Extended lugs broke...

Ok so I have a major issue that I’ve never seen before...just upgraded my wheels/tires, got the complete set from Custom Offsets, and unfortunately they were not balanced properly...they told me to bring them to my local tire shop to have them taken care of and they would reimburse me (no problem so far)...but this is where I’m panicking...my local tire shop went to remove the new wheels and the ET (extended thread) lugs literally broke at the base, locking the wheels on the truck, so now I have a truck that’s not safe to drive, but can’t get the wheels off the truck without damaging them...I’m freaking out...Custom Offsets is telling me they are not liable for any damage done due to this, even though they have had similar issues with these lugs in the past (manager flat out told me this)... I’m beyond frustrated...local tire shop (Kost Tire) is saying they’ve never seen this happen before, and I sure as heck haven’t...but after doing some research, apparently ET lugs have a history of similar issues...if anyone knows how I can safely get my wheels off without damaging them please let me know!...I would be forever grateful if I can do this without damaging my 4 day old wheels!...I included a couple pics to show what happened, the base of the lug broke off and is stuck on the stem, in essence locking the wheels on the truck...thanks in advance for any and all help!!!

 

We’re they over torqued?

 

No sir, a torque wrench was used and set to spec

 

Maybe a hole saw that fits perfect and cut Slowly about the only thing I can think.

 

That’s worth a shot, thank you for the feedback!!!...if this works I owe you a beer, or a keg!

 

Maybe air chisel the studs in, hoping it breaks the few threads that are left. Then get new studs installed.

 

Correct me if I’m wrong here, but those are “in” the holes of the wheels still attached to the lugs. So the broken bits are just filling the gap between the outside of the lug and the inside of the wheel lug holes.

So what prevents you from taking the wheel off over the broken bits? The part of the lug that would have pressed against the lip inside the lug hole is off.

 

The shank should just be filling the gap now. Lift and support truck (4pt floor lift preferred), remove/break all lug nuts, spray penetrating lube on each shank, "walk" wheels off. May take some effort and cause some scrapes in the holes depending on burrs sticking out at the break.
Cause is possibly shank length. Shanks were too long and bottomed out on hub before the seat torqued to the wheel. Would cause stress at the union of the shank and seat, could also cause vibrations as the wheel isnt technically torqued.
Get shorter shanked lug nuts.

 

Yeah seems like they used the wrong lug nuts and they bottom out against the brake rotors before they actually secured the wheels properly , I’d bet they were not out of balance but the wheels were loose not entirely lose but not held on with enough down force and that’s what caused the lug nuts to do that .

 

My point is that the company that put your wheels on and sold you the lug nuts should be liable for any cost or damage it’s totally there fault!

 

Sorry I just re read your original post and realized this was a self inflicted wound . Sorry man that really sucks , I think your just going to have to use brut for and break off the lugs like previous stated and replace the lug studs .

 

double nut and break the lug

 

Yep then you can drive the remainder of the stud through with a punch and a hammer or if your skilled enough and you have one you can use a tapered drift punch on an air hammer

 

I'd center drill the studs, start small and go as big as you can, preferably to the same size as the stud. Don't drill deeper than the lug seat, that should allow you to get the pieces out.

 

Ok awesome, thanks so much for the help guys!!...going to see what can be done today, I feel like they sent me the wrong lugs as well, I said that to Custom Offsets because even Kost Tire agreed that something wasn’t right and CO told me that the only thing that would cause this is over torquing...I explained to them that I’m no stranger with a wrench in my hand (I just got done installing my own lift kit by myself...haha) and that the proper torque wrench was used to set them to spec, but they didn’t want to hear it...hopefully all goes well, I appreciate all the suggestions!!

 

Just an fyi as far as air hammer to push the studs out. The ET shanks are effectively acting as nuts on the studs. So, hitting them with an air hammer will probably just damage the studs while not pushing them out and cause you to have to cut them off after you pull the wheels off.

 

Think a hole saw is the best bet without doing more damage.

 

Wondering if you could find a Slugger Cutter bit that would pilot off the lug nut stud and have an OD that wouldn't damage the rims.

https://www.mcmaster.com/slugger-cutters

 

If they made a reverse hole saw or left handed,That would be the ticket.

 

Since the extended shank portion is bottomed out on the brake disc, likely there is still 97ft*lbs of torque holding them in place.

After thinking about it more, without damaging the rims, the only solution would be to drill the wheel studs out. Using a drill that is just larger than the major diameter of the thread. Would try to find a drill bushing to center the drill and minimize damaging the rims. This would be a long laborious process. Hopefully someone else can come up with a quicker solution.

 

Sorry, not much help, but this isn’t the first time I’ve read about extended lug nuts breaking off right at that point. Kind of hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like there’s not much thread length left on the wheel studs for the lug nuts to grab onto. I’m guessing much of the ET lug nut is left unthreaded, so when it’s torqued down and force is later applied counter-clockwise to loosen, the leverage on the unthreaded part is too great causing it to break.

When I’ve lost the key for wheel locks, I still managed to remove them with some effort using vice grips. But I had a good amount of surface on which to attach the vice grips. In your case, the wheel’s lug hole is obviously too small to use them, even with thin vice grips.

I think the other suggestions on drilling out the wheel studs and replacing with new ones sounds like the more viable option.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

seem like the wrong kind of ET lug nuts for our trucks.
most of the ones I see look like that:

https://camburg.com/shop/wheels-tires/camburg-m14-x-1-50-et-5-lug-spline-wheel-lug-kit-black/

 

Are you saying the link is the correct lug nut?

 

Use a small plumbers hand hack saw and cut along these lines the then use a small wedge/pick to pry the bits off. Care needs to be taken to not cut into the thread of the lug post. Took me about 2 hours per lug to remove all my locking lugs after the tire shop forgot to put the key back in its place and months later needed to rotate.

You could use a Dremel as well. Just plan on taking your time. It can be done.

 

Ok guys, quick update...I really wanted to take my truck home from Kost to work on this myself, but it’s obviously unsafe to drive, no way was I taking a chance on a wheel popping off while driving and making matters worse...Kost was able to get all 4 wheels off with no damage to wheels, and no damage to truck, other than having to destroy all 20 studs...so in the big picture, I have to stay positive and tell myself it could have been worse...but what really upsets me is the fact that almost every person I talk to feels the same way, that these lugs were not the correct lug for my application...Kost had every tech down there look at it, including their master tech, and they feel I was sent the wrong lugs for this set up...most people who see my pics online and who I’ve talked to say the same...Kost also called and got me the correct lugs, and spoke to the manufacturer, who also stated the same...but yet, Custom Offsets will not do anything for me other than send me a new set of lugs (no way they’re going back on my truck), and they just keep going back to the fact that they must have been over torqued..I’m beyond upset/frustrated, but like I said, I’m going to focus on the positive and appreciate the fact that my wheels are in one piece, and there was no damage to my bearings or any other part of the truck other than the studs...lesson learned I guess... I am not one to badmouth and trash talk a company, but I will express my experience and be 100% honest about it… If anybody is considering ordering from custom offsets, I would not do any of the install work your self even if you have been doing it for years… Because at the end of the day if something does go wrong, even if it’s their fault, they will not be held liable...thanks for all the help guys!

 

Glad that you got it worked out

 

I would say your best bet is a Dremel with a multi-purpose cutting bit. The one that looks like a 1/8th inch end mill, and cut as deep as you can on opposite sides of the remaining ring. Wear eye protection. Stay as close to the threads as possible, and be careful (dremels can get away from you if your careless).

If you had access to a machine shop, or have a buddy with access to machining tools, I'd look into making a tool similar to the lug nut (without threads), that could be use to turn the remaining material after prepping it a bit. Sort of like a castle nut setup.

Edit: OK... The good: looks like you got it worked out. The bad: crappy company blames the customer.

 

@2020Platinum

If you ordered on a credit card I would file a dispute about the issue and see what they will do. You never know, also you could hit up their social media accounts if they have them.

 

Yea I’m debating on whether or not I want to pursue anything here, unfortunately this is gonna cost me several hundred in labor, which makes me sick...but not sure I want the headache, I’m trying to stay as positive as possible and be thankful that nothing else was damaged...thanks for all the help guys, this is why I love this forum!