Tapping noise from rear wheel of Mercedes ( long lug bolts )

Noise caused by lug bolts of excess length colliding with the park brake assembly inside rear wheel hub of Mercedes . This was an anti theft locking bolt as bolts of differing lengths had been fitted, but a wheel bolt/lug bolt of the incorrect length can cause the same problem. Please ensure that correct lug bolt is used if you have alloys on vehicle but spare wheel is steel, including if bolt is tapered or ball seat. All advice is for general use only, please seek professional assistance regarding the correct bolts and wheels for your safety.

[BillMall]

I had a weird clicking noise when I put aftermarket wheels with spacers and extended lug bolts. Never dawned on me that the lug bolts may have been too long and were hitting the emergency brake and springs. Thanks for this video!!

[VeloGrapher]

Helps heaps! Thanks for this video. I recently changed wheels and got new bolts that looked the same length... turns out that they're a tad too long.

[evelynmahoney]

It happened to me too. Used 2005 CL500 (W215).

I'd only ever put the spare on the front, due to a recurring crack in the rim, using the same bolts that were already on it.

When the spare was needed on the rear due to a flat tire, the existing bolts were too short.

I searched on Google and quickly read that different bolts were needed with the spare, but nearly all referred to a donut spare requiring shorter bolts, which were supposed to come with the car, along with the spare, the jack etc.

I have a BIG spare, and
it didn't come with any bolts; only the jack and a wrench donated by the guy I bought it from. The styrofoam thing had slots for stuff, but no stuff. No owner's manual either.

I finally found mention of my full-sized Steel spare. The article talked about the minimum number of milimeters that the bolts should go into the hub.

I stood the two wheels side by side & put one of the existing bolts in each & compared. Barely 2 or 3 threads protruded on the spare. Kinda like "offset" & "spacers" which I'd once read about, to do with my truck though.

On Google, I read where the long bolts were used on the rear with the donut spare, and damaged the parking brake. No problem on the front because there's nothing they're gonna hit.

I dont have a donut spare OR long bolts. In fact I NEED long bolts. Interesting reading though.

So off i went to O'Reilly Auto Part Store for longer bolts. I was told they had to be ordered. Also, that would be true at Autozone, Pet Boys, etc.because they're a specialty item. Great.

Next I went to a Wheel & Tire place. The guy had 2 long bolts left, which I bought. Yay! It's a start.

Thinking about everything on the way home & the donut spare story somewhere in the back of my mind, it occurred to me that since the spare had only ever been on the front (on my watch anyway), maybe the long bolts were on the front.

TaDa! 4 of them were there. Issue solved & I was glad that I only bought 2 ($5 each) because I only really needed 1.

Once the tire was repaired, I removed the spare & put the regular wheel back on.

When i drove it, immediately there was a whap-whap-whap sound from the rear. I pulled over & confirmed the lug bolts were all tightened.
I started to drive again and it still made the noise. I rolled the window down & really listened. Went slow, went fast, turned right & left . . .

I thought maybe a tree branch was caught under the car so I went over a couple speed bumps on my street, only faster this time, my second trip around the block. It seemed like it wasn't as loud when I went fast but I think because the engine was louder then.

Did some Google research & determined the long bolts were likely the issue, expecially since the whap-whap-whap sound sped up & slowed down in sync with the car's speed.

Damn it! After that whole donut story? And OMG, driving fast too.

Took out the long bolts & put in the shorter ones, and drove again. Noise still there, but not half as bad as it was.

So now I have the right rear end on blocks, scarily put it in neutral without the parking brake on to see if the wheel would turn freely. Which it does, and luckily is capable of doi ing independently of the other rear wheel.

However, this was not before I chocked the front wheels, thinking - ass up, it may roll forward, the engine weight up there, etc.

Oh no, it rolled backwards. As soon as the tire left the ground, very slowly until the wheel was on the ground again. And there sat my wheel chocks all by themselves, now about 3 feet away from the front of the car. Maybs my street isn't as level as i thought. Oh Well!

So i got some 4x4 blocks and chocked all 3 of the other wheel, each one front and back, plus the back of the one with the jack by it.

For good measure, I parked my truck right up against it, bumper to bumper with a bunch of rubber padding stuffed in between.

I was able to jack it off the ground, stack wooden blocks under it, take the wheel off, AND take the jack out.

When I needed to drive my truck somewhere, I was really afraid to move it, but everything held.

Turns out there's nothing to see after all that. The parking brake is BEHIND the hub, and its hard to get your head back there. Plus, there's a lot of cob webs and I saw one ugly spider. I blew it with the leaf blower and hit it with the hosed it with a high pressurre nozzle. Im gonna take a mirror out there to see the back side too.

Thats where it sits right now. I'm tired & burnt out, but I'll get there. Just taking a break, plus all this sh*t takes time!

Lastly, I'm praying that I dont have to take the hub off and take the parking brake apart. Its a drum, with all those springs, like on the rear of my truck - a nightmare, only worse because its buried behind & underneath everthing.

No joke, people should be required to attend a school & obtain a certificate of satisfactory completion before being allowed to buy a Mercedes.