Wheel studs breaking

[Blazing_Zippers]

I change wheels and tires in spring and fall-- aggressive snow tires for winter. So far, I've broken two wheel studs while using a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts. They both broke at about 80 ft. lbs. of torque.
I used to take the vehicles to the company that rhymes with Squab for the semi annual tire swap, but they snapped several studs using the air guns--SO I started doing the change myself.
Maybe I need to stop buying trucks from Mexico, made with steel from China???? O.K. I've vented!!!!!

[bguy]

Are you putting your steelies on for the winter and removing alloys?

If so you may need to clean the studs cause the nuts are threading on farther due to thinner wheel construction. May be especially true if grease or something has been used and has collected dirt/debris.

I wold also think the required torque setting for your truck is 135lb/ft or more.

[travelnutz]

eHoefler,

The OP's profile says he has a 2010 Dodge 2500 Laramie. No mention of what wheels he has but it's safe to assume one set of wheels are OEM as he says it's his annual change. So the other wheels have been used on his truck before and perhaps with no issues since this is his first mentionung of a stud problem.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

.

[Me_Again]

Blazing Zippers wrote:
I change wheels and tires in spring and fall-- aggressive snow tires for winter. So far, I've broken two wheel studs while using a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts. They both broke at about 80 ft. lbs. of torque.
I used to take the vehicles to the company that rhymes with Squab for the semi annual tire swap, but they snapped several studs using the air guns--SO I started doing the change myself.
Maybe I need to stop buying trucks from Mexico, made with steel from China???? O.K. I've vented!!!!!

Lets get back on track here! "but they snapped several studs using the air guns" If you have paper work or they have documentation of this, then you should be talking to the store manager about on going problems, and ask them to change out all the studs again, leaving the air gun on the rack!!!!

You will then be back to a known good set of studs. At this point you do not know how many others were stretched.

To the poster above, it is called stud centric or hub centric wheels!

Chris

[eHoefler]

You don't state what your vehicle is. If you are using aftermarket wheels, they may not fit the hub close enough. Meaning the weight of your rig is being supported by the studs. In heavier vehicles, particularly 3/4 ton and higher, the wheels fit the hubs very close. Hence the problems some have removing the wheels on dual wheel setups. Dodge and Ford usually have pretty close to the same hub size, while GM was a little smaller. While the wheels will bolt on all 3, GM had a gap between the hub and wheel. You could bolt the Ford or Dodge wheel on the GM, but not GM on a Ford or Dodge. In an attempt to keep stock down, the aftermarket people will make a wheel to fit all 3 and trailers too. With the weight on the studs, it stresses them and will cause them to fail. In heavy applications, the studs are strictly for clamping force and to keep the wheel from spinning on the hub.

[45Ricochet]

They are known for setting the guns to high, IMO. I like Les but you gotto watch the kids and tell them exactly what to do. They once left a floor jack under my 5er :m after changing out the rubber.
Your post is exactly why I have 2 sets of tires and wheels for winter and summer that I do myself. Heck Les want's $35 per season to change out, that's $70 a year for putting on winter rubber times 7 years, you can do the math :W No stud charge either!!!!

[time2roll]

The studs are just a couple dollars. Hammer out, hammer in.

[old_guy]

my truck is a 02 and I have never broken a stud and squab does all my work for me.

[Blazing_Zippers]

The studs that have broken were when I was putting the stock wheels on. But, that part about the studs being over torqued at a shop might be true. Dagnabit!! That's gonna be quite a few dollars to have them replaced. That could be cheaper then having a wheel or two fall off. Thanks.

[jus2shy]

Were the "Squab" employees using torque sticks when they used their air guns? Torque sticks actually prevent them from hammering over their rated torque. They're designed to flex and absorb the hammering of the air gun at whatever rating they're at (typically 80 or 100 ft-lbs depending on stick). They're pretty accurate in my experience and we use them at work. We occasionally verify that torquing is equivalent with a torque wrench to ensure the metal hasn't fatigued beyond usefulness.

[carringb]

At one point, the wheels were either over or under-torqued, and now the studs are fatigued. They all need to be replaced.

If the wheels are aluminum and have conical lugs, and they were not re-torqued after ~50-100 miles after each installation, then that is just as bad is under-torquing them from the get-go.

[time2roll]

If any single stud breaks replace them all.

[jody_h]

When was the last time you had your torque wrench calibrated? They do need to checked from time to time. Had more then one be off bad.

[Passin_Thru]

Go to Dexter axles. They sell about 1500 different wheel studs with the proper hardness. Never had one break yet.