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Need HELP! Stripped wheel stud

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  tommybirdsong 
#1 ·
So yesterday I bought a 1985 foxbody and today I took her out on the highway for a little spin, and amongst a few other things, my rear right strut completely took a crap and as I went to change it, I got the pleasant surprise of not being able to take my wheel off due to a stripped wheel stud. I can spin it all day but that bad boy ain't turning. Not only that but the ******* who put the last set of tires on it (really need new ones bad) decided to torque them on so hard that the wheel is complete garbage now. So my question is, how can I get the wheel off or the stud out? Do I have to replace the axle? All answers super appreciated



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#2 · (Edited)
If you put a short length socket on the lugnut,can you turn the lug nut by hand or do you have to use a ratchet to turn it?? The purpose of using a short length socket is so you can look through the square hole (that the ratchet fits info) to see if the stud is turning or not.If you can turn the lugnut by hand,turn it and see if its just the lug nut spinning or the wheel stud spinning too?? If the wheel stud is spinning too,the splined portion under the head of the wheel stud could have stripped or the wheel stud could have backed out of the axle just enough to where the splines are no longer digging into the axle (which is what keeps the studs from turning) If you look closely at the remaining 3 studs,does the one youre working on look like its coming through the rim the same distance as the other 3?? If not,that verifies the stud has backed out.
If youre 100% positive the stud is locked into the axle tightly and the lug nut itself is the only thing turning,you could try this::
Get a buddy or your wife to help if needed.Position the rim to where you can get the most room for leverage to pry against the backside of the rim/tire,in an area closest to the stripped lugnut.In otherwords,youre gonna have somebody slide a long pipe between the backside of the rim/tire & the metal wheel well.They can start prying outwards on the rim/tire now (directly in line with the stripped lugnut) while you simultaneously try removing the lugnut.Youll have a much better chance at removing the lugnut,if you use an air compressor powered impact gun,because of the torque and speed an impact gun applies to the nut.If you can jar the nut loose (with the torque and speed of an impact gun) while applying pressure to the backside of the lugnut,it might be enough to get the lugnut off.

Theres actually a tool made called a "Nut Splitter" thats sold at your local part store.It works by splitting the nut from its side,but I dont think it would work on your nut because of how much its recessed into the rim.If you could get to at least a 1/2 of the nuts side,you could split it using the tool then split the remaining part of the nut by using a hammer & chisel.Unfortunately, it looks like 85% of your lugnut is surrounded by the rim,which would make it impossible.

One other method would give you alot more room to work in,but I dont know if it would help removal or not plus it would be added work too.If the brake shoes are loose enough from the drums,you could drain the rearend housing,remove its cover,remove the axle C-clip and extract the axle,rim,tire & brake drum in one assembly.That would allow you to set it on a work bench for more removal options or you could take it to a machine/brake shop to see if they can remove it.
 
#3 ·
If you are patient you can split the nut the old fashioned way using a sharp chisel and hammer. I recommend that you wear gloves and eye protection when doing this. I have split several nuts this way and it is fairly fast, just not fun. The stud spinning around in the axle is another issue. The stud may have enlarged the hole in the axle flange so a new stud will not press in as intended. Good luck, you will succeed.
 
#4 ·
Another option is to drill it out. Use a drill the size of the stud to eat away at the stud until the nut falls off and the wheel can be removed. Then punch the remainder of the stud out and press a new one into the flange.
 
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#6 ·
Nut or the stud? if it's the nut, which the picture suggests to me, get a deep set 6point socket, beat that s.o.b. on with a hammer, slap a breaker bar on it, then take a big 'ol piece of pipe, the bigger(longer) the better, put that pipe on the breaker bar, turn it left and it'll come off.
 
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