The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline remove wheel studs

i have a 54 chevy 1/2 ton. while driving today, the studs sheared off and my tire came off. luckily i was only going about 3 mph. very bad day... didnt mess up truck, wheel may be shot though. one stud sheared off and the rest are bent. how do i go about removing the studs and installing new ones? is it as easy as removing the backing plate and knocking the old out? thanks in advanced

Front or rear wheel studs?

Front or rear axle? Either way, the simplest way to proceed is to remove the hub assembly or axle shaft so the broken studs can be pushed out with a hydraulic press. They can be removed with a hammer and punch, but it's difficult, and getting the new ones back in without damage is even harder. A press and someone who knows how to use it is much better!
Jerry

yeah i just removed wheel (rear) tried the hammer... a press would work, how do i get that assembly off to use the press?

or does the whole axle have to come out to do that

I have successfully and easily removed rear wheel studs using this tool, without removing the axle. The same tool can be used to safely/easily install the rear studs, without removing the axle.

I use a hydraulic press to remove front wheel studs.

soaked with penetrating oil, going to try a rivet gun tomorrow, if that doesnt work, guess I will have to pull the whole thing to use a press. thanks for all the advice!!

One caution - when using the press it is wise to support the hub/drum close to the stud to reduce the chances of distortion. A short cutoff length of pipe should work well and support all round the stud for even pressure. If you have to, you can notch the pipe to fit around any casting lumps on the hub.

How do you press out studs that are bent?

Good point truckernix.

What would you do? I think I would cut them off below the bend and press them off (on the truck with my "Service Kit" or off the truck with a hydraulic press).

Also, I'd check to see if the studs are peined at the base (some were). If any are, I'd try to cut/grind off the pein.

Take a 5lb hammer and whack 'em sideways until they are straight. Then press 'em out.

Kurt

Yes, I asked because it might not be simple and brute force might cause damage.

Does the whole axle have to come out to use a press? I've tried air hammer and no luck. Wonder if I drill out center of studs and punch out. Would that work?

I guess I would ask what actually happened here. Were the nuts loose and did the studs actually bend or are they crooked in the axle holes. At some point I would be worried about pounding on an axle that is still installed in the rearend.

This gives info on removing the axle shaft.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0403.htm

i think the lugnuts sheared, or were loose. the studs did bend. would it screw up the seal in the hub if I put a torch on it to heat up the area around the studs to try and press out?

I think it would take quite a bit of heat to bother the seal. Maybe someone else will chime in here but I personally wouldn't use heat there. Maybe the studs could be cut off in a way to present a good surface for pressing. Can you get hold of one of those ball joint/u joint presses? They give quite a good straight force.

I'd bet that the hydraulic press or even the Ball-Joint press that I linked-to above is going is work without need for heat. My experience is limited to removing about 8 lug-nut studs (5 were in place on rear axles). They pushed right out.

My studs got stripped from Sears Auto not tightening the lug nuts properly. What a racket it was until I figured out what was wrong.

I had one break because the tireshop put a little too much torque on it. I drove around for years with the remaining 5 until I took the axel out to R&R the rear end. If I recall (and this was 25 years ago) I bought some studs at the local Chevy dealer and just knocked the broken one out and knocked the new one in. I still have the extras I bought.

Kurt

Leave it on the truck, cut the studs off below the bend, try to get a lugnut on them flush on the end, drive with a hammer so it doesn't mushroom the lugnut. When you get to where you have no more threads to hold a lugnut on drive them with a hammer and a large punch.

well after drilling out the center of the studs, and punching out with air hammer, they finally came out. not to mention I had to remove the axle. now my last question, where can i find the seal for the axle that was inbetween the two plates that the studs go through? mine came off in 3 pieces, no local autoparts store has them. either does classic parts. is it a universal seal? thanks

Are you talking about the paper gasket between the brake drum and the axle flange? Most pepole just discard it, but if there's some reason you want it to be there, get a thin piece of bulk gasket material and make your own. Use the holes in the brake drum as a template. I'd suggest VERY thin gasket paper, 1/32" or so. Unless you're going for a concours restoration for a show truck, I'd suggest leaving them out.
Jerry

easy enough, thanks alot!!

Just for my own knowledge, how big did you have to drill out the inside of the lugs to get them out? I'll bet they are hard to drill.

I started out with a small cobalt bit, then worked up to a 7/16. On the 7/16, I just drilled half way through the stud. Then I use air hammer with a punch and drove them out. They actually drilled out easier than I thought. Kept soaking with pb blaster. Didn't even have to heat them up.