How to Remove a Wheel Stud
Occasionally, the wheel studs on your car may have to replaced. Sometimes the lugnuts are cross-threaded when they're being installed, or maybe the stud is just weakened from years of use and needs to be replaced. Either way, they're not nearly as difficult to remove as you might expect.
To remove a wheel stud from the front of a vehicle, you first need to remove the brake caliper and any brackets preventing you from removing the rotor. Some vehicles will have the studs attached to the rotors and some vehicles will have them attached to the hub, either way, the rotor has to be removed. If the studs are in the rotor, place the rotor face-up on a hard surface and strike the stud with a heavy hammer to knock it through the back of the rotor. If the studs are attached to the hub of the vehicle, use the hammer to strike the stud and knock it through the back of the hub. Take care not to miss and strike the hub, which could damage the hub bearing or axle.
If the rear axle of a vehicle has drum brakes, removing the studs is simple. Just pull off the drum, strike the stud with the hammer and knock them through the hub. If the rear axle has disc brakes, the rotors will have to be removed in the same manner as the front ones. Once the rotors are removed, smack the studs through the back of the hub with the hammer.
Installing new studs is a fairly straightforward process as well. Make sure that you've gotten the proper stud and lugnut for your vehicle from the local auto parts store, then insert the stud from the back of the hub. Place a few washers on the stud to keep the lugnut from bottoming out and tighten the lugnut until the stud is pulled tightly and securely against the hub. Use either an air gun or a large wrench to pull the stud through, since it will require a considerable amount of force. Spraying a small amount of lubricant on the stud can make it easier to pull through as well.
Once you've got all your studs replaced, reinstall the brakes and adjust if necessary. Then replace the wheels on your car and tighten properly. Check to make sure that the wheel is flush against the hub once tightened and just like that you've successfully replaced the studs on your car.
