I took my front wheels off today to clean them, and one of the lugs came off stripped. I must have cross-threaded it putting it on, but now I need to get a replacement.

1. Where can I get replacement stock sized wheel studs?
2. How much will these cost me?
3. Can anyone post directions or a link of how to do this procedure?

I'm OK for now (four of the lugs are holding fine), but I need to get this fixed ASAP. I also don't want anything crazy like titanium studs or extended ones, I just need the factory size replacements. OEM would work fine, but I just want to make sure there isn't something better and cheaper out there. Thanks for the assistance!!

 

1. How about your dealer? Why do it the hard way?
2. About 4 bucks.
3. There may be a possibility that you can rotate the hub till the damaged stud has some space behind it. Then you can pound it out. Pull the new one into place by using a nut with the same type of thread.

You don't want a "better" or a "cheaper" stud when you have 4 others that are not the same.

 

Go to the local auto parts store. Most of them have studs in stock that fit most all vehicles. Just tell them you got a Honda S2000 and they will look it up and pull it. One of my local stores had three different lengths to choose from.

For the most part all wheel studs are just hardened steel.

 

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'll be heading to some parts stores tomorrow. Does anyone know how long the stock studs are?

P.S. - This problem occurred when I used Gorilla spline drive nuts with factory wheels. When I put my OZ's back on, the lugs were really hard to thread. Did I do something stupid when I used aftermarket lugs with stock wheels, or am I just crazy?

 

Use OEM, dont just settle for your local autoparts store parts. The parts are NOT the same quality and they strip alot easier than OEM parts. It is only 4 bucks, why not just get it from the dealer?

 

First thing to check is that you are not just seeing the threads from the nut stripped off and sitting in the threads on the stud. Nuts usually strip first because the stud is stronger material.

If this turns out to be the case, replace all the nuts, and clean up threads with a die on any stud where new nuts don't thread on easily.
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But assuming the stud is shot:

The stud pounds out the back, but will not come fully out until the hub is disassembled. It goes part way but then hits the hub carrier. There is no clearance notch in the carrier for easy disassembly.

You could cut or grind the old one to get it out, but you would not want to do it to the new one.
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It's diffcult to cross thread a nut onto the stud without knowing it, even with an impact wrench, which of course you should never use to torque the nuts down.

If you mount and dismount wheels frequently and are not using never-seez another possibilty is that you galled the threads. Usually this happens to the nut, but then as the loose thread rolls up between nut and stud it also damages the stud. But even then the nut usually takes most of the damage, so you can clean out the stud threads with a die and be okay.
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Regarding "When I put my OZ's back on, the lugs were really hard to thread. Did I do something stupid when I used aftermarket lugs with stock wheels, or am I just crazy?"

The stock wheels have spherical seats, while many aftermarket wheels have the more common conical seat. You must not mix them either way. Conical nuts into spherical seats will pinch the end of the nut onto the stud (because the only contact between nut and seat is right at the center), so yes it could possibly be part of the problem. A conical seat nut into the stock wheel won't come up to torque cleanly, and then when fully torqued will not loosen for a couple turns. Spherical seats are unusual so perhaps this does not quite meet the stupidity test.

However "the lugs were really hard to thread." And yet you did it anyway, apparently 20 times. I'm afraid this does sound like poor judgement at least.
If there is a problem, especially with threaded fastners, stop immediately and figure it out. Possibly you could have cleaned up the threads on studs and / or nuts with tap and die.
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If it happened to one, others may also be damaged. Check them all.

 

you will need access to a bearing press to press out the wheel hub.

 

I'm wondering if you bought the wrong lug nuts, Clayman. As I recall, the Gorilla nuts come in various sizes, and not all threads are the same. You know, you should check *all* the wheel studs; you might've done more damage on some of the others as well.

Good luck. Next time, know that that the lugs should spin on with no resistance.

BTW, I use a little anti-seize on the studs which makes them a little more resistant as I screw them in -- still, I can hand tighten them until they stop.

 

I did this before to my old car, you just gotta pound that bitch with a bigo hammer like there's no tomorrow. And when you put new ones on, try to use an open end nut to pull the stud as close as you can, before you put the wheel on.

 

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm going to replace all the studs and lugs just to be sure. I know I didn't cross thread them going on, at least not 20 times. I think Gregg Lee's explanation of conical vs. spherical seats hit the nail on the head. I've learned my lesson this time, but I still need help with the procedure to switch them out.

Can anyone post more detailed instructions on how to replace front and rear wheel studs on our cars? This would be a tremendous help. Thanks again!

P.S. - I talked to my Honda dealer today, and they charge $7.53/ea for stock wheel studs! I called my local parts store, and they charge $2.55/ea for the same thing. I hate getting ripped off on OEM parts...