Wheel bolts & hubs/drums. Breaking & stripping. Solution?

[Nevadan]

I'm probably not the only one who has snapped a wheel bolt or stripped the hub installing a wheel bolt. My tire shop has caused me lots of problems trying to torque to specs so now I just take the wheel off the vehicle and take it in to them and re-install it myself.

I found a solution to the rear hubs by putting a set of 89(?) GTI drums on. They have an extra casting on the inside of the drum that establishes more surface for the bolt to thread into. Problem solved, at least for the drum portion of the problem.

I've still snapped a few wheel bolts, but the solution to that is probably just use new bolts.

The front hubs are a different story. Any solutions to this? I've re-tapped them to make them work but is installing new hubs the only solution?

[zman]

I cant help you there but I do like you and mount my own rims. I do use anti-seize on the threads though. Bolts are bolts and will only take so much stress before they give, New bolts are never a mistake but lug bolts shouldn't be breaking all too often.
I have yet to have a lug bolt break anyways.

[the man 53]

I take my wheel bolts to 90ft/lbs. I have never bought new and never broken one. Is something else going on with yours?

[Nevadan]

The problem with the front hubs is likely PO over-torquing or cross threading or just old hubs or lack of care in reinstalling the wheel.

When I had the tire shop re-mount my tires (they only snapped 2 before I started mounting my own wheels) they snapped a wheel bolt and said, "They get old and brittle" and "that era Audi & VW used a soft iron in the hubs". I'm not sure how true that is. They, and I, have also stripped two bolt holes trying to get them up to torque specs.

Maybe the snapped bolts were run sometime on a very loosely attached wheel and they were stressed. (I actually did that once about a year ago, in the excitement of wanting to make a test run on some repair, rolling out of my garage without the final tightening of wheel bolts after lowering the car off the jacks and then 20 miles later wondering what the clunking sound is....GUILTY! The bolts had backed out about 1/4 inch. I'm not sure if those exact bolts are the ones that broke, but the problem may have been caused my ME.)