I was rotating my tires and on my front right wheel the two studs snapped, so now my tire only has two lugs holding it together basically... so i called the dealership and asked them when i could bring it in... assuming it would be covered by warranty... and they told me that it wouldn't...

can someone tell me whether i should go raise some hell or if it sounds right

 

It takes excessive wear and tear to do that. Same happened to me. Good luck. Don't use air tools or overtighten. I'm pretty sure that's how mine was overstressed because I'm pretty sure the guy at a local station used an impact wrench when I got new tires a while back. Wheel studs only require 60-80lbs/ft generally speaking.

If you have an impact wrench lemme know and I'll tell you how to do it for under 10 bucks and in less than an hour. Otherwise It'll take longer, but it's still doable. That 10 bucks doesn't count an extra set of lug nuts though.

BTW, Moving to troubleshooting...because that's what you're doing more or less.

 

teach me

edit: nvm don't... hahaha i'll prolly *** it up even more

 

had the same happen to me recently. just went to the dealership, bought the studs for 90 cents a peice and knocked em into the hub. took about an hour. not hard at all.

 

Get the two studs from your dealership. They'll cost $3 and change a piece. Total cost approx $7 USD. Go to a hardware store and buy a 5/8" nut (it's not meant to fit the stud, it's meant to go around it and not mess up the threads) and two 1/2" washers. There's the parts.

Here's the tools:

(1) Hammer
Some lubricant (WD40 or silicone lube should work fine)
(1) 13/16" socket. (Preferrably impact because air tools make this process go much more quickly) You'll need a ratchet too for the brakes and with a long handle should do the trick for torquing the stud into place.
(1) Jack

...I think that's it. I'll make a how to sometime, but for now this'll help you.

The steps:

1. Jack the car and remove the wheel and brake caliper and rotor. I didn't inclue these tools, but basically it's just a couple sockets that mount the caliper in place. Slide the caliper off the rotor but do not remove the hose. Rest the caliper on something so that it's not just hanging on the hose and so that you don't have to disconnect the hoses and bleed the brakes later. Then you're going to want to remove the rotor. (Just pull gently. A little shaking make be required.)

2. Spray the broken lug nuts liberally with lubricant. Let em soak a minute or two.

3. Get the hammer (those mini sledges work really well) and bang with a moderate but steady stroke directly at the top of the broken nut. You're trying to push it out the back, not break it more or slam your rotor.

4. Once both lugs are out, put the new lug in in from behind. Don't force it into the hole, just try to match up the ridges so you don't strip anything. Turning them gently then pushing them into place with your hand works fine.

5. Put a washer on the threaded side of the stud, then after it the 5/8" nut, and finally the other washer. Take an old lug nut and put that on top and screw it hand tight.

6. Put your 13/16 socket on the lug nut and tighten until the back of the stud is flush. (This is where the impact wrench saves a LOT of time). Then simply remove the lug nut.

7. Repeat on as many studs as necessary.

8. Put the rotor back on (the studs might not be perfectly straight, but they'll be damn close. If you're having a lot of difficulty getting the rotor back on try to straighten the wheel stud by either tapping it with something like a rubber mallot that won't disfigure the threads or just tighten it more.

8. To get the caliper back on you're gonna have to play with it a bit to open it (you may knock the pads out if you're like me, but you can just put em right back in. Remount it once it's around the rotor and tighten as much as you can without using your superhuman strength (you don't want your caliper to vibrate off and I don't have tq specs handy).

9. Put the wheel back on and you're done.

I may have missed something, but it's pretty much intuitive. If you see anything missing lemme know. I'm at work so I'm doing this inbetween processing applications and my brain's about to explode.

 

*******s at my dealership charged me $3.30 or something like that.

 

Hammering them into place can be done too, but for $0.70 more you can be certain do it without risking damage to your hub from banging on it more than necessary.

 

Jesus, Andrew now you post this on how to repair the wheel studs AFTER I have mine replaced at the dealer for 100+. Argh.

 

Man, when are you people going to learn to NOT take your car to the dealer for every little thing that needs repair. Unless it's a warranty issue, the dealer is the LAST place to go get repairs done.

 

dont mess up ur hub! i had mine replaced today! $218

 

crap I put 100 lbs on my wheels...

 

I'll put this in how to/installs as a complete article if I get a chance to take pics (if/when I ever get to do my brakes or sooner if my luck holds to being as ****ty as it is). For now I'd rather not misdirect anyone or leave anything to chance as this could cause some expensive damage and isn't exactly the easiest thing to describe without pictures. In the meantime I'll put this there with a warning that it's incomplete I guess, because it seems it's fairly common that our studs snap.