How to get wheel studs out of hub still mounted on bus?

belfert · July 23, 2020, 04:36:44 PM

I need to replace a number of wheel studs on my tag axle. I have the tire and brake drum off. Is there a way to get the studs out of the hub without removing the hub? I want to avoid removing the hub and then dealing with the wheel bearings.

I gave one stud some light taps with a sledge and it didn't move. I didn't want to go full force as I figured I would damage the bearings. I know when one sheared off at a tire shop they got the stud out in 15 to 20 minutes without removing the hub.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom.

chessie4905 · July 23, 2020, 05:37:51 PM

On my hubs, they are attached on the INSIDE with nuts and are also pressed into place. Remove hub, remove nut. Support the area around the protruding stud and drive out by hitting the back side of stud with a small sledge. If you want to save the removed stud, use a hunk of brass against the threads. Be sure to use eye protection! If the back side of your studs don't have a nut, then disregard.

belfert · July 23, 2020, 06:53:07 PM

No nuts that I can see. They just look pressed in. I think there is some tool that can press them out without removing the hub. My whole goal is not to have to remove the hub and then repack the bearings. My bearings are greased.

I attached a photo of the hub.

kyle4501 · July 23, 2020, 07:03:20 PM

On my drive axle, I knocked them out with a sledge hammer (I tried various screw presses, but none I tried worked). I pulled the new ones in with a well oiled nut, thrust bearing, and a torque multiplier (I used a cordless drill to pull them up).

I used a new nut on each stud to pull them in.

belfert · July 23, 2020, 09:12:22 PM

Quote from: kyle4501 on July 23, 2020, 07:03:20 PM
On my drive axle, I knocked them out with a sledge hammer (I tried various screw presses, but none I tried worked). I pulled the new ones in with a well oiled nut, thrust bearing, and a torque multiplier (I used a cordless drill to pull them up).

If I beat on them with a sledge hammer won't I risk damaging the wheel bearings in the hub? I watched some videos on Youtube and the guy was beating on the studs with a hammer. This was a drive axle hub which seems more substantial.

belfert · July 23, 2020, 09:25:12 PM

The one wheel stud on the driver's side that the tire shop removed was not a splined stud like what my passenger side hub has. It had a flat plate welded to the end of a threaded stud. I have not removed the driver's side yet to see what it has.

I wonder if someone replaced the original wheel studs on my bus with more standard ones at some point? The back side of the hub looks like it was designed to hold a T shaped wheel stud.

chessie4905 · July 24, 2020, 04:19:25 AM

As thin as that flange appears, I would remove the hub. Support the back side with a socket that clears the head of the stud and drive stud out with a sledge hammer. Spray base of threads where stud contacts flange to assist removal.

belfert · July 24, 2020, 05:36:29 AM

OTC makes a tool that is like a C clamp to remove and install heavy duty studs for just over $250. I'm considering getting one based on the number of studs I and others have broke off so far. The thing is the shop time to replace the studs on several wheels is probably less than $250. My favorite local shop is also $30 worth of diesel plus the time to go there.

chessie4905 · July 24, 2020, 07:16:07 AM

Just bite the bullet and remove the hub. Take it to that shop and they can press the old ones out and install new ones. Will save a lot of labor cost. And fuel.

belfert · July 24, 2020, 09:22:24 AM

Quote from: chessie4905 on July 24, 2020, 07:16:07 AM
Just bite the bullet and remove the hub. Take it to that shop and they can press the old ones out and install new ones. Will save a lot of labor cost. And fuel.

I am not going to save any labor cost when I have to have the bus towed to the shop to have the wheel bearings repacked and the hub put back together. Seriously, I don't have any faith that I could put together the hub back together properly with the right tightness for the wheel bearings. A shop replaced all the wheel bearings right after I bought the bus and one failed about six years later. (Not blaming the shop in any way.) I don't want to have another wheel bearing failure.

Jim Blackwood · July 24, 2020, 09:36:22 AM

If they replaced the stud in 15 minutes they didn't remove the hub to do it. Chances are they had a hydraulic stud remover. Drive the bus back there and let them do the job with the right tools and leave the hubs on the bus.

jim

chessie4905 · July 24, 2020, 10:46:26 AM

Since you aren't comfortable with removing your own hubs, then by all means take it to a shop, even though it is not that big of a deal to do it yourself if you have done it before or do a lot of your own work.

hogi6123 · July 24, 2020, 11:05:09 AM

Mark the nut before removing it, then you can know exactly where to put it back when you reassemble it. Put a clean cardboard down first to help keep parts cleaner.

Maybe an air chisel with a flat bit on the stud?

Apply a press or heavy clamp first from the tip to a socket over the head of the stud, then give it a few whacks when under pressure. Wear safety glasses.

Or cut them off and drill them out. That's a lot of time and expense though.

Can you chain up the tag axle and drive it to the shop? There's provision for that on mci's.

Jim Eh. · July 24, 2020, 11:10:39 AM

See if one of your local automotive shops have a tool loan program. What you need is a ball joint press kit. Or stop in at Harbor Freight and buy one https://www.harborfreight.com/ball-joint-service-kit-for-2wd-and-4wd-vehicles-63279.html

In the kit there are receiver tubes for the stud head and use an impact to tighten the screw on the press (like a C clamp). After your impact gun runs out of power "tap" the hex head end of the screw shaft to "shock" the stud out. Rinse and repeat.

When you buy the replacement studs and nuts, get one extra nut to use for stud installation. No sense in abusing the ones that are going to hold the wheel on.

belfert · July 24, 2020, 04:56:00 PM

Quote from: hogi6123 on July 24, 2020, 11:05:09 AM
Apply a press or heavy clamp first from the tip to a socket over the head of the stud, then give it a few whacks when under pressure. Wear safety glasses.

Or cut them off and drill them out. That's a lot of time and expense though.

Can you chain up the tag axle and drive it to the shop? There's provision for that on mci's.

I thought about pressing them out with a heavy C clamp and a socket last night. I couldn't find a socket big enough last night although I was thinking I needed a bigger socket than I really do.

I have driven the bus with one side of the tag axle chained up when the wheel bearing failed. My tag wheels each support only 3,000 lbs so airing up the drive tires to max is probably enough for a short trip.