Newbie back with another question, still new to this forum thing, tried to search previous threads for info but not very good at it. Sorry if I am asking questions that have been answered all ready. I have a 99 f350 super duty 4x4 single rear wheel with 7.3. Was getting ready to take to shop for front axle u joint change and noticed that passengers side wheel has three broken studs and one missing lug and the rest loose.
This truck is my daily driver and I dont remember hitting any thing. Have any ideas what could have caused this? Called parts store and they dont show listing for studs or axle replacement. What am I going to have to do here replace whole axle or just the studs? Where will I have to go to get parts? Thanks for any help that you can give. Love this site have learned so much about my trucks, spending more time on this site than the girlie ones.

 

they exist, go to a better parts store or use rock auto online. swagging them in is a biotch. otherwise its fairly a low tech operation

 

> Have any ideas what could have caused this?

Improper torque. They were either put on too tight by an impact gun or were put on too loose and the lugs loosen up while driving.

 

So if I understand you right that the studs can be replaced. Thats great because I have already replaced the front hub assembly. I had not had any tire work done lately but thats what I expect happened to the studs. I use a TCI tire place that does big trucks but they only use impact driver to put wheels back on no hand toqureing. Do I need to start going back over the wheels when I have tire work done and retoqureing all the lugs? If anybody else thinks this is what cause this please chime in, this will be the second time they have screwed up this truck, the first time they forgot the tighen the lugs all together. Maybe I need to find a new tire store. Thanks for all the help.

 

I think NAPA carries the studs.

 

assuming you can pull the hub off, usually removing the studs is fairly easy and installing new ones isn't too hard.

I am assuming your front hub is similar to my 94 F250 4X4 rotor.

To remove the stud, a shadetree mechanic way... Get a flat round punch that about fits the stud, but a little smaller. Put the punch against the broken off piece of stud and pound it out with a hand sledge hammer. Just a few good whacks with say a 5 pounder will do it. The back of the stud is a little like a mushroom and as long as it has room to fall out, it will. So put the rotor and the stud over something solid, like two 2x4's or the open jaws of a heavy vise.

To install a new stud, turn the rotor over and gently bang it in from the rear. Again try to support the rotor so the rotor has something to keep it from moving away from the stud. 2x4's work again here. I like to seat the new stud by hand and then lay a flat piece of metal or the flat side of another hammer against it and give it a few easy whacks with the sledgehammer.

Then, mount the rotor, and put a tire on it and snug the lug nuts down in the usual starlike pattern. Or you could do it off the truck, but mounting the rotor gives you something to work against.

Start out with say 50 ft pounds and work your way up to normal torque, I think something like 120ft pounds, but check your manual. Remove the wheel and make sure the studs are all fully seated. Then reinstall the tire and retorque. Check the torque after a few miles, then 50 miles and then occasionally until you are sure it is not going anywhere.

Or use a good hydraulic press to do the job right, but I don't have one.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

Slight correction. The rotor on my truck is kind of like a flat brimmed hat(Banjo Player style). You can pound the stud out without supporting it but protect the face of the rotor from scratches etc. Pounding a new one in may require you to use the flat faces of the sledge for the distance into the hub and whack with a hammer. Or just gradually work the studs in with the lug nuts and wheel.

 

Henson's way of going about it the way I have done it in the past. takes a little longer but I don't have a press either. Done quite a few over the years in that basic manner.

Time for a new tire shop!