How-To change a broken lug. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Pskhaat

Tourer
Supporting Vendor
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Threads
443
Messages
3,067
Location
38.0111,-109.9181
Website
alamosa.mobi
Quick little writeup on changing a broken lug. I had a lug nut `freeze' on me one day a few weeks back. For the life of me I could not get this lug nut off. I eventually had to go have it broken off `professionally.' I am of the assumption from that experience that dirt and/or other material mysteriously found their way into my lug nut during a flat tire change.

The 100 series' lugs are 14mm and though only 5 lugs are present, it represents almost 12% increase in total cross-sectional lug area than the 6 lugs on an 80 series. No rhetoric there, but let's just say that 14mm lug is a tough job to break.

This process is NOT difficult, though my unfamiliarity with modern semi-floating axles had me initially believe I would have to pull the axle to get the studs out. This is however not the case and is at most a 2 hour job. 1-2 :banana:

1. Remove the wheel & tire. Here is a quick shot of my lug that needs changing at 11 o'clock.

DSC00535.JPG



2. Remove the brake caliper assembly and pads. The caliper itself does not of course need to be removed from the brake line and can be tied up against the axle housing or shock. This obviously is a good times to check the condition of the pads and change them if necessary.


3. Back off the rotor. There are two threaded holes in the rotor where you turn in two bolts that press against the axle flange and slowly `pull' the rotor off.

DSC00536.JPG


Of course the bolts that I sourced for this were not of the correct thread pitch so I had to poach them from elsewhere on the truck. This was the fastest and easiest bolt for me to get. It's a hack, but it works:

DSC00539.JPG


Just return the bolts to their rightful place afterwards. The rotor should back off quite easily.


4. Pound IN the old lug. I used a BFH, then a really BFH, then got the mad out and pounded the original BFH again until I noticed you really don't get a good angle nor strike with one of them. Pull out a Little FH (standard nail hammer) and it worked like a charm, allows you to make directed blows.


5. Torque in new lug. I used the method of positioning the new lug in back of the flange where the now-empty hole is from the old lug. On the outside of the flange I placed three washers and then a 21mm lug nut. Tighten and torque the new nut on the lug, as it tightens it pulls the lug into position in the axle flange. You need the washers/spacers as the threads don't go all the way to the base of the new lug.

Me, being me, got washers that were too large in diameter to fit between the lug center and the hub, so I just threw the grinder at them.

DSC00540.JPG


Okay, after that, I apply a light oil to the lug & SLOWLY tighten the nut on the lug, often loosening the nut to ensure you're not seizing anything and to periodically check how things are going. I used a low torque impact wrench as it made this work significantly easier.

DSC00537.JPG



Well, voila that's are there is. The completed work:

DSC00538.JPG



6. Once the lug is seated, put the rotor back on. It needs to be pushed back on the axle flange a ways further than it initially appears when positioned on the axle flange, ensure it seats all the way back. Use a wood drift and lightly tap the rotor back into its original position.


7. Reinstall caliper assembly and pads.


8. Replace the wheel and you're good to go.

With grinding, this still was under 2 hours.
 
Last edited:
Good write-up, thanks for sharing.
 
excellent, off to FAQ!
thanks
E
 
Thanks for the motivational post! I've had a broken stud on my '79 Hilux 4x4 for some years, and assumed I'd need to pull the axle and press it out. Couple of taps with BFH and it jumped right out.
 
Thanks! I've got to do mine this weekend. Cruiser has been down for 4 days while I wait for the lug nuts to arrive. Came the other day so I'm going to tackle this and replace all 5 on one side and then the other 3 that weren't replaced on the right rear a few weeks ago when the same thing happened.

I cant tell what screw you used for your hack? I'm really bad with screws (hey no jokes) so maybe you could describe the one that you used.
 
removing rotor to replace broken lug bolt

See # 3 below, I have the bolts turned to press against the axle flange, but I don't know how to "pull" the rotor off - can someone help me with this

Quick little writeup on changing a broken lug. I had a lug nut `freeze' on me one day a few weeks back. For the life of me I could not get this lug nut off. I eventually had to go have it broken off `professionally.' I am of the assumption from that experience that dirt and/or other material mysteriously found their way into my lug nut during a flat tire change.

The 100 series' lugs are 14mm and though only 5 lugs are present, it represents almost 12% increase in total cross-sectional lug area than the 6 lugs on an 80 series. No rhetoric there, but let's just say that 14mm lug is a tough job to break.

This process is NOT difficult, though my unfamiliarity with modern semi-floating axles had me initially believe I would have to pull the axle to get the studs out. This is however not the case and is at most a 2 hour job. 1-2 :banana:

1. Remove the wheel & tire. Here is a quick shot of my lug that needs changing at 11 o'clock.

DSC00535.JPG



2. Remove the brake caliper assembly and pads. The caliper itself does not of course need to be removed from the brake line and can be tied up against the axle housing or shock. This obviously is a good times to check the condition of the pads and change them if necessary.


3. Back off the rotor. There are two threaded holes in the rotor where you turn in two bolts that press against the axle flange and slowly `pull' the rotor off.

DSC00536.JPG
 
Great write-up... thanks! When I first purchased my fj cruiser, I had to replace all of the wheel studs due to the dealer or factory over torqueing and stretching them. On the fj cruiser, it was a major pain in the butt to repace due to the limited space between the axle flange and the rear parking brake shoes. It was almost like fiddling with a puzzle to fish the old studs in/out of the limited space.

Looking at these pics, the 100 has miles of clearance and should be a breeze to change out comared to the FJC.

Thanks again!
 
Did my rear brakes last week...and found that I needed to replace 2 of the wheel studs.

Used your directions today and knocked the first side out in 45 minutes or so...second on in less than 20 minutes!

Thanks for the write up!

- Rob
 
Thanks for this sticky, shock project turned into 2 broken stud project. Sure wish I could pin this on Discout tire, but how?

image-331512955.jpg
image-331512955.jpg
 
Same here with discount tire. I had the tires put on 6 months ago and when I pulled the rear wheels off, I have one busted stud each rear side. are the wheel studs abnormally soft? I have never had a problem with any other car. I love the ride after the new shocks and air lift but added a new project to the list. I know lugs are pricey, how about the studs?
 
Studs are cheap <$4 but it's the added labor I was not ready for. Any auto parts place should have them
 
I have had 5 rear stud break in the last year. I also used this thread to replace. I also think it is strange that so many have broken. Kind of makes me worried about an offroad flat that could lead to broken studs, not fun.
 
awesome thread. I just had 2 break on me tonight. I will be replacing this weekend thanks to this thread
 
Good thread. Gave me the confidence to beat the lug out while still on the rig and not waste time trying to remove that whole portion first.
 
I had three break on me on my rear passenger side when I was replacing pads. The last people to take the wheel off? Discount Tire. I wonder what the deal is there? Are they over torquing the nuts?
 
Nice write up.

For step #3 I usually just use a BFH and rapp the drum a few times. It will usually come right off without messing around with screws even on my old rusty Cruisers.
 
Also for step 2.5, I had to remove the rubber grommet and rotate the sprocket in there to loosen the parking brake
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom