NLXTACY
Wits' End
I've been debating even making this but I think there could be a need. I'm really on the fence on this thing. It all started because of this thread:
RTH: stuck in Primm, wheel lugs sheered off
All 6 wheel studs snapped while driving on the frwy coming home from Las Vegas at 60MPH. I was stuck with no way to get replace the broken studs so I had to be towed all the way back to Las Vegas. I bought a stud puller tool that utilizes a thrust washer but its useless on our trucks because the tool is slightly too wide. This got me thinking that I really didn't want to worry about whether or not the stud is being drawn through the hub correctly. On top of that, grinding on the edge of the lug kinda sucks too.
So I came up with something a little different. Now keep in mind, this IS NOT the preferred method of installing a wheel stud, thats what a press is for. But on the trail, or side of the highway, there is no press.
I 3D printed what I wanted and played around a little bit and kept refining it as time allowed. I made it to work with either the acorn or shank style of lug nuts. I then made one in steel and one in bearing bronze. The material is important because there is no thrust washer. So if its steel it needs a dab of grease on the contact surface. The bearing bronze is oil impregnated so no grease needed. Plus, its an emergency tool.
After testing I realized that it MUST have a brass drift with it to pound out the broken stud. This required a .50" radius cut out of the side and a means to hold the two pieces together so I added a small notch for a Vitron o-ring. I'm pretty happy with it after playing around with it myself but maybe I need more feedback. Its better than nothing but not better than using a press.
This is only for 40/60/70/80 trucks. 100 and 200s use larger studs so not setup for this. Thoughts/feedback?
Just the right amount of stupid or not stupid enough?
RTH: stuck in Primm, wheel lugs sheered off
All 6 wheel studs snapped while driving on the frwy coming home from Las Vegas at 60MPH. I was stuck with no way to get replace the broken studs so I had to be towed all the way back to Las Vegas. I bought a stud puller tool that utilizes a thrust washer but its useless on our trucks because the tool is slightly too wide. This got me thinking that I really didn't want to worry about whether or not the stud is being drawn through the hub correctly. On top of that, grinding on the edge of the lug kinda sucks too.
So I came up with something a little different. Now keep in mind, this IS NOT the preferred method of installing a wheel stud, thats what a press is for. But on the trail, or side of the highway, there is no press.
I 3D printed what I wanted and played around a little bit and kept refining it as time allowed. I made it to work with either the acorn or shank style of lug nuts. I then made one in steel and one in bearing bronze. The material is important because there is no thrust washer. So if its steel it needs a dab of grease on the contact surface. The bearing bronze is oil impregnated so no grease needed. Plus, its an emergency tool.
After testing I realized that it MUST have a brass drift with it to pound out the broken stud. This required a .50" radius cut out of the side and a means to hold the two pieces together so I added a small notch for a Vitron o-ring. I'm pretty happy with it after playing around with it myself but maybe I need more feedback. Its better than nothing but not better than using a press.
This is only for 40/60/70/80 trucks. 100 and 200s use larger studs so not setup for this. Thoughts/feedback?
Just the right amount of stupid or not stupid enough?
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