I have a wheel stud that is about to fail. It was extremely difficult to remove but it did come off and was able to get it back on and torqued to spec
w/ some resistance. I tested the 'bad' stud w/ lug nuts from other studs
but they met w/ the same resistance. I tested the nut from the 'bad' stud
on other studs and there was serious resistance. I got the 'bad' nut and
stud to mate w/ anti-seize cmpd and was able to get it torqued.

I understand that these cars do not allow a provision for replacing the
lug stud wo/ grinding a channel in the knuckle/splash guard and grinding
off part of the stud head.

I read this thread, which indicated that the hub could be removed
wo/ damaging the wheel bearing: https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...torial-907985/

Otherwise, it would appear that the hub will have to be pulled in a manner
consistent w/ the service manual that would necessitate replacement of the wheel bearing.

Is there a better way?

 

Sorry. Its a 96 Civic DX w/ auto tranny.

 

Not really. The only other thing you can do is run a die over the threads and replace the lug nut. You'll need a 12mm x 1.5 die that you can turn with a socket (Snap-On dies can generally be turned with a 12 point socket)

 

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

So, I take a die and turn it over the existing lug stud RE-CREATING
the original 1.5 thread pitch? And simply buy a new lug nut as I would
if I had replaced the lug stud w/ say a new nut from Honda. Well, that
seems about the simplest route. Is there a catch?

What about something like this: [NES Thread Repiar]

 

Not really. That's pretty much it.

From now on, apply some anti-seize compound to the studs every third or fourth time you pull the wheels (just a tiny bit is plenty) and you'll probably never have this problem again.

If the stud does break while you're taking things apart and you find yourself replacing anyway, you can beat the broken one through the back side of the hub. Grind a flat on the flange of the new stud (so it's more of a "D" or "C" instead of an "O") and you can sneak it in without pulling the hub. Grease the threads, then use an open ended lug nut to pull the stud in to place (with an impact gun). Clean grease off threads, anti-seize, wheel, done.

 

Is this what you are talking about:

Sears.com

I take it that the "use w/ any wrench" detail and the hex shape and
depth of this die strongly suggest that it can be used w/ a standard
socket/ratchet.

 

Hi,

Yaaaa, I applied some anti-seize cmpd to get the stud and nut to mate.
I guess grinding down the head of the new stud would be ok ONCE if I
can prevent this from happening again by applying anti-seize cmpd
to the other studs in the future.

Thanks.