Wheel Stud Replacement (Help Soon)

[subaru-guru]

I have a 98 legacy gt and im trying to repace my wheel studs. i have done some research on how to replace this seem to be simple fix, but i dont kno if i need to disassemble the rotor, caliper, and abs sensor ring, or if i simply just use a mallet to back the studs out and use nuts to pull the new stud in. Any information of this repair would be helpful. I wana get my subie back on the road soon with such a simple fix. Thanks.

[deadlydave]

Well, i'm not going to lie. On the front it sucks: You need to take off the caliper, bracket, and rotor, then pound out the old ones and press and/or pound in the new ones.

On the rear...It made me want to shoot myself in the face. You have to take apart all of that stuff I listed for the front, and also completely disassemble the e-brake drum. Space is also really limited, it took me quite a while.

[rougeben83]

Well, i'm not going to lie. On the front it sucks: You need to take off the caliper, bracket, and rotor, then pound out the old ones and press and/or pound in the new ones.

On the rear...It made me want to shoot myself in the face. You have to take apart all of that stuff I listed for the front, and also completely disassemble the e-brake drum. Space is also really limited, it took me quite a while.

Did you have to remove the abs ring or any of the other stuff in the front or did you have plenty of room on the back of the hub to get the stud out and in? (thinking of changing to longer studs in the front)...

[ivwarrior]

It's really not that difficult a deal.

On the front, remove wheel (5 lug nuts) remove caliper/bracket (2 bolts), remove rotor. Hammer out old studs, usually 1-3 whacks with a decent hammer. Pull in new studs. I have a tool specifically designed for this and it makes it nicer. However, you can do it with a lug nut and a stack of washers to act as a spacer. Preferably a "open" lug nut with a flat side on it. The "acorn" style nuts most Subaru cars use don't work well for this, since one end is closed, and the other is tapered to match the taper of the lug holes in the wheels. Start the stud into the hole, put the stack of washers over it, then thread the nut on, flat side toward the washers. Tighten nut until the stud is pulled fully into place. Obviously, this will be easier if you have an impact wrench, but a regular ratchet and some muscle will work as well. I personally don't care for the lug nut method as I've stripped both nuts and studs trying it this way, but unless you're doing it on a regular basis (full-time mechanic) the tool I bought when I worked in a garage isn't worth what it'll cost you. Never stripped a stud with it, though.

Granted, the back will probably be tougher as there's a good chance you will have to remove the parking brake assembly, either partially or completely to get a spot to hammer out the old stud and start the new one into the hole. If you have to do studs on both sides on the back, do one side at a time, then you have the other side still correctly assembled, in case you need to look at it for reference when putting the side you're working on back together.