Mods, I posted this in the wrong section, please move.
Anyone here removed a damaged wheel stud on a C5 Vette? I've been told they come out pretty easy (at least on the front) with a small ball pein hammer. As the old commercial said, I'm about to find out. I don't have much in the way of tools here, as it is a retirement community, and they have a rule forbidding car repairs. So using heat and air tools are out of the question. Thanks, guys.....

 

if its the front, you can unbolt the wheel and remove the brakes, then unbolt the bearing assembly. take the bearing assembly somewhere where you can beat it out, then using a new stud, a washer, and a hex nut, draw it in.

 

A three pound sledge hammer should get it out.

 

I had read that you could remove the stud (on the front) without removing the bearing assembly. I just hate beating on a bearing. I guess you could hit it somewhat gently to start with. Now I'm wondering if the stud can be removed without pulling the bearing assembly.....

 

studs are too long to install without removing the bearing from the upright, so the bearing is coming out one way or another.

 

OK then. Ill wait until I get home to my lift! Thanks to all.....

 

^ That's the rear. The fronts should pop in/out in 5 minutes.

Front:

Rear:

I'm not a fan of the hammer due to the stress it puts on other components. (Especially if we miss...) I prefer renting (for free!) a ball joint press and using that:

 

Thank you to all!

 

I wish I would have seen this previously. Do yourself a favor and go to Harbor Freight and buy one of their Pittsburgh ball joint tools. This one: 3/4" Forged Ball Joint Separator I take a cut off wheel and cut the stud off until it's about a half inch from the hub. Then I use the ball joint separator to drive the stud out of the hub. It can also be used to install the stud. I will warn you, those studs are pressed in hard and when they pop out, it's loud as hell. Wear safety glasses! You don't want to use a hammer on your hubs.

 

What's wrong with threading a nut onto the stud and knocking it out with a hammer? To install new studs just use some washers and a nut to pull the new studs back in.

 

You can brinnell the bearings with the shock loads of a hammer. And installing the studs that way can fatigue the threads. Just going by what I was taught in college.

 

Always a possibility I suppose and that's why having the correct tools makes all the difference. I've replaced studs like that in the past but the studs were pressed into the rotor.

 

I prefer to rent these tools from AutoZone or Advance Auto for free. (A deposit is given and then refunded when the tool is returned.) A few reasons why:
- I have broken a cheap ball joint separator before. This is the only suspension tool I own and don't want to jack it up on a wheel stud.
- Using a ball joint press (like the video) is a monster and has the force to get the job done. The press also has geometry that puts all of the force straight down the stud and there is less fuss.
- Using suspension tools is dirty and hard on the tools - great for a rental tool I don't care about.