Broken wheel stud

Blisters

Blisters

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Joined
Apr 2, 2008
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Location
Stoke on Trent
Funster No
2,042
MH
A Class
Exp
March 2006
Today I decided to take the wheels of the M/H and check the brakes and repaint the wheels.

But on trying to loosen the studs in one of the front wheels, crack, it sheared off

I have spent 2 hours trying to get it out:swear:, with no joy, i managed to drill the centre out but no further, i assume these studs are hardened on the outside, which is why i cant drill them out, so how do i get it out:pray:

the other 4 came out no prob
 
No problem. Most good engineers/garages/tyre depot's should be able to extract the stud with specialist tools.

Needn't cost an arm or a leg either.
 
If its snapped coming out it has serious corrosion problems
your drilling will have to be pin point accurate if you want the thread undamaged,
constant soaking with penetrating fluid and then drill and use what we call an easy out, why their called that I dont know cos its anything but easy, you are going to need some serious drills too they are very very hard
We would go down only two routes here in the garage
1. Remove hub and take to an Engineer, IF you can find one interested,I doubt it:cry:
2. New or second hand hub and bearing, would be our favoured method:thumb:
Geo
 
you need an easy out witch you can buy from most motor factors :thumb:
 
as doug says most garages will do the job but if you want to do it yourself you can buy stud extractors from motoring shops.

basicaly a tapered, left hand thread tap.

can remember your base vehicle but if a ducato then wheel studs should be tightened to 160nm to 180nm in a diagonal opposed sequence
ie....1...3...5...2...4 starting at the top.

you should be ok going to the garage on 4 studs:thumb:

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Geo, not sure why it is in so fast, the van is a 2004 ducato so not that old, no obvious sign of corrossion

I thought about removing the hud, but couldn't get the caliper housing off, removed te caliper no probs, but the housing is held on with 2 big allen key bolts 14mm, will the budge, no way, even with a 2ft power bar

i was hoping i might be able to get it to screw out the back of the hub (all the way through as it were)

if i got the hub off i have a friend who is an engineer, so he would get it out i'm sure
 
Blisters said:
Geo, not sure why it is in so fast, the van is a 2004 ducato so not that old, no obvious sign of corrossion

I thought about removing the hud, but couldn't get the caliper housing off, removed te caliper no probs, but the housing is held on with 2 big allen key bolts 14mm, will the budge, no way, even with a 2ft power bar

i was hoping i might be able to get it to screw out the back of the hub (all the way through as it were)

if i got the hub off i have a friend who is an engineer, so he would get it out i'm sure
Click to expand...

a sign of serious overtightening......the bolt will also be stretched.

overtightening is just as dangerous as undertightening:Sad:

the carrier bolts are tightened to 210nm and will need a longer bar or a real good pull to 'break' the thread.

torque for wheel studs should be 160nm unless its a maxi chassis then its 180nm
 
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Also given Garage labour rates these days, messing with such items is not really viable for 95% of workshops, were no longer kitted up:Doh:replacing damaged parts is very often less than repair nowadays
We had to sell all the bench drills and lathes and most of the mechanical tools to make room for the computers,diagnostic and electrical equipment,
We were once called Motor Engineers, alas we are now Rocket Scientists:RollEyes:
Geo
 
Blisters said:
But on trying to loosen the studs in one of the front wheels, crack, it sheared off
Click to expand...

Do you mean BOLTS - ours are bolts which makes it so difficult to get the first one in whilst juggling a heavy wheel.

Heat is the best penetrating oil IMHO. I once had an exhaust stud in an Ali bike head that would not shift. I kept heating the stud, flood with PlusGas ( risking a fire a bit ) many times but in the end it saw things my way and the head was undamaged.

So have you a bolt sheared off flush with the hub and now with a hole down the middle ? Hard to heat effectively. I'd try a small drill diagonally to hit the thread from the inside and try and introduce PlusGas ( the best ! ) into the middle. Or tap the hole you've drilled as big as possible and put a high tensile bold in to give you a head to turn - cap head or normal.

Good luck.
 
Blisters said:
Today I decided to take the wheels of the M/H and check the brakes and repaint the wheels.

But on trying to loosen the studs in one of the front wheels, crack, it sheared off

I have spent 2 hours trying to get it out:swear:, with no joy, i managed to drill the centre out but no further, i assume these studs are hardened on the outside, which is why i cant drill them out, so how do i get it out:pray:

the other 4 came out no prob
Click to expand...

You could try a method we use in the commercial vehicle industry (HGV). What we do is weld a nut to the broken stud if you can, if it has broken flush weld a flat washer to the broken stud then weld a nut to the washer. This has to benefits, one it heats up the stud and two it gives a good grip for a spanner. Good luck

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pappajohn said:
a sign of serious overtightening......the bolt will also be stretched.

overtightening is just as dangerous as undertightening:Sad:

the carrier bolts are tightened to 210nm and will need a longer bar or a real good pull to 'break' the thread.

torque for wheel studs should be 160nm unless its a maxi chassis then its 180nm
Click to expand...

dare I suggest it might be due to lubricating the threads and then torquing up to the "dry" value?
It makes a big difference to the resulting tension in bolts/studs which are by design often close to yield without such over tightening.
 
All good tips, but in my humble opinion, all these techniques are useless without a very large hammer and a very chunky centre punch. Give it a good bashin' right up the middle. Don't hit your fingers though, but a good beltin often eases a stiffy. If you know what I mean. :Wink: and afterwards use the spanner or left hand threaded watsit. If all fails at least you've vented your spleen. I have a lot of patience, but sometimes the direct approach is the quickest.
ATB
DaveT
 
Surely heating the stud- bolt has the wrong effect altogether. If it is a tight fit then heating the male part expands it thereby tightening the join further.:Eek!:Could be wrong but?

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If you heat the stud, and then let it cool, the expansion and contraction effect will sometimes help to loosen it.

Stud extractors can work but the hole size is important, to small and you can't get a big enough extractor in, to big and the extractor expands the stud tighter in the hole.

One method is to carefully drill the stud out in stages using bigger and bigger drills, as soon as you think you are about to drill into the threads stop and using a little hammer and chisel, carefully fold the side of the stud into the middle, you will almost certainly do some slight damage to the threads, but unless you are really hamfisted it will only be cosmetic. Using this method it doesn't matter if you have drilled off centre.

Olley
 
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ocsid said:
dare I suggest it might be due to lubricating the threads and then torquing up to the "dry" value?
Click to expand...

Guilty as charged.

I am incapable of putting in an exposed bolt without copperslip. I just ask my bike to unclothe itself now and it does.

I'm happy this way, is there ever anything ever "dry". Probably light oil coated in production to prevent rust, then down the line a dirty, rusty bolt is not "dry".
 
Hi,
The bottom line is unless you are very lucky you will end up with a hub with a dodgy wheel bolt in it. The best thing to do is to get the hub off and take it to an engineering firm who can either extract the old broken stud or drill it and helicoil it, or get a replacement hub.
If anyone is having difficulty refitting a wheel with studs the trick is to line up the easiest hole and fit a stud loosely and then turn the wheel so that this stud is at the top and all the other stud holes drop into line,
Regards,
Chris.
 
Thanks guys for the help, think I will go to a tyre place on Monday and hope, on the subject of putting copper slip on the bolts, is this a good idea given they are wheel nuts, wouldn't want them to work loose.
 
Blisters said:
is this a good idea given they are wheel nuts, wouldn't want them to work loose.
Click to expand...

Good point. I do. Never had one come lose yet. I may be wrong though. But I do put it on the thread, not the friction surface of the countersink.

Copperslip isn't a lubricant as such, it's anti seize, it must not be used in place of grease.

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olley said:
If you heat the stud, and then let it cool, the expansion and contraction effect will sometimes help to loosen it.

Stud extractors can work but the hole size is important, to small and you can't get a big enough extractor in, to big and the extractor expands the stud tighter in the hole.

One method is to carefully drill the stud out in stages using bigger and bigger drills, as soon as you think you are about to drill into the threads stop and using a little hammer and chisel, carefully fold the side of the stud into the middle, you will almost certainly do some slight damage to the threads, but unless you are really hamfisted it will only be cosmetic. Using this method it doesn't matter if you have drilled off centre.

Olley
Click to expand...


I agree with Olley, I have used this method hundreds of times over the last 40 years and it has never failed.
 
Good news got the little bugger out, and it was easy (for me anyway) took it to a local commercial vehicle garage, and they put a bloke on it, it took him two and a half hours and much swearing, but he finally got it out

he saved me the offending thread, it was well chewed up, he even had to retap the thread to clear it, the only painful bit for me was the bill:cry:

makes Geo seem cheap:Rofl1::Rofl1: only kidding Geo
 
:coolthumb: Great news. All up and running for Parc Verger now then :clap::yeah:
 
Blisters said:
Good news got the little bugger out, and it was easy (for me anyway) took it to a local commercial vehicle garage, and they put a bloke on it, it took him two and a half hours and much swearing, but he finally got it out

he saved me the offending thread, it was well chewed up, he even had to retap the thread to clear it, the only painful bit for me was the bill:cry:

makes Geo seem cheap:Rofl1::Rofl1: only kidding Geo
Click to expand...


Go on then how much was it


Alf
 

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