Ever noticed a strange sound, pulled off the highway and saw six missing nuts, on the same wheel? Sweet. You know what was going though my head. Here’s a video of the incident.
And here are photos as I’ve replaced the wheel studs with new ones. I count myself as very lucky that I didn’t do any more damage than I did!
Step by step
For those of you who are looking to replace a few front wheel studs on a GQ Patrol, here are the steps that I took to replace mine. Now before you start, you don’t need to remove your brake calipers.
Tip: Make sure you have rags, petrol or degreaser and some HTB grease. I use Castrol HTB in my wheel bearings. If you’re super keen, use this opportunity to check and repack the bearings in both hubs, you’re already halfway there.
Tools:
- 10mm Hex Key (Hub Casing)
- 21mm Socket (Wheel Nuts)
- 17mm Socket (Wheel Hub Bolts)
- 54mm Hub Nut Tool (Or your preferred alternative. ehm. cold chisel)
- Assorted flat screw drivers (circlip/bushing removal)
- Hammer
The Plan
- Remove wheel nuts and wheel
- Remove free wheeling locking hub casing
- Remove Circlip
- Remove Drive Clutch & Bushing (You can leave the spacer that’s behing the bushing)
- Remove lock nut, lock washer, adjusting nut and washer
- Remove the bolts holding the wheel hub to the disc.
- Slide off the wheel hub
- Tap out the damaged studs and insert the new ones.
- Reverse the instructions above
