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Wheel studs keep breaking

orthas

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Hi all

New to the forum here but this looks like a good place to ask

I have a VX commodore and have been having issues with wheel studs snapping on me on one particular wheel (passengers rear) it all started a dew months after getting new mags (DTM) i got a flattie and after buying a new tyre a couple of weeks later i noticed a strange wobbling so i stopped and lucky I did as the wheel pretty much fell right off as i stopped but got wedged in so nothing hit the ground, anyway i replaced all the studs with ones i brought from my local repco and didnt have any issues with them for a few months until i took the wheel off to replace the brake pads and 4 of the studs broke off as i was trying to undo them. so asked at repco and they suggested i buy slightly longer ones because of the mags, which i thought was weird seeing as i've had zero issues with the other wheels. anyway put them on and they were fine for 9 months or so then i noticed one had broken off as i was riving some time, i took the wheel off and was going to replace that one then i see that the thread on 2 of the others was stuffed, though stuff it and just got 5 more of the regular ones, then low and behold as i was putting the nuts on another one snapped, mind you it wasn't tight at the time the nut was only about half way on so didnt take much force to snap it. should I pay someone to have a look at this as I have been doing it myself and yes i have been making sure they are seated properly before putting the wheel back on. or should i get higher tensile studs? and is this a common problem with commies???

any advice would be greatly appreciated
 

_R_J_K_

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Not using spacers? Are you using the tapered wheel nuts?

Only other one I can think of would be to compare the centre bore of the rim to the hub lip diameter and see if there's an excessive gap that might be putting strain on the nuts.
 

kiwicon

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yip i had wheel studs snap with 5mm spacers on... took them off, put some more repco ones in and never had a problem since... touch wood.
 

Immortality

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vc commodore

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Seriously doubt this would solve the problem....Think about it.....These have only been out for about 10 to 15 years and prior to that, aftermarket mag wheels and even standard factory fitament wheels had a gap between the centre bore and the hub....Even aftermarket Romac axles have no drum boss, to locate the wheel. Then look at a VW wheel.....Or even an FX or FJ wheel.....Bloody big gap between wheel studs and no drum boss or hub to locate the rim....

I have also seen hub locators cause problems like this....The hub locator distorts,(the majority are plastic, with the occasional alloy ones) so when you put the wheel back on, it doesn't sit flush, causing undue stress on the studs and hey presto, snapped studs

I'm thinking along the lines, the mag might be warped in the centre, or when putting the wheel back on, one or more wheel nuts might be getting done up, so the wheel sits on an angle, and not being done up straight causing undue stress on the studs....Even check out the wheel nut seat, to make sure it's not damaged and the wheel nut fits snuggly into the seat.

And no, it's not a common problem
 
D

devilly

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something doesn't sound correct if its only happening on one side.maybe after a drive check the temp on both the middles of each rim see if one side is hotter then the other.just put your hand in the middle area.also put hand on the tread each side.
 

Drewie

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From the original posting:
I took the wheel off and was going to replace that one then i see that the thread on 2 of the others was stuffed, though stuff it and just got 5 more of the regular ones, then low and behold as i was putting the nuts on another one snapped, mind you it wasn't tight at the time the nut was only about half way on so didnt take much force to snap it. should I pay someone to have a look at this as I have been doing it myself and yes i have been making sure they are seated properly before putting the wheel back on. or should i get higher
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I have cut a bit out of the original post above, you mention the threads were damaged and that you broke a new stud putting the wheel back on, are you sure the nuts match the thread on the studs, they're not damaging the thread on the studs as you do them up? You should be able to do the nuts up with you fingers then tighten the last bit, maybe they are cross threaded. You don't mention whether there is a space between the hub and the centre bore of the wheel, it is not a case that the wheel is a tight fit on the hub and not sitting square and flat against the backing plate? Just a few thoughts to consider, pretty unusual, one of the posts above about the centre of the wheel being warped is worth checking as it may not be sitting flat against the hub.
 

Commo Baba

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Dangerous experiment, (but the whole snapping studs is anyway); but move the wheel and/or the wheel/nuts to another corner and see if the breakage follows the move or stays on the left rear.

.............or have you still got the wheels that were on it before. Put them back on for a while and see what happens.

Not a common problem I reckon.
 
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