Wheel studs

[Baz]

The goons /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif at the local tire store used the air tools to put the nuts on the wheel, despite me telling them to do it by hand.
Nonetheless, a stud got sheared and now have 3 on the front left. Naturally I want this repaired as soon as poss, so 2 questions....
Is it relatively safe to drive on 3 studs, just pottering around?
I'm doing the brakes in a couple of weeks, is removing this broken stud and replacing it somewhat easy?

Goons, I tell ya.
(it's 12 miles away from home and I didn't get any weird sensations from that wheel on the trot back)

 

[jlaird]

Three is fine, just behave.

 

[tony barnhill]

3 is fine...removing it is real easy: hit it with a hammer & drive it through the hub! Installing the new one is even easier: hit it on the rear with a hammer & seat it!

 

[Woodie]

yeah the goofs at my local store did the same thing, but since they broke it they fixed it. Then knowing it was to be done with a torque wrench they broke a second one. They fixed that one too, and THEN asked for the spec,, they did not have it,,,I told him 45 lbs, and they said oops we were at 65-70. So they undid all the bolts and re torques. They were insatlling 4 new tires and balancing them. It was gonna cost me about $55. They did it for free. So I ended up with 2 new studs for free too.

 

[Baz]

Just found out they torqued them to 95 all round!!!
Should I slacken them a bit?

 

[Biff]

YES!
Un-torque them completely and hand torque them to the correct torque otherwise you will be soon replacing more studs and maybe some body parts.

 

[RobSelina]

if they tightened them all to 95 lbs, chances are they've stretched the steel on the studs and weakened them. I'd throw a fit and make the shop replace ALL your studs. If you aren't successful in making them do it, I'd replace them all to be safe.

If you're not keen on doing that much work, pull one of the 'good' ones and look for it to neck down slightly after the lug or for the threads to spread out a little. If you can see any sign of this, they gotta go.

 

[RobSelina]

oh yea, if you have standard pressed steel wheels, they may have deformed the tapered holes or mounting surface. Look closely....

 

[Baz]

All four wheels are tapered.
Most of the studs are soft.
They are so busted.

 

[RobSelina]

BTW, having had this fight with tire stores in the past, I only take unmounted wheels to them nowadays. If I need a flat repaired or new tires installed, I throw them in the jeep and drive them down. It's the only way I can be sure they don't cross-thread or overtorque the lugs.....

 

[Baz]

Their regional manager admitted that 95 ft/lbs had the potential to cause the damage I described, and will happily shell out to replace the wheels and studs etc. As the wheels I have are unavailable, he agreed that other replacements would be OK, I mentioned the minilite.
What kind of reduction in value would I estimate for having non original stuff on the car (he said he pay that too!) or should I just suck it up now that it's over the original line and modify it to the hilt?

 

[jlaird]

Think I would quickly settle for the minilites. You can always keep an eye on eBay for another orginial set in the future.

 

[tony barnhill]

What wheels do you have on it now? IOf Rostyles, they're pretty common...though I would take this opportunity to get a nice set of Minilites....I don't think they'll devalue the car at all.

 

[GB1]

I agree, get them to pay for all new studs, all new lugs and the Minilites. Try to get thier labor for the mounting and balancing free for your aggrevation and pick up some rostyles on the web.

 

[RobSelina]

minilites won't devalue the car. Most of us consider them a period update/upgrade.

Only thing I'd consider in your shoes is going wider than stock, 5" wheels work nicely....

Glad it's working out!

 

[Baz]

Minilites it is.
Tony, the wheels are the 'inter year' type as attached.
The manager that investigated said the sales assistant couldn't find 'midget' in the computer to get the specs, so he looked up 'mini' instead, this wouldn't have been as bad if the computer didn't default to the 'new mini!'
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ignore the attachment, phots too big. Anyway, they're the mkI Rostyles

 

[tony barnhill]

I'll take the wheels off your hands after you get the minilites...I've a set of those I'm putting on one of my car but could always use extras as I'm seeking a '64-'66 Midget.

 

[GreenHornet]

[ QUOTE ]
Just found out they torqued them to 95 all round!!!
Should I slacken them a bit?

[/ QUOTE ]
Sears did that to my car awhile back. The guy said he got the torque off the chart..."see 95lbs" he says and I looked and said that 95lbs was for an Aston-Martin. They ordered and relpaced it for free. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif