1998 Voyager- Front Wheel Studs Broken

I broke 2 wheel studs while removing my front driver's tire to do a brake job on my 1998 Plymouth Voyager... Is this something that can easily be done by a pretty competent DIY'er ?

By the looks of it, I must remove the wheel hub... press out the broken studs...then press in replacements.

I did not have proper tool to remove the large axle nut so could not tell if the hub just comes out with removal of this nut or not... With my luck, it is not as easy as I am hoping and I probably must remove alot more...

It does not appear that there is any clearance around the hub to pound out the broken studs whule still on the vehicle (plus I'm guessing thay they should be pressed out to avoid bearing damage)...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...Thanks- Kevin

Reply to
Kevin
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My advice: By a new hub/bearing assy. By the time you go to all the trouble and expense with the stud replacements, you could replace the assembly - chances are the bearings are approaching end-of-life anyway - replacing now will save you going thru much of the same work again later. New hub/bearing assy.: approx. $80-110.

You would need to buy the socket for the nut at your auto parts dealer since it's large and a deep well - my guess is about $20 (sorry - don't know the size - maybe someone can post that, but your auto parts store can probably look it up).

You would need to have a three-legged puller to push the axle out of the bearing. Due to tolerance fit variation and varying corrosion conditions, sometimes they come out without a puller, but usually you need one(I'm not in favor of beating on critical things with a hammer if not necessary). Cheaper two-legged pullers are useless if you should happen to need to apply a lot of force - even if they don't break, they tend to flip to one side before breaking things loose the first time when the forces get high. Puller would be another $20 or so - but a good permanent addition to your tool set.

Last bit of free advice: Fire whatever dealer or shop has been removing/re-installing your wheels and tires. It is obvious they have not been properly torquing your lug nuts - inexcusable (they should be paying for the repair, but that's probably wishful thinking, especially if more than one shop has done such work on it).

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

Bill- Thanks for the advice... I was able to do the task without removing the hub... found a spot where I had enough clearance to get the new ones in so I pounded out the old and installed the new... -Kevin

Reply to
Kevin

You're welcome - glad you got it fixed.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

Same thing happened to me. I was able to tap the broken ones out of the hub with a hammer and the vehicle in neutral. According to the factory manual which I followed I just pushed the new stud through the opposite side stuck a bunch of washers on and tightened (torqued) it up with the lug nut on it to draw it through. Greyhound

Reply to
Grey-hound

In 30 years of doing my own tire rotations, etc., I've never broken a stud. What do you think caused this to happen to you? I always torque my lug nuts by hand to avoid overtorque and then put a dab of oil on the exposed threads afterward to prevent rust.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Is there a problem with Chrysler wheel studs in particular or was there an overzealous use of an impact at some point in the past?(apparently Windstars had a problem) Was using an 18'' breaker bar and not even leaning on it too hard. Broke them free while I was sitting on the ground, so they weren't that tight. I got 3 of them off the driver's front and the last 2 got almost off and started to bind, though the threads looked pretty clean. Started to crank them back in so I could lube the threads and they snapped off like butter. I assume(HOPE) that I can pound them out and just pop the new ones in as per the 1998 above. From what I could see in the dark, there didn't look to be enough clearance to clear the bearing. This is a 2000 Caravan. Is the hub/knuckle assy the same as '98 A real PITA to have it happen on a Sunday afternoon after the stores are closed! Tomorrow is another day...

Reply to
G

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