I just rotated my tires for the first time and apparently some of my lugnuts were over torqued from the factory. It took a 2' breaker bar with almost all of my body weight (180lb) on it to break them loose. When I went to put that wheel back on four of the six lugnuts would not reach the torque spec. In the process I snapped one of the stud. So now I have 1 broken stud, 3 that won't torque, and 2 that are up to spec. I doubt that I could get this covered under warranty, because there is no way I could prove that the lug nuts were over torqued. I also suspect that the dealership would charge an arm and leg to replace at least the 4 that I feel are faulty. So has anyone ever changed the studs on the truck? If so does the axle need to be pulled or can it be done without removing the axle?

Joe

 

Front or rear?

 

Rear, it looks like I could remove the brake rotor and use a big C clamp to push out the old studs. There is an inspection plug in the backing plate that looks like it is large enough to fit the new studs through. I figure that once I have the new stud in place I can use a lugnut to pull the stud until it is fully seated. I hope....

Joe

 

On the rear, remove the caliper and rotor, then beat the old studs out with a hammer. I haven't done any yet on an '04+ F150, but IIRC the last time I had my rear rotors off, there looked to be plenty of room to slip the new stud in place. Use a bunch of washers or a big nut as a spacer to place over the new stud before using the lugnut to pull the stud through the axle flange. This is done easiest with an impact gun, but you can wrench 'em through, it'll just take a little longer. You may want to pick up an extra lugnut or two to do this as well, as sometimes it mangles that lugnut when pulling the stud through (especially if you're using power tools). Shouldn't be too bad to do in any case. Good luck.

 

Does beating on the studs not hurt the differential? I could be wrong because I have never torn the back of one of these trucks apart but would that not put a lot of pressure in the bearings etc? Thanks for the advice.

Joe

 

Nah, ain't no worse than 5000+ lbs of truck on the axles daily. Beat the hell out of them with a hammer, don't be shy. "Officially," you're supposed to pull the axle shaft and use a hydraulic press to press the new studs back in, at least that's what they'll tell you in a tech school or something. Just use a bunch of washers or a big nut (old lower shock nuts work great for this) as a spacer before putting a lugnut onto the new stud to pull it through the flange.

 

Ok, hopefully one of the area dealerships will be open tomorrow so that I can get the new studs. None of the local parts stores had them listed in their inventory.

Joe

 

Update, I was able to change out 5 of the 6. I kept the one that appeared to be good. The old studs came out very easily, almost too easy. It only took a couple of whacks with a 16oz framing hammer and they were out. I still had some old lugnuts from my 03 that are the same threads so I used those to pull the new ones into place. The only place where clearance was an issue was at the very top where the brake shoes come together. I had to pry the shoes apart to get the studs in an out but not a big deal. However, some of the studs still will not reach full torque. I can get them to 130-140 ft-lb but only 2 will reach 150 ft-lb. After this they still will turn but not reach 150. I am fairly certain that the new studs are fully inserted in the flange, any ideas why I can't get the other 4 lugnuts to reach the full torque value?

Joe

 

I dunno. I know 150 ft/lbs is the spec, but honestly I still go around 100-120ish on mine. I tighten my wheels with an impact gun and a torque limiting driver that's rated at 100 ft/lbs, haven't had any come off on me.

 

I plan on driving on it for a few days and then rechecking the lugnuts. I was more than a little gun shy of breaking off the studs. After seeing the original studs I was glad that the truck did not leave the driveway. Of the 6, 1 was good, 1 was questionable, 3 had visible necking (two very significant) and 1 was broken off. Thanks for the help Quintin.

Joe

 

Glad you got it squared away.

 

Glad things worked out and you got the studs changed. What kind of torque wrench are you using? Have you had it calibrated? It sounds like there may be something wrong with it. I have rotated my tires and retorqued them 3 times to 150' lbs, and have yet to have a problem getting them torqued. I am using a craftsman. You may want to have your wrench checked out. Just a thought. Happy Holidays :santa:

 

It is a Craftsman, it might be off by some but not that much. I have used it many times on my previous F-150s with no problems. It also worked just fine on the other three wheels (18 studs) plus two on the wheel that had problems. I have thought about that but I believe that I can rule the torque wrench out.

I know for certain that the lugnuts were WAY too tight when I took them off. I had all of my weight (180 lb) on a 2 ft breaker bar so close to 360 ft-lb and they would not budge. When the lugnuts are torqued to 150 ft-lb I can loosen them with an 18" bar with one arm. It was all I could do to break the lugnuts loose. So I believe that the studs were damaged long before I ever touched them. I just had the misfortune of finding them, then dealing with the problem. It was not near as bad as I thought that it would be. The worst part was dealing with the drum brakes.

Joe