(sigh) I swapped my winter tires with summer ones, both being on separate wheels. I used impact wrench to tighten them. Then when all were done I tried to torque all wheel bolts to 120 Nm, but one of the bolts keeps turning. Most likely the thread is bad - either on the bolt itself or the hub.

All other bolts are torqued properly but this one.. I tried to remove it but I couldn't, so I tighten it again (maybe that was stupid from my side).

The car is still under warranty but the dealer will most likely book for after few weeks since it's that time of the year when everyone changes their tires. They don't answer on the phone, I'll try tomorrow again.

Wondering should I check with a tire shop instead? Or should try my luck to remove the bolt, by first removing the other 4 bolts on that wheel and then use the impact wrench on the problematic bolt? If it's only the bolt thread not the hub, I'll be very happy guys, but should I try or better don't touch anymore.. ☹️

Hi,

I would let a tire shop have a try. Hard to say whether it comes from the screw or from the hub... I also hope for you it's the screw

Lesson's learnt: Use impact wrench, only to unscrew. To screw, use a simple ratchet to start, and apply the requested torque with a torque wrench.

Edited 23 April23 Apr by Bap33

Yeap, learned that lesson the hard way.. I actually knew about that but couldn’t hold the tire while turning the first bolt carefully by hand, so used the impact wrench.. I had to take a fella maybe or iluse one of those bolt pins(not sure how are they called) which conveniently hold the tire while you put the bolt in.

EDIT: These pins I’m talking about are called “tire positioning pins”, e.g. https://share.temu.com/paetW1bQ34B

Edited 24 April24 Apr by fr1nklyn

Ok, I’ve lifted the car and removed the other 4 bolts, then removed the problematic bolt by hand with a ratchet while the weight of the wheel was pushing it out.

The bolt thread is damaged a little but also the thread of the hub somewhere deep inside. I don’t see issues with the hub thread visually but when I tried to turn a good bolt, it’s still spinning at the end and I can’t torque it to 120 Nm..

22 minutes ago, fr1nklyn said:

Ok, I’ve lifted the car and removed the other 4 bolts, then removed the problematic bolt by hand with a ratchet while the weight of the wheel was pushing it out.

The bolt thread is damaged a little but also the thread of the hub somewhere deep inside. I don’t see issues with the hub thread visually but when I tried to turn a good bolt, it’s still spinning at the end and I can’t torque it to 120 Nm..

Unfortunately, what almost certainly happened was the 1st bolt cross-threaded when you used the impact wrench on it and I'm not sure I'd trust a helicoil repair on the damaged thread - probably the best fix would be to replace the damaged hub.

Also get yourself a pair of the tyre positioning pins for future use.

43 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Also get yourself a pair of the tyre positioning pins for future use.

I'll definitely get a pair for the next swap! :) I usually have someone holding the tire and helping me, this why I haven't faced such issues before, but I'll be prepared for the next time..

I was able to contact the Skoda garage and booked for the next week.

The way I position the wheel is to sit on the floor facing it then wedge a foot either side of it so the wheel is sitting on the top of my feet as I then put a bolt in. I use the skoda screwdriver, the end of the handle has a 17mm socket so you can use it to easily spin in the bolts unti the thread catches.

It always hurts my feet though, so maybe some positioning pins would be a better bet!

12 minutes ago, Binx1310 said:

The way I position the wheel is to sit on the floor facing it then wedge a foot either side of it so the wheel is sitting on the top of my feet as I then put a bolt in. I use the skoda screwdriver, the end of the handle has a 17mm socket so you can use it to easily spin in the bolts unti the thread catches.

It always hurts my feet though, so maybe some positioning pins would be a better bet!

They make the job so much easier - a pair spaced one stud apart is best if the wheel has a considerable amount of offset.

While looking for tire positioning pins, I found that there are conversion kits to wheel studs like in this video https://youtu.be/Crlu_HfyHeI?is=8QdW8nWgBk9r1lcZ

It looks so much easier with them. I know most of the Asian cars have them.

5 hours ago, Binx1310 said:

The way I position the wheel is to sit on the floor facing it then wedge a foot either side of it so the wheel is sitting on the top of my feet as I then put a bolt in. I use the skoda screwdriver, the end of the handle has a 17mm socket so you can use it to easily spin in the bolts unti the thread catches.

It always hurts my feet though, so maybe some positioning pins would be a better bet!

My variation is to sit on the floor with feet on the tyre wall at 3 and 9 holding it on the hub; bolts handtight with the Little (4"?) extension bar I have, then tweak with bar then torque when car's back on the floor.

3 hours ago, fr1nklyn said:

While looking for tire positioning pins, I found that there are conversion kits to wheel studs like in this video https://youtu.be/Crlu_HfyHeI?is=8QdW8nWgBk9r1lcZ

It looks so much easier with them. I know most of the Asian cars have them.

Yep - called a stud and nut kit. Plenty of tuners sell them as most people that are serious about tracking their car will switch to that.

Unfortunately, a stud conversion kit won't help OP in this particular case as the stud still requires a viable thread in the hub.

1 hour ago, Warrior193 said:

Unfortunately, a stud conversion kit won't help OP in this particular case as the stud still requires a viable thread in the hub.

Yeap, but thought that it might be helpful to someone facing the same issue.

Were the bolts dry or lubed?

4 hours ago, travs said:

My variation is to sit on the floor with feet on the tyre wall at 3 and 9 holding it on the hub; bolts handtight with the Little (4"?) extension bar I have, then tweak with bar then torque when car's back on the floor.

What what, are you pushing the wheel with your feet to the hub while turning the bolts with extension with your hands? You seems to be very flexible. Sorry I asked ChatGPT to draw it for me, but it draw the man beside the tire, not in front of the tire. (I might asked to draw it like 5 y.o. :D )

PS: Sorry I'm just fried at the end of the week. I'm losing it...

Edited 24 April24 Apr by fr1nklyn

2 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Were the bolts dry or lubed?

Dry - I never lube the bolts since that may change the actual torque I try to set.

Right answer. 🙂

3 hours ago, fr1nklyn said:

What what, are you pushing the wheel with your feet to the hub while turning the bolts with extension with your hands? You seems to be very flexible. Sorry I asked ChatGPT to draw it for me, but it draw the man beside the tire, not in front of the tire. (I might asked to draw it like 5 y.o. :D )

PS: Sorry I'm just fried at the end of the week. I'm losing it...

Yessir. Sit on floor with wheel in front, put it on the hub and hold it there while you line it up with the holes, couple of bolts in and game over.

I've been using a Wheel hanger for years n years n years.

I remove my wheels often, that this was a must.

Makes it so much easier to remove and put the wheel back on/off the hub.

A must also for those who use spacers.

I don't use spacers anymore, since changing to aftermarket rims - but it's still super helpful for any rims.

It's good for ur back n legs too cause ur not straining to position and align the holes.

This is the wheel hanger on the rear axle.

Edited 25 April25 Apr by JR RS

I’ve got one too but never found it that useful as the wheel still moves around a bit so found it fiddly.

But @Warrior193 mentioned two…that sounds like the panacea

Hi,

I don't use this kind of tool, though it looks convenient. Just sit in front of the wheel. Put my 2 feet at 4 and 8 o'clock on the side wall on the tyre. Then :

• Manually screw a 1st bolt in the 6-ish o'clock area to be sure the wheel is really in contact with the hub.

• Screw (still manually) all remaining 4 bolts.

• Use Impact wrench set to 100Nm (still with my feet on the tyre to avoid the wheel turning).

• Lay the car down on its wheels

• Screw all bolts at 140Nm with a torque wrench. (Recommended torque on 19" rims if I remember well).

Yes, at least two seems reasonable. This will avoid rim moving. They are like €10-15 for a pair.

2 minutes ago, Bap33 said:

Hi,

I don't use this kind of tool, though it looks convenient. Just sit in front of the wheel. Put my 2 feet at 4 and 8 o'clock on the side wall on the tyre. Then :

• Manually screw a 1st bolt in the 6-ish o'clock area to be sure the wheel is really in contact with the hub.

• Screw (still manually) all remaining 4 bolts.

• Use Impact wrench set to 100Nm (still with my feet on the tyre to avoid the wheel turning).

• Lay the car down on its wheels

• Screw all bolts at 140Nm with a torque wrench. (Recommended torque on 19" rims if I remember well).

Yeap, @travs explained similar technic. Seems common, but I haven’t seen it before.

4 hours ago, fr1nklyn said:

Yes, at least two seems reasonable. This will avoid rim moving. They are like €10-15 for a pair.

Just ordered a pair from Ali express for £3.20!

I commend the surely superb (no pun intended!) physical condition of some of you (you probably know who you are 😁) that sit, lie and joggle around with the wheels! Bravo!

Me, I go more practical ... I use the pin since like a millon years*, together with the little "tweezers" that take the plastics cap off ...

They are very practical tools, worth its weight in gold. I always try to scour an extra one/two when I go to the breakers, usually get discarded ....

1 put the pin in an upper hole in the hub

2 bring the wheel along and kneel (before Zod!) one knee down - use a pad or a rag

3 lift slightly the wheel and get it over the pin, use the foot that is not "keeling" to hold the lower part of the wheel, by the tires.

4 as the wheel slides over the pin, manouver to fit on the hub, up/down or sideways depending on how far you are in fitting on the hub. If done correcly, now you got the wheel centered on the hub, hanging on the pin on the top, and held by your foot 😀

5 with both hands free, attach two bolts by hand, or one by the extension, this depends, on the RR I could do both bolts at once, in the Superb one with the extension.

6 tighten with tool as required

I find this not tiring. My mate who used to be in the trade ditches the pin to save more time, and does it as follows:

1 positions the wheel by the hub, fits one bolt in upper position and kneels (not before Zod)

2 lifts wheel onto hub by watching through the spokes how the bolt/hole align, moment they do he pushes the wheel onto the hub, and uses the foot as above

3 tightens by hand first bolt fully, then you got the wheel firmly onto the hub

4 do all the other bolts and tighten as required

Can't say his method is better or not, is just different.

For me the pin is invaluable ... the W126 came with a full-size (rims are deep!) aluminum one, looks like a chiselled jewel ... but even the ugly plastic VAG one does the job!