Folks,

I brought the 1990 240 DL Estate (Wagon) in for a tire spin balance.

I forgot to direct the tire store yesterday to hand remove and hand install and torque the lug nuts.

So, stewpid, stoopid, stupid me for being mindless then.

After reading all the brickboard posts on tire shops and those God Damned impact wrenches either stripping the tire lug nuts, the tire lug bolts, or shearing the tire lug bolt to wheel hub keyway interface.

I forget the engineering term. The knurled tire lug bolt stud section near the bolt head where it secure (presses) into the wheel hub. Does that help?

Welp, on the vehicle right side (Canadian market passenger side), rear wheel, they stripped, so they say, the knurled section, so they say, on three of them so the nuts won't torque. They spin, so they say.

The tire store said they'd have to tow it or I'd "nurse" it home. I nursed it home without problem back to the crappy parking lot in the trashy complex I miserably reside in. (Ending with preposition intentional.)

I reside in yet another crappy, shitty, trashy apartment complex (where you can hear and smell other tenants to my disgust). One useless garage without power. Two of my three 240s sit in the sun. (Been dressing the leather seats covers with conditioner and hydrants several times.)

So, at NAPA, we have lug bolts for 2.39$ a piece. Surely made in Chinese crappy sell-back-to-the-US crappy steel that may have been your Volvo 240 from prior years.

Yet, if the cause, the knurled section interface between the hub and the wheel lug bolts may have failed. Some research suggests the failure may be on the hub side of that interface as the tire lug bolt suds is a harder steel then the material steel comprising the hub itself.

So, we remove the hub works revealing the hub and:
1. Replace the three studs if that is the failure (I'd replace all five)
2. Replace the hub itself (unscrews from the axle, yes, and replaceable)
3. Finally, tack a strong weld at the lug bolt stud head to bond it to the hub.

I've replaced lug bolts when the thread failed. I've not encountered such an issue like this directly.

Is the tire shop culpable for the repair cost should I take it to a repair facility? I'll probably have to.

It had been a long week, and I was wholly exhausted, and this is why I mindlessly forgot to tell the tire store, as we ALL should, to hand loosen and tighten the lug nuts.

Just say NO to impact wrenches on tire lug nuts! ALWAYS!

Recommendations, please?

Thank you kindly.

cheers,

Mindless Mac Duffed.
--
Mac and Cheese.

Don't feel bad...I have had Ironworkers strip the threads on A490 Hex bolts...that is 120,000 lb shear force! Their Impact Gun is as big as a small child...

Because Ironworkers. Had they been Boilermakers you would have been good. As bonus, they can weld round things.

If I get the warp core in the trunk, I'll not need wheels.

See some of them Earth like exo-planets with misty pine trees and mountains.

A nice and cool world.

Well, I'm driving for the repair today.

Like one thread respondent indicates, maybe we can find a stud of a slightly larger diameter at the splined interface.

Indeed, as Onkel suggests, the studs may have spun, yet the spline on the hub may be fine. 2.39$ from the NAPA made of old Volvos yet melted down in China, I'll bet.

We hope.

Thank you folks for caring. Thank you bunches and bunches.

Cheese Cake and Pumpkin Pie
--
Earl Grey tea, with hunny and milk.

I never let other people work on my cars. The last time, I was stranded 300 miles from home, -15F with a bitter north wind and a dead fuel pump. Got to pay $600 for a cheap noisy fuel pump. And the fitting at the filter (also replaced) was leaking. Ahem. Where was I ? Oh yes...

I would take the wheel off and see what the damages actually are before getting too worried about the hub.

Since the tire shop have proven themselves to be incompetent, they may have misdiagnosed the problem. More likely the nuts and/or studs are ruined. If the hole in the hub is damaged you might see if NAPA has a stud with an oversized knurl / spline, or a stud for a different application with a slightly larger spline, but the same thread.

Common sense would say that the tire shop is responsible for the damage so you won't get anything from them. Sorry.

Greg

Were all 3 stripped studs on 1 side?

FYI, the rear studs press directly into the axle flange which along with the axle shaft, is made as 1 piece, so the flange does not come off separately.

I use air guns on lug nuts almost every day I work and almost every time without issues. However, nothing is perfect and I do encounter stripped lug nuts, stripped wheel studs, broken wheel studs and the rare slipping studs.

If any of the the above mentioned problems occur while I am removing a lug nut, there is no way the use of my air gun is responsible.

The improper use of an air gun while installing a lug nut can cause some of the problems, but a spinning wheel stud is either a problem that was created over time, or by the use of the wrong replacement stud or by a poor installation of a replacement stud. I supposed corrosion could also be a factor, but I have never seen it.

As to responsibility, you can't always use the "your the last one to touch it" defense. Sometimes it's just an old parts time to bite the dust. Remember the studs could be 24 years old and I have changed studs on newer cars than that.

It is possible to change the rear studs without removing the entire axle shaft. Volvo made a special hand tool, but you can improvise.




--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com

This sadly brought back memories. Had a similar experience with my old 88 240 prolly 15 years ago. Shop had, in my opinion, crossed the threads on one stud and just tightened the crap out of it with air gun. I go to remove front tire and discover. Stud snaps off. As I recall not difficult to replace. I recall using a punch/drift and BF hammer to whack it out from outside to inside. And same punch to "convince" the new one to enter from inside and seat well. I recall being scared shitless when it snapped. And pleasantly surprised at $2.50 for the stud and relatively painless re-installation. And yes it makes me view the $17.99 for oil change and "free tire rotation" a bit more skeptically...

Folks,

Thank all so kindly for the thoughtful replies.

I have no garage and no power to bring to the wee 1990 240 DL wagon beastie (M47 II manual transmission).

No, the thread is not crossed or stripped.

I'm going to go visit an import auto repair shop (just like the kind I used to work at in St. Louis, MO and San Rafael, CA; nah, I'm not SAE or otherwise certified).

So, only a few more dollars.

A cautionary tale re-run with tire stores and impact wrenches on the Volvo 240 (or any RWD Volvo) wheel lug nuts.

I'd replaced studs front and rear just as you folks described, yet due to stripped thread; nothing like this.

I'm simply worried if I remove the wheel-tire assembly, the right rear brake caliper, and the rotor, and get into it, I may be surely futzed in some parking lot, without power, the knurled section on the hub is stripped.

Uncle Onkel Udo II, indeed, the studs may be more ductile than the axle hub they anchor to, but I'm worried, like I said, taking it apart, with Napa studs at the ready, I'd be futzed.

So, well, hopefully not too much $$$.

Thanks,

1990 240 DL li'l red wee beastie wagon.

That's a sad story and I feel for you. I'd come and give you a hand if I was near, but I'm about 3000 miles off.

I will offer some advice though, and that is that it's a really, really, bad idea to even think about welding on an axel flange. The axel and it's hub are forged from one piece of steel for a reason.

Like springs, truck frames, and steering parts, axels are made from alloy steels which are hardenable. Hardenable materials are crack sensitive to welding and when you mix that with cyclic loading you have the perfect recipe for disaster.

I don't want to read in the papers that your kittens are orphans and you were last seen on the interstate driving on 3 wheels.

If you can't get the studs seated then look for a used half shaft. It's not worth the risk.

Thank you.

Well, lets see what the practicing and certified mechanics says.

His name is Sven or something.

All import all the time.

Thank you.

Duffed and Mac and Cheesse.

Agreed on most of this but I can say with almost certainty...the lug studs are a very "soft" steel...actually it is very ductile.

Most likely you will need to remove the good lug nuts first. Then attempt to remove the the bad ones once at a time. I usually suggest using impact but in your case try to get a lever against the back of the stud an loosen.

My guess, one is toast...maybe two ut even the most moronic of impact wrench monkeys would not have time to mess up three.

Getting the lug studs out of the rear is actually very easy. Lug nut threaded on flush to the stud. 5 # hammer (3 # if you feel lucky) and on very firm, well placed whack. Rotate the hub until you find the one place it can be extracted from the rear of the hub (disc has to be removed as I remember).

Will in increase the chance of the hub bearing being damaged...sure. Is it worth the the risk...yep.

In the future there are a number of options to mitigate or avoid this. You will NEVER get a tire shop to change their ways so:

Always bring in bare wheel when possible
Every time you remove the wheel, wire brush...if any resistance going on or coming off, replace the lug nut and use a thread repair split die on the stud

When you do have to let the tire or alignement hop handle your car ask to see their 65 ftlb torque sticks BEFORE you reliquish the car. When they cannot produce them, then indicate that due to the lack of the proper stick for the impact wrench they MUST use hand tools and their disclaimer on the wall (point at it) is not valid if they do.

No matter what, before leaving the parking lot, loosen then torque the all the lug nuts in full view of the garage.