Loose wheel stud
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,173
Likes: 3,982
From: Connecticut, USA
well there have been plenty of these cars out there running on 4 studs when one was sheared off with an impact. I like to have all 5 in use though. The studs are knurled to prevent them from spinning. If it was hit it may just be loose, if hit an on angle the hole may be wallowed out.
You can get studs from any vendor or local parts store. You will have to disconnect the parking brake spring at the bottom to allow the shoes to spread out and rotate the axle to a point where you slide the old stud out and new one in. Then you can use some stacked washers and 7/16-20 nut to pull the new stud in place. I use a drop of Loctite on the knurl when I install new studs but I am also doing it with the axle out and in a press.
You can get studs from any vendor or local parts store. You will have to disconnect the parking brake spring at the bottom to allow the shoes to spread out and rotate the axle to a point where you slide the old stud out and new one in. Then you can use some stacked washers and 7/16-20 nut to pull the new stud in place. I use a drop of Loctite on the knurl when I install new studs but I am also doing it with the axle out and in a press.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,156
Likes: 273
From: Dunedin NZ.
Hi Warvett, be very careful some replacement studs have heads on them that are slightly thicker than the originals, if they are too thick they can catch on the parking brake springs and make a real mess ask me how I know
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 13,082
Likes: 3,399
From: SW Florida.
if stud base is too big, you can chuck it in a half inch drill and fire up the bench grinder and trim thickness and width of the base to match orig. just do not heat the stud too much by grinding too fast. bubbalathe... with any new wheel stud, make sure lug nut spins on freely. if thread is tight, the knurl will spin until you get tension on it. and there ain't much to grip to hold it still.
Last edited by derekderek; Oct 6, 2019 at 07:10 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,361
Likes: 1,592
From: Western NY
My concern would be WHY the stud is loose. Did the splines on the stud get "worn down" by someone who was "overzealous" with an impact wrench, or did the hole in the spindle also get damaged, and is now "oversized"? If the stud is bad, which is what SHOULD be the case, as the stud is usually a softer metal that the spindle, then you can press in a new stud, without too much trouble, as stated in an above post. If the hole in the spindle has somehow gone "oversized, that could be a major headache.....
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 99
Likes: 22
From: Southwick MA
It was only a little loose. You can move it about an 1/8 inch up and down. It doesn’t move in or out so it seems that the bold head is still in there - just not solid like the others.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,506
Likes: 139
From: Butler Pa
If the stud is bad, which is what SHOULD be the case, as the stud is usually a softer metal that the spindle, then you can press in a new stud, without too much trouble, as stated in an above post. If the hole in the spindle has somehow gone "oversized, that could be a major headache.....
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,173
Likes: 3,982
From: Connecticut, USA
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 13,082
Likes: 3,399
From: SW Florida.
Worst case scenario is you put on the tire and everything holds tight. Then you need to change the tire and the stud spins instead of letting you unbolt it. Then you're stuck with a tire you can't get off.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 7,739
Likes: 630
From: Unreconstructed, South Carolina
You got Expert advice in post #2
and as bashcraft succinctly put it ... 1/8" is too much
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,361
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From: Western NY
(and it would REALLY suck if you had to change that wheel/tire "on the road", due to a flat tire....)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
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Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,361
Likes: 1,592
From: Western NY
And on that note, I've had 3 flats to deal with, since I started driving, in 1968. Two were punctures due to road debris that I wasn't able to avoid, and one was when some SOB let the air of of one of my tires, while my car was parked in a theater parking lot.
