Your Complete Guide on How to Remove Broken Lug Nut

Do you want to know how to remove broken lug nut? Doing some repairs with your vehicle, you might find it rewarding. The only problem is when you discovered that one or two of the lug nuts in your automobile are broken but you need to go. Even if you don’t encounter this problem very often, it is not impossible. Before it surfaces, you might want to learn how to do it right the first time to eliminate any associated stress for not knowing what to know.

How to Remove Broken Lug Nut

When you need to remove a stripped or broken lug nut, you have some methods to choose from, but in the following guide, we’ll share an easy way of eliminating the guesswork and solving the problem.

Things you will need

Penetrating fluid
12pt socket head
Breaker bar

Easy Steps

1. Park your car on a flat surface and safely

You should first look for a place where to park the car where it has level ground surface. Do not ever attempt to remove a broken lug nut on a hill.

Also, make sure that there is plenty of room for you to move and go around the side of the automobile, and that means a pace without restriction to move.

If you’re on the road’s side and discovered a stripped or damaged lug nut, get your car to an empty lot or a safe place that has no traffic to ensure you can work safely.

See to it that you’re putting on your parking brake. Take note that this task will require some time and effort. That is why you need to look for a good place to work and ensure that your car is in a secure position.

2. Get a penetrating fluid

A reason for stripped or broken lug nut is rust, which makes it hard to remove a lug nut from its position. There are sources noting that you can make use of a mallet or hammer to smash away the rust top layer from the lug nuts.

The problem is it might damage other parts, so we’re not recommending it. What to do instead is to spray the lug nut with penetrating oil, especially low viscosity ones. It works to free the rusted parts.

3. Connect a socket

You should be able to get a 12pt socket head, and then position it over the broken lug nut. You might want to select a socket, which is a bit bigger than the lug nut you’re looking to remove.

When you have your socket in position, you can use a mallet or hammer to knock the socket around the lug nut. You may also want to make use of a rag between the hammer and the lug nut to prevent any damage as well as to allow for less slip and better grip.

With some effort and hitting it a couple of times to get it tight around your lug nut, you can be successful at this. You need to stop if you notice any movement in the socket around your lug nut.

4. On to the socket, add a breaker bar

When you have gotten your socket tight around the lug nut, you might also have to attach a breaker bar at the socket’s end to improve your advantage when loosening the broken lug nut. A longer bar is recommended because it needs less effort when making a turn due to its wider arc.

5. Apply force

It is time to flex some muscle and show them what you have! You just have to apply force to the breaker bar so that you can loosen the lug nut easily. However, make sure that you’re not rushing on this step. Otherwise, you might grind the socket into the lug nut if you’re going too fast.

Choose the slower route. What to do is to turn the breaker bar slowly but with a firm grip while applying precise pressure amount until the broken lug nut loosen.

After a while, it must be easy and smooth to take the broken lug nut out. If you still need some time to do it, try repeating the above steps.

When you have removed the nut, you need to assess the condition of the stud next. If you have a broken or damaged stud, you should replace right away. On the other hand, fix the lug nut into place if you find no damage to the stud.

Conclusion

The method on how to remove broken lug nut outlined above is the simplest and easiest method around that we’d like to share with you. We do hope you learned something and try it the next time you encountered the problem.

Do you think we missed a tip or two in the above guide? Tell us in the comment section. Finally, share this article on Facebook to help others learn today!