2001 BMW 530i lug nut broken off

[fojekl]

Hi,
I have a problem that I know has happened to someone in the past, but did not see any good links. It helps if people use titles that are relevant to what their questions might be instead of saying something like "big problem."

I was working on my car and removed the front wheel with no problems, but did notice the lug nuts were on EXTREMELY tight. Much more than the 120NM torque values. Unfortunately, the rear lug nuts were all removed with great effort, but one nut twisted off completely and is left in the wheel.

What's the best way to remove part of the lug nut bolt?
Drill it out, re tap the threads, replace the whole wheel hub?

[MaxVq]

I would try these things: (In this order)
(1) A stud remover (http://www.barksequipment.com/images/133.jpg)
(2) Pipe wrench
(3) Drill a hole and use an extractor (it can be very hard to drill a bolt!!)
(4) Weld on a larger nut, and try to remove it
(5) New hub

Down the road use a little anti-seize on the lug bolts. The bolt treads are exposed to the environment and they can corrode a little.

[fojekl]

Hi,
I ended up drilling the old bolt out and then removing it with some pliers. The threads in the hub were not stripped so I will not have to replace or rethread the hub. I have ordered new lug bolts since I believe the old ones are weak due to being overtightened. Torque values are 120Nm or about 88 ft lbs for the lug bolts so I will make sure and follow those specs!