the quick reply.
Yes I do have close end nuts. Now the only thing i need to do now is get somebody to look behind the hub to see if the stud is spinning.
So in the end, I need to replace my studs. It's a good thing that I'm in the proces of getting some open end lugnuts.
what you need to do is see the exact problem [stripped nut/lug or stripped lug/hub]
if the lug/hub lost its splines, then it needs to be cut/drilled
if the nut/lug is stripped, then you should remove all the lugs, secure the car with the wheel in the air, and position the wheel so the offending lug is at the top.
have someone pull out on the top of the tire as you try to undo the nut. this way, the outward pressure on the wheel might force the nut to catch new threads, or atleast ride itself off the lug.
if the lug/hub lost its splines, then it needs to be cut/drilled
if the nut/lug is stripped, then you should remove all the lugs, secure the car with the wheel in the air, and position the wheel so the offending lug is at the top.
have someone pull out on the top of the tire as you try to undo the nut. this way, the outward pressure on the wheel might force the nut to catch new threads, or atleast ride itself off the lug.
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BuudWeizErr
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Dude that sucks to hear, a while back a stud on mine shredded the hub. Had to replace the hub. That was 120 for the part dealership + another 60 for the bearings (they were old anyway and needed to be replaced). I also jacked up my wheel pretty bad trying to cut off the lugnut. Good luck with that though, you've got some sweet rims and don't want to see what happened to my alloys on your works.
you will destroy the hub [torching from behind]. if you have a good set of wheels on the car, and dont want to damage them, then this is gonna be hard.
your gonna need a drill bit with a diameter equal to the diameter of the stud, less the thread height.
another words, a bit between the diameter of the bolt with the threads and without. im sorry if that is confusing, i dont know how else to word it right now.
from behind, you need to center punch the stud, drill a pilot hole with a small bit [just a little], and drill it out with the larger bit.
you may need to cut the rotor dust shield.
the only other way involves messing up the wheel pretty badly.
your gonna need a drill bit with a diameter equal to the diameter of the stud, less the thread height.
another words, a bit between the diameter of the bolt with the threads and without. im sorry if that is confusing, i dont know how else to word it right now.
from behind, you need to center punch the stud, drill a pilot hole with a small bit [just a little], and drill it out with the larger bit.
you may need to cut the rotor dust shield.
the only other way involves messing up the wheel pretty badly.
If you have an impact gun, work the lug nut back and forth, loosen it some, run it back on, loosen it some, run it back on...and so on. it will either come off or the stud will break. Either way, you will get the wheel off and still be able to replace the stud without damaging the hub. I was a tire tech for years, this is the easiest method. As for installing a new stud, use washers and some WD-40 on those new threads too!! You can use an impact if the stud turns out to be difficult, I've done it many times, just make sure the lug nut that you use to install it isn't hardened so that it is softer than the stud 
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!IvoryJ30t wrote:you will destroy the hub [torching from behind]. if you have a good set of wheels on the car, and dont want to damage them, then this is gonna be hard.
your gonna need a drill bit with a diameter equal to the diameter of the stud, less the thread height.
another words, a bit between the diameter of the bolt with the threads and without. im sorry if that is confusing, i dont know how else to word it right now.
from behind, you need to center punch the stud, drill a pilot hole with a small bit [just a little], and drill it out with the larger bit.
you may need to cut the rotor dust shield.
the only other way involves messing up the wheel pretty badly.
Id rather destroy my hub than my wheel. I think the hub is a lot cheaper to replace.
ok, try this.
get a GOOD drill bit the diameter of the stud including the threads.
this will only work if the stud is stripped, and not the splines locking it to the hub.
now, take your time, and very accurately center punch the lug nut.since it is a closed nut, the top is probably thin metal.
use lots of oil, and drill through the center of the nut until you get through it. after that, some pounding should be all it takes to break whatever is remaining of the stud/nut. just try to drill as straight as possible into the nut.
this is almost as hard as removing broken wheel locks.
get a GOOD drill bit the diameter of the stud including the threads.
this will only work if the stud is stripped, and not the splines locking it to the hub.
now, take your time, and very accurately center punch the lug nut.since it is a closed nut, the top is probably thin metal.
use lots of oil, and drill through the center of the nut until you get through it. after that, some pounding should be all it takes to break whatever is remaining of the stud/nut. just try to drill as straight as possible into the nut.
this is almost as hard as removing broken wheel locks.
If he does it that way, he may damage his wheel. Just use an impact or a long cheater bar and turn it til it breaks. you know it's bad anyway and you need to replace it. This is quick and easy and will not damage anything other than the stud. I seriously doubt that the splines on the stud are messed up and it is turning in the hub, but, that is very easy to check. Make sure that is not happening before using this method! 
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C-Kwik
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cory2081 wrote:If he does it that way, he may damage his wheel. Just use an impact or a long cheater bar and turn it til it breaks. you know it's bad anyway and you need to replace it. This is quick and easy and will not damage anything other than the stud. I seriously doubt that the splines on the stud are messed up and it is turning in the hub, but, that is very easy to check. Make sure that is not happening before using this method!
If the problem turns out to be the stud splines having given way, then a breaker bar or impact wrench will not work as it will only spin the stud and the nut.
I think a variation of IvoryJ30t's recommendation may work even if the stud is spinning in place. Start with the center punch aas he already described. Then starting with a small drill bit drill a hole. Get drill bits that are long enough to drill fairly deep with the wheels on as you want to be able to drill all the way to the lugnut seat of the wheel but not get the drill close enough to the wheel to scratch it. Progressively use larger bits. Use an adjacent hole as a reference as you really only need to drill as deep as the lugnut seat itself. Eventually, you will have drilled out the entire stud and the lug nut will simply have nothing to hold onto. Couple of important things to note. Be as accurate with the center punch as possible. This will help avoid having to drill a larger hole in order to get the entire stud. Secondly, make sure the drill goes straight into the stud. If you are a little off, you will end up missing the base of the stud and perhaps drilling your wheel. your pilot hole with the smallest drill bit will set the pace. The rest of the drilling after that will be much easier to control. If you get the hole drilled straight, you will have little to wrry about if you drill too deeply. Most holes in the wheels at it's narrowest point still have a small tolerance between the hole and the stud itself. The stud should be drilled out before the drill can actually make contact with the wheel if the hole is centered and straight in. Lastly, keep at least 2 other lugnuts on the wheel (doesn't need to be too tight) just to keep the wheel from falling off while drilling potentially damaging the wheel or causing injury to you.
This might end up being a lot harder than it sounds. You might even take the progressive drilling just to the closed end of the lugnut first to open it up and make sure you are centered well on the stud itself.
If you end up messing up on the pilot hole, let me know. I have another idea that can definitely work so long as your wheel can accomodate it and you can find a couple of very specific tools.
The only potential problem I see with drilling would be if the stud is loose enough that the stud will spin with the drill. How loose is it by the way?