I went to take the hubcaps off of my Accord WITHOUT jacking the car up and BROKE a lug nut off of the front wheel. The thread broke right off of the hub assembly and is stuck inside the lug nut.


That being said, does anyone know how much a mechanic will charge to fix it?


I'm such a lazy bum!!!

 

most likely and hour or 2 shop labor plus the stub and lug price

 

This exactly.

 

Why would you need to jack the car off to remove the hub caps? I do it on the ground all the time haha.

I believe in the Accord FAQ there's a DIY on replacing wheel studs. There's a small gap in the dust shield/assembly where you can take a rubber mallet and wack the crap out of the stud once it's lined up with that hole and then you just pop a new one in.

 

Yep. x2 Years ago when I had a 5th gen Accord, this was how a broken stud in the front of my car was replaced. Few minute job.

 

Alrighty guys thanks! So what do you think the cost will be about?

 

If you did it yourself, around $4-8 ($1-$2 for a new lug nut, $3-$4 for the stud wheel bolt, and $2 for a stack of washers if you don't have any.) If you do it yourself, use a rubber mallet to hammer out the broken stud (or a hammer if you are very careful you don't whack anything other than the stud); if the stud is too short, use a center punch and hammer to drive the bolt out. Remember, you need to line up the broken stud with the gap in the dust shield/assembly before you start whacking away. After it is removed, put in the new stud and put a stack of washers on the wheel side of the hub and use a lug nut to tighten and pull in the new stud to the hub before remounting the wheel. Remove washers before remounting wheel.

If you bring it to a shop that knows about this procedure, I would think they might charge you around $50. Years ago, some mechanics I knew said they would charge $50; but, when they got it out so easily, they only charged me $10 (but, I knew the guys).

 

I always crank my lugs off while it's not jacked. That way the wheel doesn't spin. Doesn't sound like you did something dumb, just unlucky.

 

x2

 

You actually have to pull the front hub off to get the stud out. There is no way you can just pound it out and put one in. The rear of the knuckle will contact the stud.

Go rent a hub puller or take your whole knuckle to a shop to press out the hub.

 

You're suppose to loosen the lug nut while its on the ground.

 

x80

how else would you break it loose (unless, of course, you have an impact wrench)? the wheel will spin unless you have someone holding the brakes... and on top of that i wouldnt trust a jack or even jack stands to hold my car while breaking lugs loose. sounds like yours was either really weak to begin with or you were turning it the wrong way...

 

I remembered that the caliper needs to be removed first, to be able to line up the broken wheel bolt with the gap to clear the hub, and then hammer out the bolt.