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TR4/4A Rear Bolts for Wheels

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R

rnpennington

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OK, This should be an easy question....therefore I am sure it has a complicated answer.
On the way home from Pizza I heard a strange noise coming from the left rear wheel. I got home and took the rear tire off, discovering that on of the bolts that holds the week on had broken off.
The question is...Is this a bolt I can get at a regular auto parts store and if so, what size? If not, I cannot find it on the Moss catalog, so what am I looking for?
 
Yep, that's it. Any idea on the size and whether or not I can find it at a local parts house?
 
On my TR3 it is a 7/16 x 20 UNF thread. I am not sure what thread screws into the Hub. You may be able to get one at the local shop but Moss would be the best bet as you can be sure it is the correct stud.

David
 
Bob- those studs are screwed into the rear hubs. If it pulled out chances are the hub is stripped so I wouldn't put the same threaded stud back in. It might be worth talking to Mike H in our club as he put in conventional style studs in his 3b which I think have worked well for him. Napa or other parts store will have a few options for you I think
 
Randy,
It didn't pull out, it actually broke, but I will reach out to Mike H.
 
Those things are peened to the rear of the flange after installation to prevent the short run of threads from backing out when you turn the lug nut. Is the stub remaining of any length or is it broken flush to the hub?
Bob
 
ok, well I finally had time to remove the brake drum and the bolt actually twisted right out. The threads in the hub are pretty well shot, so my plan iss to get a tap & die set (or borrow one) and then tap the bolt hole and install the one from Moss, usiund red locktite.
Any other suggestions?
 
An easy question? I'll second Randy's suggestion to talk to Mike H as he has been there, done that. As I recall... The first time he replaced a stripped stud, he tach welded the back side since there's only 4 or 5 threads there to begin with. After one was ground one off for extraction, there wasn't enough material left to peen back over. When he installed the wheel, the welds broke and he didn't trust it. So, he drilled and put modern 'pull-thru' studs in place -but of course, as you noticed, the originals have a shoulder on the wheel side, requiring a spacer ring for the wheel to bolt against. ...that's the simple version of my answer...

I don't want to scare you, but I think with only 4 studs, they did not allow much of a safety factor. With only three wheel studs, safety seems questionable. I'm wondering why one broke in the first place, and assume the original would be stronger than one stripped out and held together by glue. I'd try a simple fix if it were a simple problem.
 
I'd like to hear the story of someone who removed his rear studs, had a good time doing it, put new studs back in, and peened them just perfect the way Coventry did when they were new. You know, when I was in six grade. When LBJ was president. When everything else was perfect, too.
 
KVH said:
I'd like to hear the story of someone who removed his rear studs, had a good time doing it, put new studs back in, and peened them just perfect the way Coventry did when they were new. You know, when I was in six grade. When LBJ was president. When everything else was perfect, too.
Click to expand...

I did, but with the hubs off the axles, but it's been a few years or more. I put a hub on the drill press, punched the center of each stud and used a large diameter counter sink to slowly and carefully scrape off the original peening. Just enough so that two 7/16-20 (lug thread size) locked together on the remaining thread could slightly move, meaning the peen was scraped away from the outer edges enough to let go. The peened metal is just a thin layer of around the outside of the threaded stud holes. A little more scraping and the lug will back out with minimal effort. Don't damage the hub.

Once they were all removed and cleaned up, it just a matter of screwing in the new studs tightly and then I used a dullish, not-too-sharp "cold chisel" and first made an X across the bit of stud the slightly protruded through the rear of the hub surface. Then many more X's as the metal was peened around the holes.

It takes time and you probably could do it with the axles still attached but at a minimum, I'd remove the hub/axle assembly and fix it right on your bench.

It was a good time to have done the job as originally done and the process was not nearly as hard as people seem to think. I think I have a spare hub that I practiced on and will post a photo if I find have a chance to dig one out.
 
Incredible. Thanks for the account. How did you initially remove the hubs from the axles? Mine are nearly fused on as usual, and the local shop warned me again that there could be damage if they proceeded. My goal is to replace the bearings, but so far no luck.
 
I borrowed this custom made tool. The auto-repair shop down the street are fans of muscle cars. They understood my problem and used their press (?50 ton). They both came apart with a bang. No charge. The bearings were well past the 'use by' date mostly because they were packed with dirt.
 

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On the helicoil size, just get the kit for the original hub thread size (don't recall what that is). It will come with bit, install tool and several coils.
Bob
 
Same here, local machine shop and it went off just after lunch with a big bang.

Now funny thing about the bolt replacement. I found a single rear hub with press in studs that I made when I did my 4A and no evidence of my peening although I vividly remember doing it. The hub I found was one of three that I converted. It uses Chevy rear studs - Dorman brand 0610-0259 1.75" .475 knurl so I had the hubs drilled out at a machine shop and they installed the new bolts. There is not much room for the head so they barely fit. Also as mentioned, the bolt has an unthreaded bit before the threads begin so with spacers they're great.P1000618.jpg
 
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