Wheel stud removal and fitting

toopy

Club Member
Hopefully i will get to replace my wheel studs with longer ones some time in the near future.

Some people say knocking them out is fine, others say draw them out with a ball joint type extractor,
and some knock them back in, others draw them in with some spacers/washers and a spare wheel nut, oh, and never use a impact air gun.

In most cases they say do it one way but never the other, and there doesnt seem to be a definite consensus on either way!

I was going to knock mine out and back in, with the hub in each case on the bench.

So, how would you do it?
 

johnymd

Club Member
One thing to be aware of. Most of the replacement studs have a larger shank therefore you will need to enlarge the holes to get them in.
 

toopy

Club Member
One thing to be aware of. Most of the replacement studs have a larger shank therefore you will need to enlarge the holes to get them in.

I hope not, i bought 13mm, which according to Mr F is the correct Datsun shank diameter for the studs.

I also went for a 1.5 thread instead of the standard 1.25, mainly because they are easier and generally cheaper to come by,
plus there seems to be far more wheel nuts available with 1.5 thread
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I fitted some long studs from rallynuts a few years ago and they needed the holes in the hubs enlarging.
 

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I'm the past I have used a wheel stud extender screwed onto the existing stud and hit it with a hammer whilst on the car, quick and easy.
 

johnymd

Club Member
It's a long time since I bought some longer studs but the last ones did require the holes enlarged. I was told that's all that was available. Maybe things have changed.
 

Jimbo

1978 260z in yellow
Club Member
i seem to remember on an old ford fiesta using a slide hammer to pull the stud through as i couldnt get behind it to belt it with a hammer.
alternatively like allready said use a wheel nut and pack behind it lots of washers for the wheel nut to push against before bottoming out, then crank it up with a breaker bar.
 

toopy

Club Member
If you can knock them out, why not carefully tap/knock the new ones back in, instead of slowly drawing them through?

Is it an accuracy issue? in that they might not be straight if you clump them unsympathetically!
 

johnymd

Club Member
You will struggle to tap them in. Best way is to get them pressed in but for this you will need to remove the hubs, but then you will have to do this to swap over the disks.
 

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I just used some washers and a wheel nut to refit the studs.I would line up the stud in the hole put some washers on and then tighten the wheel nut to pull it into place.
 
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toopy

Club Member
So my hubs are off, original wheel bolts came out easy enough with a few careful heavy taps with a lump hammer, so far so good.

The new wheel bolts are ever so slightly thicker, they were advertised as 13.1mm spline, OE ones are supposedly 13mm although in reality they measure out a fraction under 13mm.

So new bolts wont fit, so i bought a 12.5mm drill bit and enlarged one hole, still too tight!

Do i need to spend silly money and order like a 12.8mm drill bit, or can i just use a 13mm bit and hopefully crack the f@*k on, this wheel bolt shenanigans is doing my hed in now :banghead:
 

toopy

Club Member
Been through the same thing. Can you try and press them in or is the hole a long way off?

I havent the facilities to press them in, i was using the washer and wheel nut way of doing it.

I mean how tight are they supposed to be? the OE ones i was surprised to discover came out with a few taps with a lump hammer, i was expecting more of a battle!

I dont want to over enlarge the hole, but at the same time its not looking like it can be done in my poor excuse of a workshop :oops:
 
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