locking wheel nut breaking

[alf1956]

Hello fellow members
I have a clk 270cdi 55 plate&i have had problems with the locking nut , i was taking the wheel off&it sheared off so i had to drill out the wheel stud&i went to the local Merc dealers&bought a new locking nut for £29 & tried to take off the other wheel&again it sheared. all the other wheel nuts came off no problems.can anybody explain why this has happened&offer any solution's a sto how i can get the locking stud out of the wheel without having to drill it out as it takes hours

 

[edonmez]

Hi I have had similar problem I went to a tyre changer and they took it off by hammering in a socket. All four mine was same I believe it is due to tightening far too much. Especially if someone used an impact wrench

 

[mr vandango]

I've had so much trouble with locking wheel nuts in the past! The most effective way is to hammer on an old socket (I mostly use the imperial type for this!). Some have a spinning collar that needs to be removed before you do this.

Once it's off, throw it in the bin, follow that with all the others and then replace with normal nuts.

If you live in an area where people still nick wheels then the easiest way to keep them trouble free I've found is to do the other four up to the correct torque with a torque wrench and then do the locking nut with a standard wrench to a decent tightness, but don't overdo it!

There was a thread recently about whether to use or not to use copper grease on wheel nuts. I always have, and have never once had a problem. If you don't like the idea of using it, then maybe a smear on the weakest link, i.e. the locking nut, will just prevent future seizure.

 

[Wheelsnuts]

I had the same problem: garage over-tightened the locking nuts and they had to be drilled out. Got a replacement set from Ebay for £15, so could have been worse!

 

[rorf]

Idiot incompetent garages that do not use torque wrenches:fail

 

[Wheelsnuts]

Too right! I thought I was saving money by not going to a Mercedes specialist for new brake pads. False economy - never again.