Wheel studs won't come out...
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 878
Likes: 60
From: Minneapolis, MN USA
Wheel studs won't come out...
Hi all, Looking for suggestions/advice. I am trying to change my wheel studs on rear passenger wheel. I already did the drivers side. Two of the studs came out relatively easy, but three are really fighting me. I have tried using an air hammer/chisel (not to cut, but to "pound" on the end of the stud with high impact rates). That worked well for the other studs, but isn't working on these three. I tried a larger hammer...that doesn't work. I also tried putting some heat to the flange and then the larger hammer and that isn't working. I'm a little nervous about putting a lot of heat to it...and I'm a little nervous about banging it hard with the larger hammer as I don't want to do damage to wheel bearing, etc.
From my perspective, the only remaining option is drilling? But my concern there is that I'm not good at finding center to start with...so then, as I progressively go to larger size bits, I'm concerned I might start taking material off the flange (assuming I'm not centered)....and if I do that, will I have issues getting a new stud to seat and hold properly?
Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
From my perspective, the only remaining option is drilling? But my concern there is that I'm not good at finding center to start with...so then, as I progressively go to larger size bits, I'm concerned I might start taking material off the flange (assuming I'm not centered)....and if I do that, will I have issues getting a new stud to seat and hold properly?
Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,716
Likes: 281
From: New York
You may want to consider removing the entire arm and do an upgrade.
You could have the machines push out the old studs and install new ones. You could also install new bearing and make your parking brake from Stainless steel components.
You could have the machines push out the old studs and install new ones. You could also install new bearing and make your parking brake from Stainless steel components.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,152
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
Did you actually give them a good smack with a 3-5lb sledge or were you being gentle with them giving them little love taps? If you haven't yet, give them a decent whack and see what happens.
The bearing can take a lot. To replace rotors that were rear bolted to integrated hubs on my truck I took them out of the uprights by beating on the rotor using a 5lb sledge. About 70k miles later I thought one bearing was bad and replaced it, even though it actually wasn't making the noise I thought it was. The other bearing is still going 100k miles later. The factory doesn't bother with anything to protect the bearing to upright joint from rust and they get really stuck in there.
The bearing can take a lot. To replace rotors that were rear bolted to integrated hubs on my truck I took them out of the uprights by beating on the rotor using a 5lb sledge. About 70k miles later I thought one bearing was bad and replaced it, even though it actually wasn't making the noise I thought it was. The other bearing is still going 100k miles later. The factory doesn't bother with anything to protect the bearing to upright joint from rust and they get really stuck in there.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 878
Likes: 60
From: Minneapolis, MN USA
I generally agree with you. However, I called a shop in the metro and he basically said they wouldn't get it done for at least 2 months and likely longer. The driving season in MN is too short. So I want to get this done and drive this summer and then have someone rebuild both arms over the winter.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 878
Likes: 60
From: Minneapolis, MN USA
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,415
Likes: 1,824
From: Apple Valley, MN
In your previous post “Another stuck rotor thread - help” you engaged in a discourse on how to remove the rivets and eventually were successful in getting them out after drilling them. The wheel studs are harder than those rivets but the process outlined in that thread is pretty much the same for the studs. Be sure to have high quality cobalt bits and take your time.
Another option is to trundle down to O’Reilly Autoparts and see if they have any specialized tools to press the stud out with. I’ve seen some YouTube videos where a tie rod removal tool was successfully employed.
Another option is to trundle down to O’Reilly Autoparts and see if they have any specialized tools to press the stud out with. I’ve seen some YouTube videos where a tie rod removal tool was successfully employed.
