Wheel studs are the threaded devices for fastening wheels of many land vehicles. You might wonder if driving with broken wheel stud is safe when this issue suddenly happens along the road.
What can you do to replace the broken part without the help of a transportation engineering service? Let our article help solve your question and guide you through the replacement process.
Driving With Broken Wheel Stud Is Safe Or Not?
The question “Can I drive with a broken wheel stud?” might boggle your mind. Yet, you should never drive with a broken wheel stud because it puts additional pressure on the wheel and damages the other vehicle parts.
If you drive with a missing lug nut and the other remains are still fine, it is safe to drive a little bit. Just make sure you head to the repair shop as soon as possible.
Driving With A Broken Wheel Stud
Can You Drive With A Broken Lug Nut Stud?
It is dangerous if you drive with a broken threaded fastener due to the extra pressure on the tire. This additional pressure will cause the bearings studs to wear quickly and the other lug nuts to fall off.
Consequently, a tire may wobble and come off, possibly leading to an accident.
Driving With A Missing Lug Nut
What if a lug nut falls off? Is it safe to drive with a missing lug nut? Yes, driving with a missing lug nut is quite safe for a short period.
However, you should take your car to a reliable auto repair shop as soon as you notice a lug nut is missing. The lug nut loss causes excess pressure on the hub and the bearing (mechanical), making them wear down prematurely.
If you drive for a long period without replacing the lost lug nut, you will end up paying much more than the broken wheel stud cost.
Hence, it would be best to do regular checks so that you can catch the loosened nut before it falls off or replace the missing one in the shortest time.
Why Do Wheel Studs Break Off?
Improper Installation
The first and most common cause is improper installation. This is because the auto mechanic might not fasten the lug nuts tight enough, making the nuts easily fall off when driving.
Thus, it would be better to take your vehicle to a great-quality mechanical engineering service for the next car maintenance or lug studs replacement.
Cross Threading The Lug Nut Onto The Stud
If the below reason is not your case, you might continue wondering “What causes wheel studs to break?”
Cross-threading is another must-mentioned reason. This issue usually happens when the technician is in a hurry, so he screws a lug to stud at an improper angle. He might also use the too-high impact wrenches for the threaded fastener installation.
To prevent the cross-threading issue, always check if the lug nuts are in the right angles before leaving the motor vehicles repair shop.
The Rust On The Wheel Stud
What would cause wheel studs to break off while driving? The rust on the machines can be a leading cause if your vehicle contacts with saltwater or sodium chloride (a chemical for melting ice on roads.)
This problem happens even if your threaded fasteners are made from highly resistant-to-rusting materials. When the studs rust, removing the nuts or stewing them is difficult without causing any damage to the studs.
Hence, we recommend having the stud system checked for rust signs at least once per year if your car is exposed to salt occasionally.
If this issue has already happened, contact a great-quality repair shop and have a certified mechanic replace the damaged devices.
How To Replace The Wheel Stud?
Is the process of wheel stud replacement simple? It may be a little bit challenging for an amateur due to the complex vehicle technology, yet you can give it a try if you have the proper tools.
So, how to replace wheel studs? Here are the detailed guidelines you can refer to.
How To Remove The Damaged Stud?
First, let’s take the broken stud out of the hub.
- Step 1: Loose lug bots using a wrench while the car remains on the ground.
- Step 2: Bring the vehicle tire off.
Raise the vehicle using a jack and support it with jack stands. Then, take the nuts out and pull off the tire.
- Step 3: Remove the brake caliper using a socket wrench.
Depending on the manufacturer’s instructions, different caliper pins require different driver bits, such as hex bits and star-drive bits. Thus, check your vehicle information and use the proper tool to take the caliper off.
- Step 4: Finish the replacement wheel stud.
Remove the rotor and place it aside to avoid being exposed to oil or scratched because of being hit by other parts.
Then, knock the damaged fastener out of the back of the hub using a metal hammer. After that, use your fingers to pull the stud from the rear of the hub flange.
Note: Be careful when aiming and knocking the fastener to avoid damaging the threads of the near wheel hub studs.
How To Install The New Wheel Stud?
Now, we will apply a new wheel stud to the hub. The steps are as follows.
- Step 1: Turn the hub a little bit so that you can easily access the stud hole.
- Step 2: Remove any rust from the wheel and the stud system.
As mentioned, the rust can cause your threaded fastener to quickly wear and increase the tire’s chance of falling off.
Thus, you should take the rust off the wheel, the rotor, and the threaded fastener system using a metal-bristle brush and a solvent cleaner.
- Step 3: Insert a new stud.
Insert a new stud straight into the hole as far as it can go. Remember to lubricate the fastener and the hole before installing.
Then, tight down a large nut over the end of the new stud. It shall slide loosely over the device as it serves as a spacer. Thread it over the fastener to complete the installation process.
After that, remove the large nut and tighten the properly sized lug nut.
- Step 4: Reverse the procedure to reassemble the wheel.
Conclusion
Driving with broken wheel stud can damage your vehicle and increase the risk of having an accident. Thus, it would be best to do regular vehicle checks and fix any issue as soon as you detect it.
If you want to replace the broken part at home, please follow our guidance on how to replace lug nut stud.Don’t hesitate to leave your comment to ask us any questions about the studs or other parts, such as valve, tappet, or fuel tank. We will do our best to assist you.