SL/R129: Frozen/broken wheel lug, Sl500 91
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Joined: Jul 2010
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500SL 1991
Frozen/broken wheel lug, Sl500 91
Hi all I am in a bit of a bind, I have a SL500 1991 that someone (before I owned the car) excessively torqued the wheel lug bolts and they are frozen. I have tried removing them with a heavy duty Air impact gun to no avail. I used a breaker bar and hammer to shock them loose and this worked well for all but two lug bolts. I even tried heating up the hub first with a torch, no go. My fear is that I am looking at destroying the rim and cutting them off as the lug bolts are recessed and I can't access them. I am at a loss for ideas at this point. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, frustrated in Mass.
Thanks, frustrated in Mass.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 23
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1988 300E - Diamond Blue, 1997 SL320 - Black Opal
Depending on the type of lug nut you have it might be worthwhile to break the nuts off, drill out the remnants, and then upgrade to the newer nuts.
Don't know if you can get any penetrating oil in to the tight recesses due to poor access.
Another option is to try and tighten the nuts first - sounds strange, but sometimes that's all it takes. When I had my nut shear off, I found it was that when the nuts were torqued the wheel had moved a tad and ended up slightly changing the angle of the lug which caused it to bind on the rim.
Have you talked with any shops yet?
jb
Don't know if you can get any penetrating oil in to the tight recesses due to poor access.
Another option is to try and tighten the nuts first - sounds strange, but sometimes that's all it takes. When I had my nut shear off, I found it was that when the nuts were torqued the wheel had moved a tad and ended up slightly changing the angle of the lug which caused it to bind on the rim.
Have you talked with any shops yet?
jb
