[W126 Coupe] how difficult can it be to change a tire...

[Shayegan, Richard]

I use the same thing (metal pipe on the handle of the lug nut wrench that comes with the car), but I know I've seen somewhere some very ingeniously designed wrench that doesn't need this. Instead you place it on two bolts or something.
Richard

________________________________________
From: mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com [mailto:mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com] On Behalf Of Mister McGoo
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 12:49 AM
To: mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com
Subject: RE: [W126 Coupe] how difficult can it be to change a tire...

Mike,
Just a comment on your wheel bolt problem...... 
I have tackled all the wheel bolts on an '82 that obviously hadn't been off for many years.  When Air impact didn't budge them, I used a 3/4 drive bar with a 5 foot piece of pipe and all of them came out with none breaking.
But even if you DO break the one problem bolt, the remaining four will keep the wheel on and you can drive on it.  Get your new tire mounted and drive home. The engineered safety factor is more than adequate that one missing wheel bolt will not cause the wheel to fall off.  That said, you certainly don't want to enter any Pebble Beach Road Races until you get it fixed.  Use caution.  No sideways drifting around corners!  Fix it right away.
So to remove the one broken bolt, remove the wheel, remove the brake caliper (and carefully hang it aside on a piece of wire - DON'T disconnect the brake hose), remove the front disk with the hub.  (The outter wheel bearing inner race will drop into the dirt... it's manditory).  
The point here is it is preferable if you can to remove the brake disc from the hub, (5 large cap screws from the inside hub face) although it may not be necessary.  In any case, it will be a whole lot easier to do this with the hub off the car without worrying about heating the wheel bearing too much or having the hub rotating on you.  THEN you can work on a bench, use penetrating oil and/or lots of heat on the remains of broken bolt by drilling the bolt stub and using an easy-out (described by someone else here) .  With the hub/disc off the car you can use a drill press and you can treat the offending stub from both sides.  If the easy-out doesn't do it, then you can always drill most of the offending bolt stub out completely (don't try it with a hand drill.).  It WILL come out.  Drilling the bolt usually itself causes so much vibration it breaks free.
Then you can regrease the inner and outter bearings before you shove the assembly back on the axle.
And, yes, if that all fails, you'll need a new hub, (as well as inner and outer bearings and seal).  I doubt very much that it will come to that.
Bellamy
>From: Jan Michael Kubr <jm at kubr.com> 
>Reply-To: Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists <mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com> 
>To: Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists <mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com> 
>Subject: [W126 Coupe] how difficult can it be to change a tire... 
>Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 10:39:26 -0800 
> 
>So I got a new set off BF Goodrich tires at costco ($381 installed) 
>but turns out they were unable to get one nut off on the front right 
>tire. They sent me to another shop but even they, after trying 3 
>different guns, could not get it off. 
> 
>So once I find a shop that can get the damn thing off, most likely 
>something will have broken. Now I was told (and not having a service 
>manual handy) that if one of the bolts breaks, I'd have to replace 
>the backplate to which all five bolts are attached..  any truth to 
>that? 
> 
>mike 
> 
> 
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