broken lug bolt

[scott540]

So I took the snows off. On of of the rear wheels, One lug bolt broke- head snapped right off using the wrench from the trunk. Also one the holes is somehow stripped on the same hub. Bolt won't screw in. My question. I need to get an alignment becasue the new tires I put on last summer really wore fast on the outside edges. Go to the dealer for this or a tire store? I'm assuming they can fix the broken bolt and stripped hole too? All 4 wheels were also seixed to the hubs. Had to loosen the bolts and back it out of the driveway to pop them off. Any suggestion to keep this from happening next year. Coat the hubs with something?

[Chris M]

Anti Seize Lubricant. You can get it at autozone. It's good for the spark plugs too.

[scott540]

go to the dealer or to a tire place for alignment? thanks

[Bill R.]

helicoil the stripped hole and drill out the broken bolt and retapp it.. The dealer will probably want to replace the whole hub.... and the antiseize he's talking about you put on the hub inbetween the wheel and hub..to keep the wheel from sticking.







go to the dealer or to a tire place for alignment? thanks

[632 Regal]

new air tools and suddenly a lug busts and another strips??? LMAO!!! There is fixes, but man, take it easy on that stuff till you get whats goin on. still...lmao. Been ther done that. Thats too funny, especially since it's you, it wasnt funny at all when it was me.

:D

[scott540]

Yeah it sucks, but like I said, I was using the wrench from the trunk when the bolt broke. Same with stripped hole. Bolt came out but now olt won't go in. Either way it still sucks with a rear tire with only 3 bolts. The question was do I have the dealer do the alignment or a tire shop?

[632 Regal]

uhh...while you defend yourself..... why with air tools would you use the stock tire iron to unloosen the lugs. (dude im psychoanalizing your answers now)

[632 Regal]

kiddin man, try a die to chase the threads? on the other might have to smack it out to sink a new one in.

[scott540]

Ok, here's my weak defense. I took out 4 with the gun, left the last one in while I jacked up the car. Went turn on the music in the garage, tripped the breaker cause the compressor was running. Idiot who built my house used 15 amp breakers in the garage and the compressor takes every bit of it. I tried to use the gun on the last bolt but it wouldn't come out, I figured I didn't have enough air so I got out the wrench. one pull and the damn thing snapped.

Remember though the question was do I go to the dealer or tire store for alignment?

[Unregistered]

I go to a tire store that has some fairly skilled techs who've been there a long time, not one of these tiny places with swarms of pimply faced kids. You could also see if there is an alignment shop in town that specializes in alignments.

I had an alignment in the fall at a tire shop, the car still tracks very straight.

[632 Regal]

so what I would do is call the dealer for a price and then call around to your local tire joints. I think you may get a better alignment at the dealer but they will probably want to replace the hub like Bill R suggested that you helicoil it before you take it in.

[DueyT]

Scott, phone around some local tire shops and ask them if they have a Hunter GSP9700. If they do (a very nice, dynamic wheel balancer that loads/deforms the tire with hundreds of pounds of force to simulate balancing on the car) they are likely a pretty professional crew. Take it there, then ask the manager if you could pop into the shop for a look while they bolt your wheels on....if he says OK, don't leer over guys shoulders, but maybe ask a few questions about the balancing rig, etc... it's more your presence that'll let the guys know you care about your car -- and also keep the pimply kid with the 500 ft-lb impact wrench away from your car. :D

Cheers,
Duey

[scott540]

I knew bookmarked this for a reason a few years back



hunter locator (http://128.242.141.111/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm)