Remove wheel studs

I'm going to put aluminum rims on my '67 CJ5 that has 10" brakes and decided that longer wheel studs would be needed. When I tried to knock out one of the old studs I realized it was swaged from the outside. Boy, I don't care how big a hammer you have, those puppies are not coming out!

Knowing there is a lot of good advice on this website, I found several threads that suggested removing the swage material by placing a hole saw over the stud and plunging down into the material, then knocking the stud out toward the inside of the drum. The only problem with this method is it causes additional damage to the holes in the drum.

I have an alternate method that worked well for me. Put the drum in a vertical milling machine (like a Bridgeport) and mill the heads off the studs, then knock them out toward the outside of the drum. This method does not damage the hole and it also leaves a clean spot face area for the new stud to butt up against.

If you do not have access to a milling machine, this can be done on a drill press by plunging down with a 3/4" center cutting end mill.

Most folks don't have either machine, so take the drums to a local machine shop and find out what they will charge. It may be less than a new drum. I hope this helps.

 

Seems like a lot of effort for something that can be pushed out w/ a shop press or good vice.:v6:

 

Rocky,

I understand your comment. Most studs are easy to knock out, however the 10" drums have studs that have a head on one end and are swaged on the other. You can't just knock them out without destroying the holes in the drum and hub.

 

I just did the ones on my '70 CJ w/ a vice. Use a piece of pipe or a socket large enough for the bolt heads to travel through to support the backside of the hub and crank away. Needs to be a good vice though, a pot metal cheapie will break. If you have a shop press its a breeze.:v6:

 

OK, if it works for you. Sometimes the glass is half empty, other times it is half full, for me it's usually twice as big as it needs to be.

 

Grandpot: I had a lug removed but my 10 inch wasn't swagged...at least from what I had seen from pics on this site in the past. Are all 10 inch swagged? Also, mine was so hard to get out, I had to take it to 2 machine shops and finally they had to put the blow torch to it! Maybe it was swagged and we all missed it!

 

Don,

As far as I know, the 10" wheels are swaged. It is very likely you missed it because you can't see the swaged material, it is flush with the outside of the drum. When I couldn't knock out the first one I started investigating and learned about the swaging. I'm a machinist and learned years ago not to rely on big hammers all the time.

As I said earlier, if you drive the swage material through the hole, you will enlarge it and most likely ruin the drum and hub.

 

Grandpot,

I had the same experience when I did a front disk brake conversion. The wheel studs in the hub were swaged and when you pressed them out the hub was ruined.

 

Maybe this is why I am having some issues with my braking now that its all put back together!! Thanks for giving me another angle to check things out!