porshuh

So I must have cross-threaded a lug nut, because when I went to remove it, it sheared off the stud.

Me being my paranoid self, I would like to replace the wheel studs and lug nuts on all four corners.

If I am familiar with removing the caliper/caliper bracket and rotor...is it very difficult to replace the wheel studs?

Also - where is a good place (site sponsor perhaps) to order replacement studs (part of the hub? part number?) and lug nuts?

Thanks everyone in advance for the assistance!

cclive

Once in a while, one breaks...it happens. Unless you used an impact gun to put the lug nut on, it would be very difficult to cross thread one. It's easy to press out one stud and replace it...waste of time to replace all of them. Any auto parts store will have the stud.

Don-Vette

I agree, easy fix.

porshuh

Cool. Thanks for the info!

I assume I can carefully tap the broken stud out the back of the hub with a hammer? And then place the new stud in its place finger tight, and let tightening the lug nut down on the wheel compress and pull the new stud into place?

Or is it more complicated than that...

silvrhand

Buy a torque wrench they are your friend.. 90-100ft/lbs.

Ratchet Thunderbolt

You can do this right in your driveway. Pull the caliper and put the inside face on a piece of wood. Take a drift punch and a good ballpeen hammer and drive the broken stud out. Flip the caliper over and set the outside face on a couple of 2 X 4's on edge so the caliper isn't hitting the cement. Put the stud in the hole and drive it in. I've done this many times and it's pretty easy. Buy the stud at an auto supply. Good luck.

Joe B.

I have torqued lug nuts to 100 lbs/ft only to need a cheater bar and heat to remove it 6 months later.

cclive

Nope, that's it. And you can also use a stack of washers and the nut to pull the new stud in if it is too short to get when the wheel is on. You can also use a clamp and a socket to press the old one out instead of hammering...either way.

z28lt1

I'm not a big fan of using wheels (or a lug nut that I'll use) for pulling the studs through. I put washers and an open ended lug nut (used only for this purpose) directly onto the hub to pull the stud through. I'm not sure there would be any real problems using the wheel, but I don't see a need to --not to mention I get to pull it tight using threads (on the stud and the nut) that won't ordinarily be used to hold the wheel on.

ben dover

What I do.

SCcues

I just changed wheel studs on my left front wheel. My torque wrench didn't work properly and I over tightened the studs and one of them broke. Since I was alternating my tightening pattern I assumed the other four were stretched also so I changed all 5 studs.

I did some searching on this subject and I found a couple of videos on youtube about changing wheel studs. The hammer method for removing the old studs is an option, but I decided to buy a special tool to remove mine so I wouldn't be beating the stud and my front wheel bearing! Every hit on the wheel stud is also an impact on your wheel bearing and I didn't want to chance doing that since I was changing all 5 studs on my wheel. I'm attaching a picture of the tool I found to remove the studs without any impact on the wheel bearing.

If you can remove the caliper and disc brake rotor then you can do the stud replacement your self. I used an open end lug nut and some flat washers to install the new studs and I found this method to be the best for installing the new studs.

Here are some pictures of the tool and some of the progress changing the wheel studs:
Check out the stud to the right of the removal tool, its stretched almost to the breaking point.


Use a crow bar to hold the hub while you work on it.
Thread locker for the caliper bolts.
Here's a picture installing a stud with washers and a ratchet.

All finished with 5 new wheel studs.

porshuh

Thanks for the pics! So I went the hammer-out, washer and wrench in method. Tapping it out took very little force, but wrenching the new one in felt like it took 350ft/lbs of force on the lug nut to pull the stud into place. I guess there isn't a special tool for press fitting the new stud into place?

Edit: is there a good place online to get a full set of wheel studs? Maybe the single one I got from the local auto parts store is crappy quality and didn't quite fit like it should...

Bill Dearborn

Over torquing and cross threading are two ways that can cause one to break. However, you should check your wheel hub to make sure there area no burrs on the hub. I had an issue with the same stud breaking over and over on my 97. After replacing the stud for the 4th time I rechecked everything and found the burr on the hub. it kept the wheel from seating properly and after I torqued the wheels the wheel still wasn't solidly against the hub. As I drove the car the wheel would move back and forth and that would cause some sort of stretching of the threads on the stud which made the nut hard to turn with it eventually breaking the stud. Once the burr was filed off the problem went away.

If you have a front stud it is fairly easy to change once you get the caliper and rotor off. There is a notch in the knuckle right in the area the caliper mounts. Turn the stud so it is in this notch and use a 3 lb sledge to knock it backwards through the notch. One good solid swing should knock it out. It doesn't stress the bearing that much since when the stud slips the force is limited. That is why you need the good solid swing of the hammer. Take the new stud and feed it through the notch and into the hole in the hub. It will be a tight fit and the stud will go in at an angle but if you work it through you can get it straight. Then use an open ended lug nut with washer to pull the stud through the hub until it is seated all the way. Another option on the fronts is to pull the hub which means you have to drop the lower ball joint to get to the lower hub bolt. Once the hub is off the car then you can use a vise to back up the hub flange when you hit the stud with a hammer.

The rears are similar but the notch in the knuckle is toward the front of the knuckle since the caliper is forward of it. The big problem is the parking brake backing plate. If you don't want to remove the hub from the knuckle you will need to drill a hole in the backing plate opposite of the notch so you can feed the studs through. This can be tricky since the hole has to be right next to the clip that hols the PB shoe in place. However, if you have a sharp drill bit and can put a dimple in the plate you should be able to drill the hole correctly.

Bill

Jawnathin

Front studs are easy to replace, was able to get both sides done really quickly, maybe 2 hours both sides, never done it before. I heard the rears are a lot harder.

Once the wheels/brakes were pulled, just hammer out the old stud, slide it out the back. Insert new stud, used a stud installation tool (does the job of the washers), spin on a lug nut and used my electrical impact gun to pull the stud into the hub. Moved on to the next stud. Very easy.

gbrtng

It's next to impossible to cross-thread a stud. The problem I've seen starts with nuts that have rolled threads instead of machine tapped. The ones you get from GM used to be rolled - I don't know what's being sold now, but make sure the nuts you use are snug (not wobbly) on the stud threads. You break studs when nuts are not properly torqued and fret corrosion occurs. Brake dust is pretty corrosive too.

MelAnn

Another source for the problem is when a new lug nut is chromed and chrome gets inside the threads. This can cause the threads to gaul and lock up.

I've run across this more than once.

SCcues

I went to the Chevy dealer and bought the OEM studs for my car. I installed them using the ratchet/flat washer method and they went right in. You used a stud from an auto parts store and there could have been a slight difference in the dimensions which caused you to have to use so much force to install it. I'm sure you saw the grooves at the base of the stud which need to be lined up with the grooves in the wheel rotor prior to pulling it in place. If those grooves weren't lined up properly that could have caused you to have to use excess force to pull them in place also.

I'm glad you have it fixed and if it ever happens again you've gain some knowledge from this thread and so did I.

porshuh

Yup, I noticed the groove, and lined it up as best I could. I agree that the generic stud might have slightly bigger grooves or whatever. Anyways, it's now in, and lookin' good.

Great help from all of you. Thank you much!

NoRuls

Regardless of which method you use to change the studs it would be advisable to re-torque them again at 50 and 100 miles. 100lbs is what's called for.

cclive

Because the force of the wheel in turns back and forth could pull the studs slightly further into the hub.