I took my MINI to my local tire shop to pickup two new tires I ordered and one of the lug bolts was frozen. Once it was removed, you could see all the threads were stripped.

Whats the solution to fix this? Do I need to get a new hub, or do I need to have the hub re-threaded and use larger bolts?

I assume that rotors arent threaded (I need new ones), so replacing my rotors wont fix the hub problem. But should I order new rotors if the hub is going to get rethreaded??

So many questions, no idea what to do.
Thanks

Richard

 

Sometimes the damage is mainly on the lug bolts and not so much on the
threads in the hub. I'd clean up the threads in the hub with the correct size tap,
and see how it goes with a new bolt.
If not, a new hub will be needed.
The rotors aren't threaded, they just have a hole for the bolt to go through.

 

Just to clarify is it the bolt you see stripped of thread or the actual hub hole stripped of thread or both? .

I believe that the bolts are not the same quality metal as the hubs . Maybe try another bolt to see if it threads .

 

Thanks for the quick replies. As far as I know, it's the lug bolt that's stripped. I took photos and will post them later. The tire shop was using an air tool to remove the bolts. The other 3 were fine, but this one wouldn't budge, so he removed it by hand with a lot of force. I didn't inspect the hole to see if that was stripped as well.

 

often engineers will design systems so that one piece is manufactured with a harder metal than the other so that if there is part to part wear, one will stay spec and you will only have to replace the other.

hopefully that will be the case with the lugs and the hub.

 

Sorry this happened. Lesson learned, always use anti-seize compound on the lugs. When I buy a new car or when I buy tires, I always take out the lugs and coat them with an anti-seize compound and torque them myself after the work is done.

Like Cristo said, If you can find a tap that size, try to clean the thread in the hub, buy another lug nut and torque it down. If it will not hold torque (spins in the hole in the hub) you will most likely have to replace it.

Good luck.

 

You want to actually use a rethreading tap, not a tap which cuts new threads.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
If this doesn't fix the problem then it is time to replace the hub.

I believe the correct size is M12x1.5. Anybody else know any different?

 

Thanks everyone for the tips! Will have to make a trip to the dealer and buy some more lug bolts. Not sure about the tapping thing though--about whether I should just find a shop to do it for me.

 

Keep it simple first. Just try threading another lug bolt into that hole on the hub. If it will hole 80 ft-lbs you are fine and only need a new lug bolt. If it won't thread or pulls/won't thread all the way in, you will probably need a new hub. PM me if you have more questions.

We can work out a deal for online wrench advise in exchange for a deal on a VacuCam system

 

I stripped my lug bolt and the threads in the hub. How does one use a rethreading tap if the front threads in the hole are stripped? Do I have to take off the hub and start it from the back side? If so, how does the hub come off?

Thanks,
Mike

 

YES! 12x1.5 IS CORRECT!!!

 

A rethreading tap will clean up borked threads, but there has to be threads to clean up. What it is doing is reshaping the treads that are already there. Like has been said you may be lucky & find the the lug bolt was the only thing stripped. If not a new hub is in your future. If there is any doubt Richard, play it safe & get a hub.

 

I had this happen on the Cooper before I went to studs - one of the bolts in the rear hub must have gotten really hot at an AX, so much so that it stretched a bit. When I took it out, it galled the threads in the hub all to heck - to the point that it was not save-able by re-threading the hole because it actually removed material.

I drove home with 3 bolts, stopping every little while to re-torque the bolts.

When the new hub went on, the bolts were replaced by studs...

 

If you go with a re-threading tap, be sure to squirt plenty of oil into the hole before you start, and periodically back the tap out a quarter-turn as you're running it through the threads. I usually turn the tap a full turn clockwise, followed by a quarter-turn anticlockwise, then another full turn clockwise, another quarter-turn anticlockwise, and repeat until the tap is all the way into the hole.

The reason for this is that the tap will have grooves in it to collect the metal shavings/crud that you're cleaning out as you clean/re-cut the threads. Periodically backing the tap out gets the crud into those grooves and out of the threads.

 

My threads are gnarled all to heck, so it looks like a new hub is in my future. Any idea what is involved with replacing the hub?

 

Recently went through this....snapped one bolt inside the hub that was corroded on there from winter. Tried to drill it out and made a mess so off to the dealer for a new hub--I don't think it took 15 min to replace the thing. It's wonderful having tools, a lift, knowhow etc... So now all the lug bolts have a thin coat of antiseize on them, which I never did before, but I'd never snapped a bolt off before either!
Only thing the tech asked me to do was to retorque the big nut holding the hub on at some point, so I got my neighbor to stand on the brake pedal and I tightened it to like 147 ft/lb or something. All's good......

 

Thanks for the info gbuff. Did you require any special tools other than standard stuff? It looks like a big torx socket for the rotor and a gigantic metric socket for the hub nut are in order.

 

I don't have my Bentley in front of me but I think it's like a T50 for the rotor, and I think I used a 1 1/2" std 6-pt socket for the hub nut that fit fine (don't have a metric socket that big). This is all from memory and it's early.....

 

I changed to studs. After a long day at the track the nut would get jammed on the stud for probably the same reason. When I would go to change brake pads at the end of the day it would pull the studs back out (the heat reduced the effectiveness of the locktight as well). So I decided to go back bolts because I got tired of having to get new studs. Well, when I went to pull all the studs out, 3 of them stripped the threads on the way out. So I had to get 3 new hubs. $1000 mistake!

 

I had one hole that was stripping out as well, so I switched to the best studs (hardest metal) I could find (Turner Motorsports). They were almost $6 a piece, but I haven't expereienced the backing-out issue mentioned above (an occasional Auto-X class or DE).

Perhaps you could get someone to clean up the threads with a tap... just enough to get a stud in there and fixed so you wouldn't have to mess with the threads again?

 

Wow... I just realized that this post is over a year old. How did it finally turn out, OG?

 

For the R56, the big bolt is a 52mm and the rotor torx is size 47. One of the bolts on the back seems like you can't get to it with a socket, but it is possible with an extension...you have to go at it sideways between the ridges of the CV boot and then get it perpendicular to the bolt.

 

Glad you've worked out the problem.

It was sad seeing you driving the Elantra today.