Professional_Tool_And_Equipment_News_April_2020 - 57

CTA
Manufacturing
Lug Driller Kit

A "must-have" tool for shops servicing
European vehicles, the reviewer says.
by David Brierley,
Editor

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
The CTA Manufacturing Lug Driller Kit, No. 1775, removes locking lug bolts quickly, safely, and without damage to the wheel or
rim. The kit is designed to work on European vehicles with lost or
damaged locking lug bolt keys. The Lug Driller Kit keeps operation time at approximately eight minutes per wheel, according to
the company. The kit comes with all the necessary components
needed to remove the damaged lug bolt. It includes four nylon
internal centering guides, three metal external centering guides, a
metal centering guide for free-turning lugs, two hard drill bits with
tungsten carbide tips, four extractors, an impact extractor holder,
and an impact extractor remover.
Circle 88 on card, or enter at "e-inquiry"
on VehicleServicePros.com

THE REVIEW:

hile most
domestic
passenger
vehicles use lug nuts to fasten the wheel to studs on the
hub assembly, many European
models have the opposite setup:
they use lug bolts instead, which
fasten into threaded bores on the hub
assembly. According to Matt Fanslow,
technician and shop manager at
Riverside Automotive in Red Wing,
Minnesota, lug bolts often use an internal hex pattern head which can become
stripped if not handled correctly. When
stripped, lug bolts become nearly impossible to remove.
"Per procedure, you would never use
an impact on these," Fanslow says. "But
guess what every shop does? They impact
them off and then they impact them on
with either the torque limiting sockets or
the torque limiting extensions. And they
just hammer away. Eventually, [the lug
bolt heads] round out and then they're a
real pain to try to get out."
When Fanslow tried out the Lug
Driller Kit from CTA Manufacturing,

he says he had
an "ah-ha" moment.
"I didn't really know kits
like this existed," he says. "I
would call them a lifesaver."
While Fanslow uses the kit mostly for damaged or stripped lug bolts,
the manufacturer says it is also helpful for removing locking lug bolts for
which the key has gone missing or
become damaged.
The kit works by using a centering
guide to help the technician drill into the
center of the damaged lug bolt. An extractor can then be fitted and hammered into
the resulting hole. Once the extractor is
in place, the technician can simply use a
ratchet to rotate the lug bolt out. Fanslow
says the kit also includes a pickle fork-type
extractor remover to help get the extractor
apart from the damaged lug bolt.
The kit comes in a "really nice" blow
molded case with two latches, which
Fanslow says feels well-made and heavy
www.VehicleServicePros.com

APRIL 2020

duty. And an easy-to-follow user's manual
is also included.
"There's a pretty decent user's manual
inside that's all pictures, no words," he
says. "It's really step-by-step what to do."
Fanslow says the kit seems to be high
quality, but he couldn't easily find how to
order replacement parts should any of the
components wear out.
Editor's note: Fanslow received an early
example of the kit. A label specifying part
numbers is now included inside the case.
Aside from this minor complaint, the
technician remains impressed with the kit.
"I really like the centering cones," he
says. "I like that everything is in [the kit]
except for the drill and the air hose and the
magnet to clean up after you're done drilling. Everything else is in there ready to go."
According to Fanslow, the CTA
Manufacturing Lug Driller Kit is a quality set that can save shops a lot of time
working on vehicles with lug bolts.
"Everything about the tool, I think,
is of good quality," he says. "[It's a] nice
kit, good instructions ... it's a must-have
tool for a Euro shop that sees a lot of
lug bolts."
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