DIY: replacing wheel studs

Oh-oh. I had two stripped studs on one wheel:

.

- removed wheel
- there was a plastic ring in the center of the brake rotor; removed it
- sprayed penetrating oil in the center ring area; waited; turned wheel 90 degrees and sprayed more; repeat; repeat; wait a few hours
- pulled lower brake slider bolt and removed pads
- pulled both caliper carrier bolts and hung caliper+carrier with a bungy cord

- BONUS: at this point, the brake rotor was already wiggling loose. It slid right off. Looking inside, the PBblaster had soaked and spread through the whole back-side of the rotor where it faces the hub. They are only 2 years old, so that helps too. I will put anti-sieze on the hub surface on reassembly to preserve the good karma. Sadly, these OEM rotors have no threaded hole to facilitate removal.

- BONUS: looking at the studs, it looks like they can pop-out without hitting the steering knuckle, but they do hit a splash shield. Luckily, there is a nice angle to cut-off the "extra" bit of shield. Dreml cut-off wheel should work too.


- sprayed penetrating oil on the front and back of the bad studs; waited a few hours

- Pressing the studs out with a $20 Harbor Freight ball-joint separator (flip it around to press the new ones in). No whacking with a hammer! Use oil or grease on the tool, or you can strip it. The studs pressed out so easily that I only used a 3-inch T-handle on the socket (seriously).



There's actually not much to say here, other than that the steering knuckle is a nice design that doesn't get in the way of stud replacement. If a shop tells you that they will need to replace the hub to fix a broken stud, go elsewhere. The studs cost $2.50 at a Nissan dealer.

If you don't have to pound the brake rotor off, this should be a $2.50 repair. If you wreck your rotor, then it's $102.50, so I'd recommend penetrating oil, patience and heat (and a little whacking on the hub around the bad stud) before giving up and whacking the rotor surface.

I wouldn't use regular penetrating oil, which if it gets hot enough will carbonize. (I'm also not so sure about using a digestive antacid.) There are high-temp products meant for use in freeing and lubricating brake components that should do a better job in the long run. That isn't to say that I haven't used penetrating oil on brakes, just that it isn't the best choice.

i have that same joint separator, never thought to use it on taking a stud off, i just use a 3 lb hammer and a few whacks makes it come out.

putting a new one in i have just stacked nuts around it and threaded (sucked) the new stud in, the ball joint separator i could see working there too.

cheers
Marko

I just took the brake and rotor off and beat the bad one out with a hammer and used a socket and new lug nut to pull the new stud into place.

I took the leaf to a tire shop to have the key lug nuts removed and alignment done. The tire shop tried to put an imperial thread lug nut on a metric stud with an impact wrench.

estomax said:

i have that same joint separator, never thought to use it on taking a stud off, i just use a 3 lb hammer and a few whacks makes it come out

Click to expand...

Technically, whacking the stud could stress the wheel bearing, but that never bothered me before. But when I saw the trick with the separator on BobIsTheOilGuy, and already had the tool, I had to give it a try... it was fast and easy.

I was worried that Nissan would have a knuckle which would block the stud, or there would be grinding needed on the knuckle and/or stud. But it was about as easy as they get.