Wheel studs? Please help or shoot me

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53 stickfigure

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
437
Location
Ohio
Ive just been full of questions here lately but ive been having so many problems. I have so much going on with work, remodeling the house, and other car problems, i can't think straight. Got my wheels today, torque thrust 2s. They use the 60 degree acorn nuts. My wheel studs are way too short and i can't find longer studs anywhere with a .564 knurl. The closest ive found are 1/2 inch moroso 3 inch long with a .563 knurl. Ive found acorn lugs, 7/16, with a .300 shank, i think thats about 1/8 inch, but that is all the thread I'll have. I really dont want to weld in studs, a last resort thing. I can get the moroso studs in 2 days from summit but sometimes being really close to the right size is completely wrong. I see pics of 49 to 54 chevys with thick face wheels everywhere. They all cant be using mag shank lug nuts or different rear ends, can they? I couldnt bring myself to drill out my new wheels for mag lug nuts, i saved my lunch money way too long to screw them up. Searching for these studs is giving me a migraine.
 
DUDE... you're not alone! When I got the new mags for my Nova I went through that same thing. I ordered about 4 sets from Jegs before I got the right ones. My old mags had the lug nuts that went deep into the mags & the new mags used acorn nuts. Then the rear wheels needed deeper ones than the front. My guy at O'Reilly's finally help me get it figured out! Luckily Jegs lets you return stuff for any reason!

BoB
 
Pics? I thought your supposed to use a shank lug if they're to short.

lugs-jpg.38846
 
The lug pattern holes aren't drilled for mag shank lug nuts. With the factory steel wheels mounted and torqued, the studs are flush with the open end lug nuts. I cant even get 1 complete turn with the recommend lug nuts. I found a .565 diameter stud, 3 inch long stud. Mine are .564. Could i take a rat tail file and open up the axle .001 so the larger stud knurl will fit? Id hate to strip out a stud hole and not be able to get my wheels off.
 
We just use the press and shove the .001 over size stud in. The press doesn't even hesitate.
If you don't have a press, insert the stud in the hole turn it till the splines line up, put a flat washer over the stud, antiseize the washer and the threads, put an old lug nut on upside down or a grade 8 nut, tighten the nut while tapping on the head of the stud, it'll pull the stud through until the head seats.
The stud splines are made so that they broach a new set of splines as they are pressed in.
 
Again, I agree with Old Iron. ;)

.001 isn't much. I've used his method with an impact... if they "start" well, they'll pull in!

.
 
I took lunch at work and went to the parts store, a real parts store that still uses books with pictures to match up and bar stools at the counter. Ordered 10 of the .565 studs, 1 inch longer. The only ones we could find were ford 1/2. These old guys can find anything in these books instantly. Ive had stubborn wheel studs before, but getting these out are ridiculous. I have soaked them with penetrating oil all day and have beat them to death. I heated one up to the point im sure ive ruined the axle seal and beat so long ive probably destroyed the bearings. I think i just need to sit back and relax for a few days. If ive destroyed the rear end i swear i give up.
 
A 4 pound short handled hammer is the ideal tool and hit it like you mean it.
And there's the very useful press.
 
It seems like the older i get the less patience i have. 10 years ago i would have had them out and changed in an hour. A bad back makes little tasks seem impossible.
 
5 pound sledge and nothing. I didnt want to but i think im going to have to pull the axles. Do they mount like a ford or use c clips? Ive always been a ford man and i think my car knows it. Ive had nightmarish times pulling out ford axles, thats why ive avoided it but i cant get these studs out. I had to use a truck and chain to get old axles out before and where im parked, that option is completely out. I would think after all the beating on the studs the axles would come out fairly easy?
 
What kind of a rear end is this you're working on?
Look on the backside and see if someone has welded them in.
Lastly, are they screw in studs?
 
Its the factory 53 rearend with the closed driveshaft. I got one stud out, they're pressed in. I made sure they aren't welded. So far i have the weekend off and im getting them out if it kills me. Nobody around here rents a press. If i get the axles out i can put the axle in a vise and really heat the flange. I dont want that much heat on the axle with it in the tube.
 
Well i have decided to drill them out. I cut them off flush and so far drilled through them with a 1/8 bit. I have to go to work now but they're coming out tonight. I need to get some carbide bits today. These studs kicked my butt.
 
I have never had the difficulty removing wheel studs as you have been going through.
If we were closer, you could b ring them over and I'd press them out.
Is there a machine or automotive shop near you that will press them out and the others back in, it couldn't cost that much.
 
Wonder if a little heat would help like a rusty bolt?,just don't want to get the seal hot.
 
Ive never had this problem before. I have always just knocked them out. One came out with three hits. I got a real good look at the axle behind the brake plate. No bolts holding the axle in. Big steel rivets. When you look through the hole on the plate for the socket to remove the axle, there's 4 big steel rivets. Ive never seen this before. Would be alot of work to replace the seals and bearings. You'd have to have a 5 inch drill bit just to remove the axles.
 

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