needbout350

**FEEL FREE TO SKIP FIRST PARAGRAPH**
A few weeks ago I had a shop replace some bushings on my del sol. Then when I decided to change my wheels for the winter I found that 3 of my lug studs were cross threaded. Two up front and one in the back which really sucked. My guess is that the shop used an air gun to put my lug nuts back on when they were done with the bushings. When I went to the shop to tell them they refused to take responsibility and said I must of done it. (cool shop right). So they told me I would have to pay to have them replaced the studs. I wasn't about to pay them more money to fix the studs and then just have them strip them again when they put the lugs back on with their air gun.

So I stared looking for an easy fix but all I'v seen is a bunch of threads about cross threaded/broken lug studs and they all say the same thing "just replace the stud". That is easy enough to do on our cars if the damaged lug is on the back; just hammer it out and put in a new one. But as many of you know it is a total pain in the a** if its up front. So I came up with a simple way to fix the studs. (This will only work if the stud is cross threaded not broken if the stud is broken you must replace it)

So to start you will need a few tools the obvious ones are what you need to jack up the car and take the wheel off. Be careful not to bust your lug studs when removing the lug nut from the stripped stud.

You will need a die set from sears or where ever you can find it. The only one that's important is the 12mm x 1.5 die. If you buy a kit it will come with the tool to hold the die; it was a pain in the butt to use the tool that comes with the kit as it hits the other studs every half turn. So I used a 1-1/16" socket with a smaller one on the inside so that the die didn't go all the way inside the huge 1-1/16" deep socket (the 1-1/16" is slightly bigger then the die but it didn't give me an issue). You'll need a ratchet too and a pair of channel locks.

This is a pretty simple fix all your going to do is re-thread the stripped stud with the tapping die.

Here is the 1-1/16" socket with the smaller socket in it.


This is the die set I used it was only $14. Its probably cheaper if you can find just the one die. You want the one in the middle of the bottom row.


Close up of the die


Front passenger side stud after I took the wheel off. The pictures are pretty bad but if you look closely you'll see that the first 2 threads are pretty much gone and the next 3-4 are jacked up pretty good.





Here is a picture of the stripped lug vs a good lug.





Now take the die and put it on the stud with the letters facing the stud. The opening on the side with the letters is slightly larger making it easier to start the threads. Make sure that you get the die on straight or the treads will get cut at an angle which will put you in an even worse spot. I used the channel locks here to get the die started.


Then I used the 1-1/16" socket to turn the die it might take a little force to get it started. I turned the die until it was past all of the bad threads and then backed it off. This was just a precaution so that the die wouldn't get clogged and potentially damage the good threads. Once I cleaned off the stud an die (by blowing off the metal shavings) I turned the die all the way to the rotor. Once your past the bad threads it should be pretty easy to turn the die the rest of the way.


I turned the die up and down the stud with the socket until it could be easily turned past the bad threads by hand. Then for good measure I turned the die around (so that the letters were facing me) to make sure that the threads closest to the rotor were cleaned out and straight (the four or five threads closest to the rotor don't get touched by the die when facing the other way because the die doesn't start cutting until about half way through). Once again I went up and down the stud until the die could easily be turned past the bad threads.

Here's some shots of the newly cut threads. You can see that the first two threads are pretty much gone and the ones that were all jacked up before are now nice and clean.





Now all you need is a new lug nut to replace the one that was stripped out. If you did it right the new lug should turn on with no problem. After I finished with the stripped stud I turned the die down all of my other studs just to clean the dirt out of the threads, this doesn't hurt them, the die should just go down the stud with out any resistance. Then I blew off any crap the die cleaned out.

I had no problems doing this on all three of my cross threaded studs. I was lucky that only the first 5-6 threads were beat up on my studs so I don't think I'll have a problem with this fix at all. I imagine that if your studs are totally stripped that this wouldn't be a good idea as the lug nuts probably wouldn't be able to be torqued properly. Ill keep everyone up dated on how this fix holds up.


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This thread is only to show the way that I fixed my studs. I am in no way saying that this is the safest or the best way to fix your cross threaded studs. (Replacing lug studs is always best) This is just an easy/cheep way to fix the studs. This trick will not work for broken studs. If you are uncomfortable using a tap and die set do not attempt this as it can potentially do more damage if not done properly.
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eg2jr

iTrader: (7)

Iv been wanting to do this. thanks for the write up

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

If you don't have access to a tap and die set see if a local shop will do it for you. The one I go to did it for free as a courtesy.

10psiLsEf2

uhm go to autozone and buy 4 new studs and 4 lugs for under 10 bucks

turbohatch96y7

iTrader: (15)

Yeah the only hard time I had was fitting EXTENDED ARP studs back in stock are a peiece of cake sauce.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Uh. I think you missed the point. This is 10x easier and quicker.

needbout350

Yes it is cheeper to just buy new lugs at an auto store. This thread is just to describe a cheep/easy way to fix the problem. With the emphasis on easy. I didn't want to disemble my entire front end just to replace one lug on each side. The alternative to this easy fix for cross threaded studs is either something like this.

http://civic-eg.com/viewtopic.php?t=...d9ca33ec26f321

Or spend and hour or more taking apart the hub to get the studs in. Some people have been luckey and have been able to sneak a fresh stud in without taking the hub apart but if you try and are unable to do so your beat because at that point you have already nocked/cut the old one out. I didn't have the time or desire to take it all apart so I went this way since my lug studs were only cross-threaded a little bit. It took me all of 25-30 min to do all 3 and they were each on a diffrent wheel.

However if you have the time and tools to correctly replace the lug studs it is always the best way and lug studs are very cheep.

10psiLsEf2

uhm my theory is
easy
fast
safe
cheaper

thatsmy .02

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Can you make LESS sense? How is re-threading studs LESS safe?

10psiLsEf2

is a heli coil in a head stud hole as good as a oem thread hole?

would you use super copper gasket maker or a honda heat gasket?

would you cut your coil springs or buy full adjustable dampers?

would you use tin foil instead of a radiator cap?

just my opinion. but i guess we have smarty pants in here.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

It's not less safe. I've had it done at a shop with a good reputation that I trust and it's been bulletproof. I don't do unsafe **** to my car.

seanbev24

I'd worry about the stud IF it had been deformed/weakened from overtorque, otherwise this repair is just fine. Easier doesn't always = bad.

needbout350

I agree that the best and safest way to do anything is to go with new/oem equiptment which is why several times I have emphisized statmentes simmilar to the one below:

(However if you have the time and tools to correctly replace the lug studs it is always the best way and lug studs are very cheep.)

I simpley went this route because it is:
easy
fast
safe
cheep

Granted technically speaking lug studs are cheeper, but how much is your time worth? Also if you return the die set its a free fix.

As far as safety goes im with seanbev24 as long as the stud is only mildly cross threaded and has no serious damage there is no reason why you should have an issue. This is not a fix for a broken or very damaged stud as the wright up says.

Experience is everything and if you have not personaly tried it and found the fix to be either good or bad then your opinion is only speculation and can not be taken seriously.

So far I have only been driving around for a few days and have had no issues, but I am keeping a close eye and if I find a problem I will be the first person to say not to even try this. As of now this is a great way to quickly fix a small problem. I hope others will find the fix useful.

turbohatch96y7

iTrader: (15)

Make sure you retourque the lug nutz after a few miles.


"just my opinion. but i guess we have smarty pants in here."
This made me chuckle