Wheel stud broke!

[0209 CLK]

Long story short. Stupid mechanics at Sears broke my wheel stud trying to remove my wheel to fx a flat repair. I say stupid because I can hear this kid forcing the air gun to remove the lug stud but I figured he knew what he was doing and thought what's so hard about removing a wheel right? Anyone can do it..well obviously they couldnt, they BROKE IT!

I don't want to take it back to them to repair it as they might mess something else up so my question is it hard to replace the stud? Is the job like any other vehicles wheel stud? Would I be better off replacing just the stud or a new wheel hub assembly since it will have all new 6 studs and a new wheel bearing. My car is a 94 with 60k on it BTW. I do have a service manual that can guide me through but info from experts like you fellow members could give me better advice to do the job. Any advice would be greatly aprreciated, thanks!

Oh yeah and this is my first SNAKE!

 

[kcobean]

Hey Mike,
I don't have an answer for you on the wheel stud, but if you'll stick your VIN # of your snake in your profile, I can upgrade your title from Enthusiast to Viper Owner. (Only the admins can see it, so no security concerns)

Also, I'd like to invite you to check out this thread if you haven't already:

http://forums.viperclub.org/new-owner-questions/603453-new-viper-owner-time-join-vca.html



I'd love to make your title read "VCA Member".

 

[0209 CLK]

Will definitely put up my VIN# right now and join VCA ASAP but my printer is down right now to print and fill out an application. Is there another way I could sign up over the phone by contacting headquarters? Thanks for the reminder =) But I still need this wheel stud fix =(

 

[kcobean]

Will definitely put up my VIN# right now and join VCA ASAP but my printer is down right now to print and fill out an application. Is there another way I could sign up over the phone by contacting headquarters? Thanks for the reminder =) But I still need this wheel stud fix =(

Dodge Viper Magazine - Register and pay online! Or, you can call 1.800.998.1110 and give info over the phone (but the online registration is a snap!).

 

[Camfab]

If it broke coming out, it may be the fault of the previous installer (too much torque). They may have been crossthreaded the last time they were installed.

 

[0209 CLK]

If it broke coming out, it may be the fault of the previous installer (too much torque). They may have been crossthreaded the last time they were installed.

Well that's what the supervisor said. But if it was having a hard time coming out in the first place they shouldn't even continue to work on it unless the customer said it was ok to do so and if it broke I would be responsible for it (another guy that worked there told me that's what they had to do in a situation like this) but the guy who worked on the car didn't even notify me or his supervisor until he was trying to put it back on and thats when he said it broke.

Anyways I found a brand new wheel hub on ebay for 84.95 so I might just get that and replace everything and get it over with. Any other suggestions would be helpful when I start taking it apart

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

If it broke coming out, it may be the fault of the previous installer (too much torque). They may have been crossthreaded the last time they were installed.

That's what I'm thinking. A similar thing happened to me when I was changing wheels on a buddy's Hummer. But I was smart enough to stop before busting the stud and return the Hummer to him and let him know there was a problem.

 

[GR8_ASP]

Replacing the wheel stud is pretty easy. Any part store should have them on hand as well. I broke TWO one night as I was in a hurry putting on my track wheels before putting the car on the trailer for a track day the next morning. Ugh, in a hurry I was using the air gun. Bad decision. On my last wheel, as I was getting in a hurry as it was getting vey dark out, I mistakingly started it cross-threaded. Did not notice until the lugs were half way on. From there it could not be tightened or loosened and I ended up just breaking them off. Well a track day with 2 missing lugs on a front wheel was not to be. But believe it or not the Murrays near me was open until midnight and had the studs in stock.

As far as the replacement procedures differ from front to rear Not enough space on the fronts (this was a Gen III) to remove the studs without taking the hub off. Then I just put the hub in a vice and knocked the old one out and used the lug to draw the new ones in place. Note be careful to not pound the stud with the force going through the bearing. I held the flange in the vice. They also make a press-out tool to make things easier, but as I needed to remove the hub anyway it was not needed.

 

[ViperTony]

Anything that contains 'Sears', 'Kid', 'Airgun' and 'Viper' can't be a good story. If you're going to replace the hub, call Chuck Tator at Tator's Dodge (914)763-3136. Get to know the Wizard. Not only will he get you a good deal on OEM parts (discount if you're a VCA member) but he's a wealth of information. Ask him to run your VIN# so you can learn about the history of your Viper.