ScrapinBye

This is more of a rant/take-it-as-you-will kind of post. Anyways I'm right in the middle of changing out my brake pads and painting my calipers. Just yesterday I changed my rear wheel studs out to the ARP 7708 (2.5") to allow for a spacer and my new DD C5 machined face wheels I used the 'ol BFH method to beat out my old studs. No problem there. Installing the ARPs was a trip. My car evidently did not come equipped with traction control, because that little sensor on the backing plate that everyone mentions was nowhere to be found (it can be removed to create a hole to feed the stud through if it's there). So great. I've got these long *** studs, and no way to fit them in the hub.

After taking a break and coming on Tech, I see that not all of our cars carry this sensor on the backing plate, mine being one of them. I was NOT about to pull the axles because I just replaced the rear end fluid and diff cover gasket just a year ago. So that plan fell on its ***. My only option was to drill a hole in the backing plate where that "dimpled" area is. I drilled the hole to 3/8" (biggest bit i had) and then opened the hole the rest of the way up with a die grinder w/ a rotary file bit. Worked great.

I went about installing the studs the same way a lot of folks do---with a stack of washers, old lug nut, and an impact. And plenty of antiseize. This part was easy, btw. However, I noticed some of the threads on the studs looked like they were galled up once they were in. Sure enough, about 4 out of the 10 were galled. I couldnt even put a lug on by hand. ****! How could these ARP wama-dine 6000 studs fail me? Everyone praises these damn things as if God forged them himself. As mentioned I used a lot of antiseize, so i dont see how these things got fucked up. I didnt have a dye nut handy, so I just ran one of my lugs up and down the threads to clean them up a lil. It kinda worked, the nuts go on easy w/ a ratchet now. Sorry for the long post, maybe this can help somebody in the future! And ARP aint ****!

Duffster

iTrader: (103)

. . . . So you abused them and they're crap now? Wheres the issue?

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

When you pull a wheel stud on like that, you are putting more force on the threads than they were designed to withstand. As much as it would have sucked, you should have removed the axles and had them pressed on. You obviously know this now.

You may think that they failed you, but their hardware is still light years beyond the factory wheel studs.

LCW

iTrader: (6)

So did you use a chrome lug nut when you pulled them in? Or a some sort of soft lug nut? Did you pull the threads on the lug? Gorilla makes a black tuner style lug.. That particular lug is just painted hardened steel I believe. Those are your best bet at not tearing up the threads if you do it again. I decided to see how much abuse one could take and beat the hell out of it with a big impact on a grade 8 bolt.. Turns out they are pretty tough.

meine96ws6

iTrader: (4)

Not to knock your choice to how to install them, but you have to see that the ARP bolt has the strength- the threads are just....threads you know.

I want to install mine as well, I don't want to pull everything out right now.

ScrapinBye

What do u work for ARP dude? U seem a little offended or something. I know having them pressed in is the "correct" method of installing wheel studs, but most folks dont have time to do all that. Those ARP studs should NOT have galled the way they did, PERIOD. I was using an electric impact from Harbor Freight to pull them in, so its not like 650 ft lbs were being exerted on the threads. Also, I work at a shipyard and a lot of the fasteners we use are Nickel Copper (NiCu), which are not nearly as hard as these ARP ones are. But we'll put those NiCu studs thru hell, double-nutting them to drive them in or remove them, whatever the case. They do gall eventually, but not nearly as easy as these wheel studs did. The issue is that the wheel studs should be able to stand up to a little more abuse and not have the threads gall up so easy, thats all I'm saying.

Lonnies Performance

iTrader: (16)

You are not the first to do this & wont be the last. But to be clear an impact is not the correct way to install them. An impact is for taking things apart, not assembly. The failure was not the studs fault.

With any stud, you should be careful not to overtorque them, ruining the stud. An impact should never be used to install lugs or studs for that matter as you have no idea how tight they actually are. If you pulled them in using your torque wrench, you would have likely seen that they would not go in at a safe torque limit.

You can use a large c-clamp & piece of pipe to press them in, so as not to damage the threads.

As an FYI, anti sieze is not intended as an extreme pressure lube. The ARP moly paste would have been much better for this application. The threads were likely damaged from the nut deforming, but I'm sure you still tightened them over 85ft/lb. Almost any impact will torque over 100ft/lb which is too much.

Camaro396

iTrader: (14)

They're just threads man..what did you expect doing it that way!? They need to be pressed in. The stud and knurl are the hardened part..not the threads LOL.

bigj2717

iTrader: (15)

Rear end fluid is so cheap why wouldn't you just dump it and pull the axles? I don't know why people install things wrong then wonder why they get screwed up

tripblackls1

iTrader: (11)

i believe it just may be your install of them
i had installed mine with a set of good open ended lugs and a few washers, pulled them in nice and slow by hand and use a new lug for ever stud
mine came out perfect

Photochop

iTrader: (74)

It's easy for all these guys to get on you and say 'you should have known, blah blah blah'. Truth is 75%+ of the folks on this site that have installed aftermarket wheelstuds have done it this way. I recently went thru doin this and did it the same way. Luckily for me I stumbled across a post about soaking the ARPs in ice water prior to installing them to shrink the metal ever so slightly and then put a dab of motor oil on the knurl for them to slide in easier. Used six 1/2" washers stacked against the housing, and a 9/16" nut on top of that and an open-ended lug that could center itself in the larger nut. Obviously this isnt optimum, but when the cars apart and you're tryin to get it done, you do it the way the majority has before. I'd be shocked if anyone could push these things in with a freakin store bought c-clamp, that's laughable really.

ScrapinBye

Yeah I basically did the same thing Photochop. Used a different lug on each stud. The studs are ok now, I was just letting folks know what to expect when it's done this way.

Undertow74

iTrader: (45)

I dont know. I installed mine using old gorilla acorn style closed lug nuts. All i did was put like a 12mm socket throught the stud to use as a spacer, and then hand tightend down the lug on the stud using the socket as a spacer. and of course i used some lube, no problem here. The old lugs the threads were fucked up on, but the studs were fine. Just my .02 and as with anything, there may be hundreds of ways to do things the right way, but the manufacturer way is the only way approved to do it without jacking it up(so to speak)