Stripped Stud Removal

So, you are either installing or removing a wheel when all of a sudded you come to a lug nut that you cannot tighten down nor remove. It's simply spinning in place. What do you do? If you don't want to deal with it, and it's only one stud you are having issues with, then you can take it to a mechanic and have them fix it. If it's more than one stud then you can call a tow truck. OR, you can follow the instructions below and drill the lugnut off the stud. The removal process uses common tools to protect the wheels while allowing the lug nut to be drilled out.

	Tools Needed: This situation happened with a Nissan Maxima which utilizes a 21mm lug nut. To drill through the stud a 1/2" drill bit is needed. In order to keep the drill bit centered on the nut a 21mm socket for a 1/2" ratchet was purchased. A large pair of locking pliars and a drill are needed. We started with the pictured titanium bit but ended up needing a much better carbide bit. The longevity of the bit is directly proportional to how long it takes to drill through the nut/stud. A powerful drill with lots of torque will make life much easier. In our case we had a common electric drill which did not have near the torque we needed, thus, it took much longer to drill through. Don't forget to pick up replacement studs

	Step 1: First step is positioning the locking pliars on the 21mm socket. We added some electrical tape to the pliars to protect the rims.

	Step 2: Using the socket as a guide, insert the drill bit and have at it. We had two stripped wheel studs and the titanium bit ate through 1/2 of the first one. Once we swapped to a better bit it ate through the rest with no issue. The first nut was completely drilled through, the second one grabbed the drill bit when it was 1/2 way through and actually unscrewed itself the remainder of the way. Results vary obviously.

	Final: Here's the first stud drilled through, worked like a champ. Total cost to remove two studs was less than $25 for the socket and two drill bits.

Disclaimer: The author will not be held responsible nor held liable for any damages due to these instructions. Anyone following these directions are doing so at their own risk. This Documentation may not be distributed without the authors consent.