Sheared Wheelnut...

[bodben]

ARRRRG Tried to take my left front off today to look at the TR ends and the previous owner (Only had the car for a week!) Has had the wheelnuts done up so tight that one Actually sheared! A quick feel revealed that EVERY SINGLE one of the remaining 15 is also so tight that I can't/don't even want to try to do them by hand. Now I have to go to somewhere with an air gun and get them to try and hope that the on/off action of the gun shakes them free. Then I have to get the broken stud out of the hub! ARRRRRRG AGAIN. Think I will probably replace all 16 nuts just to be sure that none of the others were tightened so much that they suffered stress fractures.

and so onto the questions,

1. Any other advice/ideas on the situation.

2. Are the threads/lengths of nut used on a willy a renault standard size? I know they have a 60 degree jacket to fit the speedlines but I want to make sure I don't have to search out any "special nuts for my willy" (What a quote)

Thanks Fellow Willy/16v/clio/car geeks.

Ben

[franksvalver]

Pm matbrown he will have loads of wheel bolts mate

[stevie_b]

Have you tried a long torque wrench? I have one that is over a metre long and can easily do over 300 lbs/ft (clicks that it has reached that torque well before I have given it total commitment!) when the nuts should only have been done to about 88lbs/ft I think. A long bar probably gives the nuts lets grief than an air hammer and so should be less likely to shear. Other tips I have heard are to hit the nut on the end first with a hammer to loosen the thread, or to try tightening first, and then loosening, the nut.

[bodben]

Thanks for the suggestions mate, alas I don't have a torque wrench, I do have an impact wrench that I am going to try. I did try hitting them with a hammer with no joy. Tried to infuse them with WD-40 and left them to stand over night for now.

[Purple]

Just a suggestion. Pour hot water (drinkable hot, not boiling hot) over it. Different expansion rates of the wheel/wheelnut might make it looser or tighter.

[bbaazz-08]

hi im a mechanic nd the air-gun wont be as strong as yourself with an impact wrench and they use hammer action which would probably take the head off them if anything.......like said before.....give it a few taps with a hammer-slightly tighten-then try and loosen them

[16v_paddy]

As long as you get some replacements sharpish you'll be ok

I've found that a sheared wheel bolt aint too difficult to remove, take the disc & caliper off then you can just get at whats left with some mole grips, piece of piss to remove as there's no tension on the bolt so it will turn quite easily

somebody get this man the part number for the bolt as there's a good chance renault will **** it up & he'll be stranded
I got given a wheel bolt and even after showing the guy it wouldn't fit in the hole he still insisted he gave me the right one even tried the old "you've got aftermarket wheels on" excuse MY WHEELS ARE STANDARD YOU ****TARD!!

....and breathe

[Lunner]

Long 900mm breaker bar, and heave on the end, failing that a bit of scaff tube over the breaker bar.

Should NEVER use a torque wrench as a breaker bar, one quick route to ****ing the calibration up

[bodben]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, problem is that like I said they are SO tight that they just wont budge in either direction, the one that I snapped was using a 600mm breaker bar, and it went like cheese and I really don't want to end up with 16 broken bolts in my hubs if i can help it. Had the impact wrench out this morning and that wouldn't budge them either. Gonna run the car over to a mates garage. houst her up on a scissor lift and see if taking the weight off the wheels helps.

Thanks Guys!

[MAXIBOY]

hi mate iirc renault do a plastic box with 16 standard and 4 locking wheel bolts for 30 quid odd which is the cheapest way to get a full new set without having to buy them all single and is much cheaper than buying locking bolts separately