When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hey y’all! Sorry for the big letters just wanted to draw attention to this post since I wish I had seen it a few months ago before I had this issue.
I have a 1998 SL500 that has been modified with 18” monoblock rims that have extra long lug bolts. For whatever reason the wheels were seized in place: moisture, over tightening, just a fluke, I don’t know. Considering this, discount tire broke a lug bolt head off while trying to remove the rim which wasn’t really their fault. I was able to remove 10 of the bolts using an pneumatic impact and penetrating oil. The other 10 I had to break the heads off with a 5 foot breaker bar and drill out.
Thanks to a number of members on here the suggestion was to get a hole saw rather than drilling out in the traditional method. I used the smallest Bi-Metal hole saw available that I found at starrett.com, I used a 15mm to bore off a small portion of the shaft making it easier to set the 14mm in place. From there I drilled down, making sure to keep the drill centered being careful to not shear off too much if any of the wheel. I used a couple small brushed drills, a pneumatic or brushless would’ve been FAR superior but that’s all I had accessible and with some tapping fluid worked beautifully. I used a stick magnet to remove the shavings as I went. As soon as all the heads were drilled off I could remove the bolts using only my fingers.
For those of you who don’t have stuck lug bolts andthose who have successfully removed their bolts. My suggestion is to do away with the dual headed bolts and go to the standard one (Mercedes wouldn’t even sell me the old style). I got 20 from Oriely for $3 a piece and they don’t look quite as cool, but they are so recessed they aren’t really visible. Regardless of the bolts you choose, clean any rust off the threads and use some kind of anti seize, I bought a tube of graphite anti seize from Oriely which hasn’t given me any trouble yet.
Most of y’all understand the mechanical basics of this issue and could probably explain it better, but for those like myself who are new to the hobby….
The reason these lugs bolts are such a flawed design is that they have two heads as you’ll see in the pictures below. With the traditional bolts if the head were to somehow break off (which is less likely as they are structurally much stronger) nothing would be contacting the seat allowing you to twist them out and at the very worst use an extractor. The issue with the dual headed bolts, besides the fact they are less strong is that if the first head is to be snapped off the wheel is still held on by the second head, but naturally all your grip is gone but none of the tension is relieved so you have no choice but to drill it out. This was a massive mistake of Mercedes to choose form over function in this case.
I hope this helps! I am a novice at this being only a teenager so any corrections by more experienced members is appreciated!
But the short bolts don't look good on the Monobloc Aero II rims.
Only have techs install and remove the bolts under your supervision.
I use a single lug guard bolt on each rim so techs have to ask for the key if they want to dismount the rims. I tighten the rims myself on reinstallation, no exceptions. For maintenance I treat the threads and mating faces with anti-seize.
I've drilled out 2 before and couldn't imagine doing it on 10.
I have the shorter bolts you recommend on my 99 with Aero 2’s. Aesthetically it does not make a difference for me, despite the recess, but maybe it’s because it came that way and I’ve got used to the look.
Someone needs to make a vanity cover or fake bolt attachment that can pop on and off easily. There’s my million dollar idea for the day. Lol
Hey y’all! Sorry for the big letters just wanted to draw attention to this post since I wish I had seen it a few months ago before I had this issue.
I have a 1998 SL500 that has been modified with 18” monoblock rims that have extra long lug bolts. For whatever reason the wheels were seized in place: moisture, over tightening, just a fluke, I don’t know. Considering this, discount tire broke a lug bolt head off while trying to remove the rim which wasn’t really their fault. I was able to remove 10 of the bolts using an pneumatic impact and penetrating oil. The other 10 I had to break the heads off with a 5 foot breaker bar and drill out.
Thanks to a number of members on here the suggestion was to get a hole saw rather than drilling out in the traditional method. I used the smallest Bi-Metal hole saw available that I found at starrett.com, I used a 15mm to bore off a small portion of the shaft making it easier to set the 14mm in place. From there I drilled down, making sure to keep the drill centered being careful to not shear off too much if any of the wheel. I used a couple small brushed drills, a pneumatic or brushless would’ve been FAR superior but that’s all I had accessible and with some tapping fluid worked beautifully. I used a stick magnet to remove the shavings as I went. As soon as all the heads were drilled off I could remove the bolts using only my fingers.
For those of you who don’t have stuck lug bolts andthose who have successfully removed their bolts. My suggestion is to do away with the dual headed bolts and go to the standard one (Mercedes wouldn’t even sell me the old style). I got 20 from Oriely for $3 a piece and they don’t look quite as cool, but they are so recessed they aren’t really visible. Regardless of the bolts you choose, clean any rust off the threads and use some kind of anti seize, I bought a tube of graphite anti seize from Oriely which hasn’t given me any trouble yet.
Most of y’all understand the mechanical basics of this issue and could probably explain it better, but for those like myself who are new to the hobby….
The reason these lugs bolts are such a flawed design is that they have two heads as you’ll see in the pictures below. With the traditional bolts if the head were to somehow break off (which is less likely as they are structurally much stronger) nothing would be contacting the seat allowing you to twist them out and at the very worst use an extractor. The issue with the dual headed bolts, besides the fact they are less strong is that if the first head is to be snapped off the wheel is still held on by the second head, but naturally all your grip is gone but none of the tension is relieved so you have no choice but to drill it out. This was a massive mistake of Mercedes to choose form over function in this case.
I hope this helps! I am a novice at this being only a teenager so any corrections by more experienced members is appreciated!
Old Style New style
This style is stronger and still retains the original look for early R129 "Gullideckels".
Anti seize screws up the torque values and should not be used. Lug nuts or bolts tend to seize by the shoulder galling/mating into the aluminum wheels and not the threads. Putting anti seize on the threads actually makes the problem worse as the shoulder is now over torqued into the wheel. These low milage classics unfortunately do not see many wheel changes so the lugs will have a tendency to be hard to remove when the time comes. IMHO, if lug nuts were backed off and torqued once a year this issue would never happen. This reminds me I should do mine since the have not been done for a couple of years. This video should help explain.
I have a '14 ML350 with AMG styling package. I noticed that 5 flower head bolts were missing their flowers, thus needing a 16mm socket. My brother and I tried to remove them with an impact gun and then a breaker bar. No go. I'm heading to the dealer Thursday to have 20 new plain 17mm bolts installed. Quite expensive. Since my wife is the primary driver, I hope that if she has a flat that the tow truck driver can remove the bolts easily.
10-28-2022, 09:42 PM
