Blue View - Getting Blue’s (Lug) Nuts Off

We had a saying when we lived aboard Nine of Cups... “Nothing’s ever easy on a boat”. Whatever job or repair we undertook was always harder, more complicated and definitely more expensive than the same job would be on land. Now we’re beginning to think the same thing is true of Blue.

Our latest tale of woe started with our 60,000 mile servicing. We were in Coeur d’Alene and the Ford dealer there was more than happy to provide it as well as take care of a warranty issue. One of the included tasks with the servicing was rotating the tires, which was timely, since I had planned to have that done anyway.

Blue has one locking lug nut on each wheel

And all were stripped

Blue has locking lug nuts - one lug nut on each wheel requires a specially keyed tool to remove it. The original owner, who lived in New York City, had them installed, and that was probably a prudent investment to prevent his wheels from being stolen. Where we live, it’s not something we worry about, especially since Blue’s wheels are nothing special, but we saw no reason to remove them. Until, that is, when the Ford dealer informed us that the locking lug nuts had become stripped. They were able to remove two of them, but two were too badly stripped, and the mechanic was unable to remove them. ( It wasn’t the Ford dealer that stripped them, of course, nor was it the tire dealer that last had the wheels off... must have just deteriorated on their own, I guess). This meant that not only could they not be rotated, but even worse, we’d  be unable to  change a flat.

Surely, there must be a way remove them. The dealer sent us to a local tire shop who informed us they had no way to remove them. After visiting a couple more garages and repair places, none of whom could help, we decided to take our chances and wait until we were back in Las Vegas. 

In the meantime, I did some research. There are about 100 YouTube videos showing how to remove locking lug nuts. There are also 50 or so universal locking lug nut removal kits available on Amazon. I felt pretty smug in my newfound knowledge... I’d find a way to get those suckers off.

Cleverly, before going too far down this path, I contacted the manufacturer, McGard, in New York. I got the impression they had watched all the same videos and bought every one of those universal removal kits when designing their locks. Jeff, the McGard technician, told me none of those methods would work... that if anyone could buy a $49 removal kit, their locking lugs wouldn’t be much protection from a knowledgeable thief. The only way to remove their locking lug nuts once they became stripped was to drill the stud out. They had a drill-out kit they could send, free with a $100 deposit, that would do the job. I should expect to spend 2-3 hours drilling each wheel. Yikes! That would be 4-6 hours, sitting in the hot sun here in Las Vegas drilling out those studs, and after which, of course, I’d still have to replace them with new studs. His advice might be accurate, but I thought I’d try some of the alternatives anyway.

Well, I tried chisels, cutting wheels, various sockets and a couple of the removal kits intended specifically for McGard locking lugs. My brother, Paul, half jokingly suggested that it might be easier and cheaper to cut the wheels off the lug nuts, rather than than the other way around, and just buy new wheels. Little did I know how right he was. I finally had to concede. Jeff was correct, there was no way I could find, short of drilling out the studs that would remove their lugs. I gave him a call.

After giving him the product number of our locking lugs as well as Blue’s make, model and year, he said there was a problem. For some reason, those lug nuts were only for the European model, and they didn’t have the right drill-out tool. But, no worries, they could fabricate one and have it ready in a day or two. True to his word, he called the next day to say the kit was ready and they would overnight it to me at their expense. Great! I drove to the local auto parts dealer and ordered two replacement wheel studs, which should also be in the next day.

The removal tool and one of the lesser stripped nuts

The drill-out kit

Let the drilling begin

1-1/2 hours later - first one done

Another 2 hours and the 2nd one done

Sweaty work, but I’m getting there

Starting the second wheel

The remains of the drilled out stud

Sure enough, the drill-out kit arrived the next morning. It took 1-1/2 hours for the first wheel, and about 2 hours for the second - the drill bits were getting dull by then, but I got those pesky lug nuts drilled out and only had to spend 3-1/2 hours in near 100 degree weather doing it. So far, so good. Then I drove over to the parts store to pick up the new studs.

When the clerk handed me the new wheel studs, I knew right away they weren’t the right ones. The diameter was closer to 3/8” than my 1/2” studs. The clerk said,”Hmmm, let me check. You’re right, these aren’t the right ones for your vehicle, and it looks like we don’t have the right ones in our system. Sorry.” The next auto parts store told me the studs were only available from a dealer. Really! Well shit!

When I called the dealer, after an interminable amount of typing, he told me it was the strangest thing. It seems that they have the studs for the rear wheel, but they can’t be replaced in the front hub. I’d have to buy the entire hub and bearing assembly for $365. To replace one measly wheel stud, I’d have to replace the entire hub and bearing assembly? Who designed that?

For a second opinion, I paid a visit to my favorite local garage. The mechanic, after doing a bit of research, affirmed that that was indeed the case. His bid for replacing the rear wheel stud was bad enough at $159, but it would be another $635 to replace the front stud, including the hub and bearing. It turns out that my brother was right... it would have been faster and cheaper to cut the wheels off the lug nuts after all. 

And… we still need a tire rotation

On top of all that, we still have to get the tires rotated, which is now, unquestionably, the most expensive tire rotation we’ve ever had. BTW, Jeff, the tech at McGard, told me that the locking lugs had a lifetime warranty. He’d be happy to replace my stripped lug nuts and the removal tool with a new set. I politely declined.