Is there any way to replace a broken wheel stud in the rear wheel bearing without disassembling the whole rear of the car? The service manual instructions get quite involved with removal of the rear spring, etc.

I was able to find a way to replace front studs without removing the bearing but do not see a way to do it on the rear.

Bill

 

when i put in longer rear studs, i hammered the old studs thru and drilled a hole in the metal plate that contains the wire that clips onto the parking brake.

i had to be creative in re-securing the wire to the parking brake...but like you, i could not see a way to remove them in a simple manner.

my manner worked for me, though.

 

yep drill or disassemble. Some track rats have one it t make it easy at the track. Don't hammer to much or you will be doing a bearing.

 

Took the first side apart to replace the studs, got tired of the extra work and drilled the other side. Be sure to put a rubber plug in the hole you drill to keep water and debris out of the brake area.

 

You SHOULD NEVER hammer on a bearing. Doing so will shorten it's life, sometimes dramatically. I know it's a pain, but take out the hub and press the old studs out and the new ones in.

Frank Gonzalez

 

The theory about never hammering on a bearing is OK but sometimes there is no way to do it without disassembling half the car. By the way I have seen various wheel bearings with brake rotors frozen on them hammered on with 20 sledge hammers and heated with torchs and they still kept rolling properly for many miles.

Bill

 

Bill, you don't need to do THAT much work to do it right.

- remove wheel (5 bolts you've done 10k times)
- remove rotor/hang caliper (2 bolts)
- remove axle nut (1 bolt)
- remove tie rod bolt (1 bolt)
- unhook park brake cable and unplug wheel sensor
- remove lower ball joint nut (this one can be a pain, but most of the others are easy) (1 bolt)
- remove 5 bolts on back of hub (you may just need to remove the 3 torx bearing bolts - I can't recall) (3-5bolts)

You're only looking at about 10 bolts once you have the wheel off.

Pull out bearing/stud assembly and use a press to save the bearing.

 

I broke three after a track day, looked too involved to do myself. Took it to a friends' shop, they showed me how to do it, actually very easy.

 

Hey Guys--

Late to the party here, but I'm trying to put longer wheel studs on now, and I'm a little stuck. What is the best way to proceed after removing the lower ball joint nut, described above? Are you disconnecting only the lower control arm or does the upper need to be undone as well? I can remove the nuts, but don't see an easy way to knock the control arms free, since the half shaft is in the way. I don't have any special tools like a pickle fork or the GM J2348764534834092239 (or whatever it is!). Any tips? Here's a photo of where I am so far:



Thanks!
Fred

 

While leaving the nuts on the ball joints but loose bang on the area around the ball joint with a hammer. It helps to have it a little loaded with spring pressure but a rap or two and it will usually pop loose.

 

I've banged the hell out of the upper A-arm right next to where the spindle overlaps it...no joy. Is there a trick or technique? What spot are you hitting? What angle?

Thanks!
FT

 

You shouldn't be hitting the upper A arm. You don't need to remove that nut at all. Just get the lower ball joint nut off and then lift the upper arm/hub off the lower ball joint stud.

Also, be CAREFUL hitting aluminum suspension parts.

 

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. I'll focus on the lower A-arm. Got any tips, though, for where to strike it, with what, and what angle? Do I want it hanging down as far as possible, or propped up on a jackstand, or something else?

Thanks!
FT

 

What I DO:

Prop up the rear drum (not the lower ball joint) with a jack for counter-pressure.

Loosen the lower ball nut up until it's about flush with the top of the stud.

Cut a 2x4 and lay its end against the lower A arm with it flat against the surface but long enough that you can make full swings at the other end of it outside the wheel well. This lets you hit the front of the lower arm downward hard enough to pop the ball joint off the stud without damaging the aluminum suspension. I use a 3lb hammer and hit the 2x4 hard. You will know when it pops loose.

 

Yeah, so I had managed to do this already on the left rear...kinda fumbled my way through, but this was the procedure. Getting that lower ball joint nut tightened back is the nearest thing to impossible there is, though. Unless you have some sort of trick, super-stubby allen wrench that will fit into the bolt's hex end and still clear the half-shaft. I eventually got it by firmly holding a T-40 Torx socketed head in there w/ pliers, but I think it would probably be wise to also undo the upper A-arm to facilitate tightening the lower ball joint. IOW, undo lower A-arm, then undo upper, reattach lower (and tighten that damned bolt! with half-shaft out of the way), insert half-shaft back into hub, then reattach upper.

Anyway, jump to tonight, and I arrogantly figure I can get the RR done in a mere 2 hours... HAHAHAHA-- you fool!!! Now that you know the procedure, nothing will work as it is supposed to the second time!!! I am almost out of 2x4 blocks to hammer with, because they're all in splintered pieces...and that damned lower A-arm hasn't budged. I believe an elephant jumping on an IO Port brace directly affixed to this A-arm might not move it... I think someone is out to get me.

Any other tips? Talk dirty to it? Drop it in a bucket of acid? Shoot it w/ a shotgun? Drop the jack and bounce the suspension directly on the concrete? Anything???

Completely, totally frustrated and over this,
Fred

 

I am running into a problem with this as usual. I pulled my hair out on the lower ball joint nuts after cutting my tools down and grinding them to fit in there. I ended just pulling the upper control arm with the assembly. So now I am working on the backside of the hub, problem the 3 T-55 torx bolts on the back of the hub. Well out of the 6 total left and right one does not want to come out. I`m turning it and it did not back out like the rest????? I can only assume the thread on it may be stripped inside the hub? Looking for direction please. Thanks

 

I had forgotten about this thread.

Just like John said drilling is the way to go. I took my car to the dealer as the removal procedure looked time consuming and I didn't have much time. Their tech did the job while I waited. He called me into the shop and said no need to remove the A Arms as long as I approved of him drilling a hole into the backing plate. It was no more than 20 minutes from that conversation until I was driving the car home. Charge was $35. Now I know how to do the other side and where to drill the hole so I won't screw up something else.

Bill

 

I was considering drilling the hole but figured I had done everything else on the car how hard could this be. I was eyeballing that back plate real hard when I was fighting the lower ball joint nut. I really dont want to drill the plate I will be replacing all of the studs with longer studs for a wheel swap that requires spacer

I replaced a clutch faster than I can get these wheel studs out. And I`m stuck. Thanks Bill still considering any other options.

 

the trick is to unscrew the nut just enough so that the top of the nut is even with the top of the stud. This will give you a quarter inch of slack or so, but when the a-arm finally does pop loose, it will be constrained.

Next, put a jack under the wheel hub, and jack it up hard, so that the spring is pushing down very hard on the lower a-arm, while you are applying force to the upper a-arm through the wheel hub. Once you've established these forces, find a way to transmit forceful blows to the lower a-arm, with some type of dead blow mallet, or pressure treated 2 x 4, or some other device.

I've never done the rears, but the fronts worked easily this way. I know you have the axel to contend with, but I hope this helps.

Kris

 

Thanks, I got it out, and the local Goodyear was nice enough to press all the studs out for me. No need to hammer on anything except the top ball joint dimple for the drag pack. This was an annoying experience but all things learned I think I can do each wheel in less than 2 hours a pop. Good luck to all that give this a shot. Time to clean the garage....