Can’t remove lug nuts

[NYC_X5]

Recently got a spare tire, was going to practice jacking the car and doing a change, but I can’t for the life of me get the damn lug nuts off. Supposed to go on a road trip next week and last thing I want is to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with the right tools but not be able to remove the nuts.

Any suggestions?

[gqgambler]

Hit the gym...haha

Unfortunately they may have been overtightened by the tech, ugh; likely using an air gun instead of a torque wrench. If you have a long handle torque wrench that might do the trick. The long handle gives you leverage and allows more force to be applied. You would likely have to exceed the recommended torque settings to loosen the bolts.

[daytonaviolet]

Use a jack handle/pipe and extend it over your breaking bar ratchet. The added length fulcrum will give you more leverage. Once the lugs are off, re-torque them correctly.

[Qsilver7]

Ditto the last two comments. You're going to need something longer to loosen the bolts.

I just helped my neighbor the other week with this same issue. His daughter's car had a flat and he couldn't loosen the lug bolts. I took over an approx 3 ft' steel pipe that I keep around for just this purpose...and we first slipped it over the car's (an old M Benz) aluminum (or some other type of soft metal) lug wrench to extend the length (which increases the leverage)...but her lug wrench started to bend. So I went and got my steel breaker bar and the appropriate sized socket...and slipped the steel pipe onto the handle of my steel breaker...and that worked perfectly...the lug bolt came right off.

If your BMW lug wrench starts to bend like my neighbors...scrap it and use a hardened steel socket wrench (if you have one) along with an extended steel pipe. Most BMW lug bolts can be removed with a 17mm socket...but have a 19mm socket on standby because for a while...BMW was using 19mm lug bolts. Every BMW I've owned has used a 17mm lug bolt except for my 2006 e53 X5 which has 19mm lug bolts. Why BMW does things like this....I have no clue.

The longer the bar...the greater the leverage...the easier it will be to remove the lug bolts. It's simple geometry.

{my "persuader" bar}

[turboawd]

The bmw wrench is just so small.
I bought a breaker bar and socket, and keep that in my x5.

[CatalinP]

It's easier to tighten the lugs to the corrent torque setting rather than carry around all sorts of junk, just in case...

BMW sells a fixed torque wrench with the correct torque setting for the wheels. If the lugs are tighten using only that, then there is no problem opening them when needed.

[andrewmr]

If you know who the last person/place that had the wheels off, go by there and ask them to please loosen the lugs and then re tighten them to spec.

[sj22]

Get a breaker bar and socket as another poster said, it will make life much easier.

Also make sure you replace worn out lug nuts.

[NYC_X5]

Breaker bar with a pipe cut through it like butter.
Torqued to right spec and all ready to go.

Got it this way when I purchased it, every single nut was over torqued.

[unluky]

No REAL shade tree mechanic ever looks at a length of pipe over 1 foot long and does not at least think of keeping it for a cheater bar! LOL - I bet I have 7-8. I can't remember for sure, but I think it was when I was doing my shocks and springs on my Z4 - I had the gorilla beast one broke out and about rocked the car off the damn jack and stands......but they came loose finally. Key is steadily increasing the pressure till they come instead of putting the cheater on and jumping on it. That is how you twist bolt heads off. That always makes it MUCH more fun........... =)

[Qsilver7]

Thanks for the update..."like butter".

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by unluky

No REAL shade tree mechanic ever looks at a length of pipe over 1 foot long and does not at least think of keeping it for a cheater bar! LOL - I bet I have 7-8. I can't remember for sure, but I think it was when I was doing my shocks and springs on my Z4 - I had the gorilla beast one broke out and about rocked the car off the damn jack and stands......but they came loose finally. Key is steadily increasing the pressure till they come instead of putting the cheater on and jumping on it. That is how you twist bolt heads off. That always makes it MUCH more fun........... =)

If you don't want to break bolts, you need to use an impact wrench. The hammer action breaks them loose without breaking them in half.

[unluky]

Originally Posted by turboawd

If you don't want to break bolts, you need to use an impact wrench. The hammer action breaks them loose without breaking them in half.

1000% right. Always my first choice even before a breaker, but Sometimes when they stick and even after I get the BIG DADDY impact on them and they won't budge (they get 30 mins of panther piss soaking too) then the bar comes out. I don't think I have ever needed a cheater on a lug nut on a normal car before, but I had to use one on my tractor once.

I have a 30" breaker and that is usually as far as I have to go for lugs.

[bagekko]

LOLOL

I have been meaning to loosen and re-tighten my wheels after the dealer did a brake job recently. I rarely let anyone remove/install wheels and always check their work if they do. On our X5 they had to borrow our wheels before we bought it and replace with new ones, I have the strongest battery powered 1/2 gun and it wouldn't remove a few. I have broken 3/8 breaker bars before in the past. All my cars have 1/2 breaker bars now, which saved a coworker once as the tiny Mazda lug tool was too small to get her lugs off.

Its sad when a cheater pipe is necessary, thats hub cracking potential if they smashed them on that hard. Worst I have heard of is actually a few people that lost wheels while driving because the hub broke.

Originally Posted by andrewmr

If you know who the last person/place that had the wheels off, go by there and ask them to please loosen the lugs and then re tighten them to spec.

[clayton_bigsby]

Same thing happened on my E70 50i. They didnt use a torque wrench and over torqued the lugs terribly to where they all had to be broken off. All four corners. What I was told by my indy shop is that (at least in chicagoland) the porters are the ones doing this and are trying to do the job as quickly as possibly instead of completing the job correctly.

[Rotzy]

I always put a dab of never-seez on all my lugs and tighten them to spec. I never again have a problem getting them off.