M101A3 Help needed.

[Firejareen]

So I got two M101A3's from Meade and they look great. I got them home and started to clean them off, lube if needed and general PMs. I wanted to pull off the wheels and put others on, for looks. One went smoothly, the other I notice that on one side most of the wheel studs are spinning and I can't get the lug nuts off. Anyone encounter this before? Anyone have any magic words of wisdom that I could try? I was thinking maybe pull the hub cover and see if I couldn't pull the hub, drum, and wheel off. Then get to the back side of the studs and work from there. Let me know if you have any ideas you think will work. Thanks

 

[blybrook]

Sounds like the studs are stripped off OR the lug nut is internally stripped on the stud. Best method is to pull the assembly off as a whole and find out which is the case. You can pull the cover, remove the cotter pin and nut, then pull the whole assembly off (ensure the parking brake is NOT set and the wheel can freely rotate).

A blue wrench may end up being your friend on this repair to get the wheel off the hub assembly. If the studs are stripped out, just hope that it is the studs themselves and not the hub; otherwise you'll be looking for a new hub.

Good luck on the repair.

 

[Nonotagain]

You don't say if you are using an impact wrench or a lug wrench for the nut removal.

I'd lubricate the lugs with PB Blaster for a day or two then use a high torque impact gun. It also wouldn't hurt to side load the socket so that the stud might have a little more friction.

If you end up pulling the wheel/drum assembly, you could hit each stud base with a dab of mig weld to hold it in place so that you can use the impact to remove the lug nuts.

Use caution if you decide to use a blue wrench so as to not over heat the hub.

 

[Firejareen]

Thanks fellas, I will try the hub pull and see what happens. I was using an impact gun after soaking in WD40. The studs will turn by hand. So I may need to use the dab of weld to hold the stud, or some serious vice grips..

 

[ctmustang]

If the studs are turning in the hub dont panic. Either grind off the back of the stud and punch it through or drill the stud from the outside. Take one of the old studs and a micrometer to your local napa and find one slightly larger at the base and go from there.
CT