Auto problem: stripped wheel-bolt

Lodbrok

Ok, now I'm feeling really stupid. It appears I've managed to strip the threads on one of the wheel-bolts on my car, or possibly all four bolts on one wheel. Don't ask me how I managed to do that, on first inspection I thought that the guy in the store gave me the wrong dimension of nuts, but this does not appear to be the case. Anyway, how large a job is it to change the bolts? If I leave the car to a shop, what kind of money are we talking about? I guess I could do it myself if it does not require any special tools, but right now I do not have access to any tools at all, unfortunately.... please enlighten me!

Wrench N Rockets

Just to be clear, did you strip the Lug nuts, that you take off to change your tire, or the wheel studs, the parts the lug nuts thread onto?

I'm assuming you mean the studs, since stripped lug nuts just gets you new lugs. This might vary depending on your car, but generally you'll need to remove the wheel, then the break, pop the old studs out, and put new one's in.

Doc Holliday

Worst case re-machining the threads at any auto place shouldn't be much more than $30. The place near me re-machined a rear strut anchor for only $20.

Heir

If it's just the lugs most places (in my experience) will do it for free or dirt cheap.

Studs, I'm not certain about, but I wouldn't think it would be much.

Fats

Wrench N Rockets wrote: »

I'm assuming you mean the studs, since stripped lug nuts just gets you new lugs. This might vary depending on your car, but generally you'll need to remove the wheel, then the break, pop the old studs out, and put new one's in.

Yep. You pound the old wheel stud out with a big fuckin' hammer, snake the new one into the hole, and cinch it in by tightening a lug nut onto it. An air gun makes it a lot easier.

If the stud(s?) are only crossthreaded, you could chase the threads with a die, but they're easier to just replace. A shop shouldn't charge much at all to do it.

Edit: Die, not tap.

Lodbrok

Yes, I meant the studs... sorry if I'm not that good at car-part terminology in english. So it should be possible to do yourself? That is good to know, unfortunately I usually do my car maintenance at my parents place, which means I have very little tools at hand where I live...

I'm not really sure if the threads are actually damaged, isn't the nuts usually made from a softer material than the studs? Anyway, I'll will probably make some calls today and see if I can find a cheap place to do it for me...