Stripped Lugs and Shop Won't Fix!!!!

Hey guys I am just looking for suggestions here. About a month or so ago I took my Jeep, yes it is my DD, to a local shop to have the tires rotated. I dropped it off before I went to work and picked it up when I got off. I was on the way to work/school the other morning and noticed a bump in the steering and smelt something like burning breaks. I got to school and found that I was missing my locking lug nut and that two other lug nuts on my right front wheel were stripped. The lug is still on the stud, but the stud spins, I am afraid that it was stripped out of the hub. I replaced the one lug nut that was missing, and took it back to the shop. The first afternoon that I made the shop owner aware of the situation he tried to belittle it and he said that he would fix it. So I dropped it off yesterday morning to have them fix it to only get a call yesterday afternoon that I was going to have to take it to a wheel shop to get the wheel off. I went to save my Jeep from this idiot's shop, and the guy said that I had no proof that he was the last one that had serviced the Jeep and that I should have been able to tell within the first hour of driving it. I haven't touched the wheels on my jeep since the tires were rotated because there is usually no need, geez I haven't even washed it since then. He offered me $30 for something that is going to cost way more than that to fix.... I told him to give me my keys and I left very irritated at this point. I don't mind paying to fix the problem, but how do I get that money back when the job is done? DO NOT GO TO HILSBOROUGH ST. EXXON FOR ANY TYPE OF SERVICE ON YOUR VEHICLE IF YOU ARE IN THE RALEIGH AREA!!!!!!! The owner is extremely cheap and he doesn't stand by his word at all. This man has put my friends' lives and my own in jeopardy, by not standing by his mechanics abilities.

good on ya for gettin the word out on this butthead! these kind of irresponsible mechs cause problems for everyone, including the good honest mechs trying to do things right. sorry you got burned man - hopefully you can find a good mech in your area...

how much time had elapsed between when you noticed the problem and had the original service

Been a month or so?

My guess is that they only handtightened some of the lugs and they fell off. I had a Midas only hand tighten lugs up front once but I noticed 20 minutes into driving. So you are bit screwed if he choses to be a jerk about it.

Get a quote on the damage and take him to small claims! Do not let this guy get away with this crap! It's not that much money and they are not allowed to have a lawyer in the courtroom. Take pictures and have the receipt for the work.
What a jerk!
Tell everyone about what happened so no one uses his services and above all do your own work!
This is one of the easiest things to do.:soapbox:
I can understand if you are trying to keep the warranty on your tires though.
Rant over.

They probably stripped the lugs by using an impact gun.

I recently got new tires for my little DD. I saw the guy using an impact to tighten the nuts. As soon as I got home, I went to loosen the nuts and torque them down properly. Those things were on there TIGHT.

I've learned to always check the torque and the air pressure. Tire shops like to put in like 60 psi.

Sounds like you'll have too cut the lug off. Then have new lugs pressed in, or just get a whole new hub assembly.

As a small business owner you have to be suicidal to NOT eat that kind of problem. Word of mouth is how you get business in the first place and while one person telling 100 how good you are it only takes one to tell 10 and word spreads due to it's 'negative' slant. People remember 'bad' much more readily then 'good'... Not only did he screw you but he lost you as a customer as well as I bet your friends and others.

First things first.....One of you asked how long ago it had been, I am pretty sure it was about a month to month and a half ago. I had a knee surgery about two months ago and wasn't even able to drive when this guys claims that I brought the Jeep in. And second of all you are correct, small businesses are driven by word of mouth, if he won't fix the problem, where better to spread the word quickly about his crooked ways than here?! Hence the reason for my post. But back to the question at hand, how do I get the wheel off without a torch, so the lugs that are screwed up can be replaced? Can I grab the lugs with a wrench and drill the stud out? I just put these Mickey Thompson wheels and tires on and don't won't to ruin either in the process.

angieslist.com
Report him to the BBB. Bizrate. hell run a local ad in the paper. The best way. Buy an American Flag, Stand out in front of his shop and protest his store tell everyone coming in what he did to you. After loosing a days business he'll be happy to pay you the 200 or so bucks to get the wheel hub fixed! That or just wait for him to get off and Kick His Ass. I like that later solution always makes me feel better.

Trust me I have already considered the pros and cons of the latter ( I do have a good 50+ lbs on the guy.) Everyone always gets whats coming to them anyway. I have already posted the situation in two different locales so we'll see what happens.

JTwthaXJ said:

Trust me I have already considered the pros and cons of the latter ( I do have a good 50+ lbs on the guy.) Everyone always gets whats coming to them anyway. I have already posted the situation in two different locales so we'll see what happens.

Click to expand...

If you waited a month to notice this? correct?

It drove fine, I usually don't have to double check someones work. But yeah it was about a month. This is why I usually do my own work, but its impossible to balances tires without the proper tools. It just started doing this weird wobble when I was driving the other morning. Thats when I noticed the problem with those three lugs.

JTwthaXJ said:

It drove fine, I usually don't have to double check someones work. But yeah it was about a month. This is why I usually do my own work, but its impossible to balances tires without the proper tools. It just started doing this weird wobble when I was driving the other morning. Thats when I noticed the problem with those three lugs.

Click to expand...

This could be more than what it appears and franky Id be embarrassed to bring it up a month after the fact, You should always check the lugnuts 50 miles after each time they have been loosened, (maintenance). If you have alum wheels you should check em every day for awhile.

It may be from another source also like someone trying to steel your tires.

This is your fault for not taking care of your rig, no one elses

I'm not arguing who is at fault, I will admit I should have checked before I left the shop that day. But is there any way that I can get my wheel off so I can replace the studs? Taking almost any and all suggestions.....I just want to feel safe in my DD again.

well...a couple ways to go about this, and both will require the wheel and hub to be removed together - since the studs are stripped in the hub and (if i remember correctly) the studs have "shoulders" on the outside to prevent them from being pulled out towards the wheel (safety) then in your case the wheel must stay on the hub while you get the hub off - then you can determine if there is any way to salvage the studs/hub or have to replace the hub, which will come with studs pressed in it. anywho...if you have access to the center nut on the hub (the big mamma jamma) thru your wheels, then it will be easier as you can remove that nut (likely gonna require an impact wrench or giant breaker bar) so the hub will be disconnected from the axle - then just remove the three 12 pt bolts holding the hub on and pull the hub and wheel off. however, if ya don't have access to that center nut, and i'm thinking you don't because of the cap in the center of the wheel, then you'll have to pull the wheel, hub, and axle off as one unit (you'll just be removing the three 12 pt bolts to accomplish this).

btw, as someone mentioned above, many shops are notorious for using air guns to put on the lug nuts and they usually over torque them, causing all kinds of problems like stripped lugs, cracked aluminum wheels, etc not to mention you can get the lugs off when you are trying to change your flat tire. always a good practice to loosen them when you get home and torque them yourself ensuring you can take them off when you need too. i had a shop put them on so tight i had to use an impact wrench to get em off!! not pretty.

anywho, hope that helps

whoops --- scratch the above post... also need to remove the caliper (sorry, forgot). dam. that makes this a bad idea i'm thinkin. there won't be any way to get the caliper off the rotor b/c of the wheel. well, looks like your idea of drilling would be the least painful way...bummer, gonna take some time tho.

JTwthaXJ said:

I'm not arguing who is at fault, I will admit I should have checked before I left the shop that day. But is there any way that I can get my wheel off so I can replace the studs? Taking almost any and all suggestions.....I just want to feel safe in my DD again.

Click to expand...

cut off wheel and a grinder. be careful and cut the puppy off

Try a nutsplitter. Or, if you are really careful, you could probably use an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel.


edit:looks like rockwerks beat me to it.

The cutoff grinder is the way to go, BUT first, I would fashion some protection plates out of

something thin that you could tape on the wheel with a hole for the lug to pertrude through.

Then I would cut as close as possible with a 4"
grinding wheel, Then I would take a Dremmel

grinder with the small 1" wheel and split the lug straight down the center towards the hub,

cutting at least 2 cuts and maybe 4 cuts to as far as you can go witout damaging your wheel.

It may take several of the 1" wheels. Just play it by ear from there and with some patience's

It will work. If you don't have a dremmel, it will cost a lot less than shop labor.

Good Luck friend.

An old boss once told me "If you fix someones car correctly, you're lucky if they tell one person. If you fix someones car incorrectly, you're lucky if they only tell ten people!


I've also seen lugs tightened to the point where it warped the rotor!!