ARGHHHH! Stuck socket on lug nut

[MrH]

Well, the winter wheels and tires came in.  Look great.  Pulled the Miata into my parent's garage to do the swap.  The wheel lock lug nut came off fine.  The other ones were impact wrenched to hell apparently.  Could get them off at all, and in the process, got the socket stuck on the lug nut (which won't budge). 

I can't drive the Miata now because the wheel is going to be so off balance with a giant socket stuck on there.  I tried tapping it with a hammer.  Wiggles just slightly, but isn't coming off.  Former CarSPIN member, and high school class mate of Teuton, Crosswire, will probably come by in the next few days to help.

Any suggestions besides using an impact wrench or a torch (of which I have neither at my parent's house)?  I'm driving the Protege5 until I get these swapped I guess.  Brings back memories driving around in the MP5.

[hotrodalex]

Did you try using a cheater/breaker bar to get the lugs loose?

[Cookie Monster]

Would heating it up with a propane torch (in those blue bottles) be a bad idea?

Or is that what you meant by using a torch?

[hotrodalex]

I thought he meant cutting the lug off with the torch.

[Cookie Monster]

Well if he clamped some vice grips over the socket and then heated it up to get the metal to expand, it may come off.

[MrH]

Did you try using a cheater/breaker bar to get the lugs loose?

Yeah, not a giant one though.  Didn't have anything too big laying around to use.

Would heating it up with a propane torch (in those blue bottles) be a bad idea?

Or is that what you meant by using a torch?

That's what I mean by using a torch.  If you heat the socket, it'll expand and come off easier.  No need to use a vise.

[Cookie Monster]

Yeah, not a giant one though.  Didn't have anything too big laying around to use.
That's what I mean by using a torch.  If you heat the socket, it'll expand and come off easier.  No need to use a vise.

I suggested the vice grips so you'd have something to grab the socket by when it's really hot.

[MrH]

Guess I'm not torching it.  A friend told me that's a bad idea with aluminum wheels. 

[hotrodalex]

You could drive super fast over a bump to see if it knocks it off.

[The Pirate]

So the socket is stuck to the lug, and you can't break the lug free?  Put the breaker bar (or the ratchet) on the socket and whack the hell out of the head of the breaker bar with a big hammer.  Go 'round in a circle with this.  Watch for movement and all that, you'll know fairly soon if it's going to work.  Squirt some PB Blaster in there first.

Alternative is to get some massive leverage (pipe or whatever you have over the breaker bar) and put some man force into it.  Deal with the socket/lug situation once it's off.

Another option (and this should probably be tried first, now that I think about it) is to reverse your direction.  You've wedged the socket on the lug trying to loosen, so try tightening.  Use a snapping motion here.  Doesn't solve the issue of removing the wheel, but gets the socket free for an impact setup.

As far as heat, you'll probably be okay if you've got a little propane torch, anything that can isolate the heat.  I've used torches frequently on super expensive aluminum bicycle frames, trying to extract a bottom bracket.  The alloy can take a bit of heat, just heat the socket quickly.

[MX793]

So the socket is stuck to the lug, and you can't break the lug free?  Put the breaker bar (or the ratchet) on the socket and whack the hell out of the head of the breaker bar with a big hammer.  Go 'round in a circle with this.  Watch for movement and all that, you'll know fairly soon if it's going to work.  Squirt some PB Blaster in there first.

Alternative is to get some massive leverage (pipe or whatever you have over the breaker bar) and put some man force into it.  Deal with the socket/lug situation once it's off.

Another option (and this should probably be tried first, now that I think about it) is to reverse your direction.  You've wedged the socket on the lug trying to loosen, so try tightening.  Use a snapping motion here.  Doesn't solve the issue of removing the wheel, but gets the socket free for an impact setup.

As far as heat, you'll probably be okay if you've got a little propane torch, anything that can isolate the heat.  I've used torches frequently on super expensive aluminum bicycle frames, trying to extract a bottom bracket.  The alloy can take a bit of heat, just heat the socket quickly.

I'd actually be more concerned about the paint/clearcoat finish on the wheels than the alloy itself.

[Secret Chimp]

Whenever this happened to me, I just pulled the wrench in the other direction and it came off.

[S204STi]

+1 for just reversing direction. If that fails, remove the nut from the wheel and use a punch and hammer to knock it out from the other end. Usually need a drift on the other side like another slighty larger socket or a vise.

[The Pirate]

I'd actually be more concerned about the paint/clearcoat finish on the wheels than the alloy itself.

Yeah, good call.  I wasn't thinking that the lugs are probably fairly flush with the wheel (don't know why, 'cause 90% of them are).  Like mentioned, I've used heat plenty of times on bicycle frames, but the stuck component is usually external enough that I'm not putting direct heat on the painted alloy.

[hounddog]

So the socket is stuck to the lug, and you can't break the lug free?  Put the breaker bar (or the ratchet) on the socket and whack the hell out of the head of the breaker bar with a big hammer. 

Anytime you hit the breaker on a lug you are in grave jeopardy of breaking off the lug.

Better to get a much larger breaker and start over. 

Agree, by the way with reversing. 

You can always try pipe wrench with a really nice breaker on the socket if all else fails.  Just be really careful not to gouge the wheel or the paint on the car.

[The Pirate]

Anytime you hit the breaker on a lug you are in grave jeopardy of breaking off the lug.

Better to get a much larger breaker and start over. 

Agree, by the way with reversing. 

You can always try pipe wrench with a really nice breaker on the socket if all else fails.  Just be really careful not to gouge the wheel or the paint on the car.

True, and I've broken a lug before.  Either way, it comes off...

And, ideally, at this point, the whole stud is going to be replaced anyway.  Once a lug is overtorqued to the point of not coming off, the stud is stretched and shouldn't be reused.  That's a perfect situation, of course.

[hounddog]

True.

At least if you don't break it off you can continue to drive it for a short time until you are able to get the issue resolved.

Break it off and now you are simply rolling the dice if you continue to drive it.  But, yeah, I know what you saying.

[MrH]

I tried reversing direction, and it wouldn't budge.  I didn't have a very long breaker bar at the house, so I'll come up with something and try it again tomorrow or Saturday.  Once the nut comes off, getting it out of the socket won't be too bad.  The miata is sitting in the garage in the mean time.

Makes me realize how slow and giant the Protege5 feels in comparison to the miata.

[VTEC_Inside]

Hmm, my first thought was to reverse direction as well.

Try using the scissor jack the car probably came with under the socket and start cranking, back off, rotate, and repeat. Even if you have to sacrifice an extension plugged into the socket to have something to get the scissor jack on. At least that way everything will go nice and slowly, ie no hitting or sudden knuckle buster episodes.

In either case are you going to be able to get this nut off once the socket is off it??

[Rupert]

Wow, that sucks. It's like when the oil change monkey torques the filter to 1000000 lb/ft for no good reason. x_x

I would just be persistent as fuck. Keep wiggling, reversing, etc. If it's super stuck, maybe the socket was a little too big. What about cutting the socket off? It would take one cut along the shaft of the socket, and then the rest could be twisted and bent off.

[MrH]

Wow, that sucks. It's like when the oil change monkey torques the filter to 1000000 lb/ft for no good reason. x_x

I would just be persistent as fuck. Keep wiggling, reversing, etc. If it's super stuck, maybe the socket was a little too big. What about cutting the socket off? It would take one cut along the shaft of the socket, and then the rest could be twisted and bent off.

I'm going to use a giant breaker bar and get the thing off the car first, then I should be able to stick a screw driver or something through the socket, and pop the lug nut out hopefully.  If not, I'll just buy a new socket and lug nut.

[Rupert]

If it's that stuck, I bet the nut is fucked.

[Secret Chimp]

This is why I only use impact sockets on my hand tools above 14mm. I twisted a ton of normal chrome-whatever sockets and I've never had this problem since I started using the magical black metal they make impact sockets out of.

[The Pirate]

I try to avoid using impact stuff with wheels.  Hand installed and tightened to spec with a torque wrench.  MrH's debacle is one of the reasons why I'm anal that stuff, I've had a tire place wreck a few studs before.

[Cookie Monster]

I try to avoid using impact stuff with wheels.  Hand installed and tightened to spec with a torque wrench.  MrH's debacle is one of the reasons why I'm anal that stuff, I've had a tire place wreck a few studs before.

I think means that he still hand tightens with a wrench, he just uses the black impact sockets.

I hate chrome sockets, but they are easy to spot if you drop them into a dark nook or cranny.

[Rupert]

You guys buying shitty tools? 'Cause my mid level Craftsman sockets have been nothing but good.

[Byteme]

Do you have a big pair of vice grips?  If so use them to grip the socket with as much fiorce as you can so the vice grips stick out like a socket extension would.   Take a mhammer and them hit the vice grips from the top and then the bottom repeatedly to see if that can work it off.  Spray a bait of lubricant in there as well, it couldn't hurt.

If all else fails can you use a dremel tool to cut the socket off?  Make a couple of lateral cuts the length of the socket, splitting it in two. 

An alternative is to just muscle the thing in the opposite direction until the socket either comes off or you snap the stud offl. That happens all the time and the stud can be replaced fairly easily.

In any case the lug nut is probably toast.

I would't try heat 

[r0tor]

Take the breaker bar off, squirt some wd-40 or equivalent in there, attach an air compressor hose to the socket, turn compressor on, and shoot dat sucka off like an oily bottle rocket

[Secret Chimp]

I try to avoid using impact stuff with wheels.  Hand installed and tightened to spec with a torque wrench.  MrH's debacle is one of the reasons why I'm anal that stuff, I've had a tire place wreck a few studs before.

I use impact sockets on hand tools. All in all it just leaves me with less sockets to keep track of since they all go into a little clippy-shut box and I keep my tools in an old Adidas duffel bag...

[The Pirate]

I use impact sockets on hand tools. All in all it just leaves me with less sockets to keep track of since they all go into a little clippy-shut box and I keep my tools in an old Adidas duffel bag...

Right, I got it now.