Thread: HELP - Wheel Nuts / Drum Screws

1. You need to replace the studs and nuts. The stud screws in and the hollow end is then punched into the groove in the back of the flange of the hub. The thread in the hub may be damaged, in which case there are two alternatives - either replace the hub or drill out the holes to take the later type of stud that drives in from the back like the Series 3 with 16mm studs. These studs may be a bit harder to find, but I think they are available. Always keep the wheel nuts lubricated to avoid a repeat of the problem, and check at every service.

2. For the damaged drum retaining screws, the simplest solution is to grind flat the remains of the ones damaged, and then turn the position of the drum by one stud and redrill and tap the holes, or even just centre punch and drill then tap the same location - they do not have a significant load. I think they are 3/8"W. Note that there is also a tapped hole in the drum that a same size bolt screwed into will pull the drum away from the hub.

Hope this helps,

John

if you cant get the studs off of the nuts then yes, you should replace both. The terms you named are near enough good enough, Id have used

Hub,
wheel studs

the screws in the drum are either called centering screws or drum retaining screws. as bad as those ones are you might be able to pin punch them out with a hammer and a nail sinking punch (they have a concave dome on the business end) but most likely you'll have to drill the heads off, then grab the remnents with a pair of vice grips.

If that fails you can then drill them out and retap the exisitng holes.

IF that fails, you can put the drum on offset to its original position once you have carefully ground the screws flush secure it with a couple of taper head bolts (to perform the same centering action as the original screws) then redrill and tap through the taper holes in the drum.

hit the nuts between two hammers or a hammer and dolly on each face then soak in your favorite penetrating oil eg wd40 etc then repeat till they come off.

Free up all the nuts so they run easily onto the threads of the studs, both the ones still in the hub and the ones that screwed out.

To reinstall the loose studs, run a nut half it's length onto the stud to be replaced, get the appropriate size BSF thread and screw it into the nut locking it inplace, using this to drive and then tighten the stud back into the hub.

After replacing all the studs so their end are then level with the end of the threaded hole, use a arc welder to tack weld the studs at the back of the hub.
A quick clean up and a pressure pack squirt of some acrylic paint, ---- job finished ---- .
.

The drum retaining screws had snapped off my 86", centre pop the remains and drill through completely with a small drill bit and gradually increase the size. You can then use an ezy out to remove the threaded portion. You may need to heat it up and spray it with some crickets ****.

Is the easiest solution to just put it back on how you found it?

Without retaining screws the wheel will clamp the drum in place - were you having issues before?

The stuck nut on the stud has seized into an effective bolt.. so why not wind it back in there? Perhaps winding it back in and trying to tighten it before undoing again may break the seize.

Just saying.. i dont see why you cant put it back together... if I were you I'd continue on, order up some new studs, bolts and retaining screws and look to tidy it up another day - prehaps drive to a garage to have them drill tap the mangled retainer screws if your not keen...

seized threads can respond to heat, the expansion of the components breaks the seizure/bind. If you don't have a torch use the gas stove and put your studs and nuts on near the burner so that you can heat the things up.

I have had a few cars that have not had the screws to hold the drums but just rely on the wheel studs and nuts to hold the drum in place.

As mentioned, you will need new studs and nuts.

Back when I had IIA hubs I found that it was a good idea to tack weld the studs to the back of the hub (use a MIG or multi-purpose electrodes).

The screws are not needed. I removed mine about 14 years ago and no problems. Working on the brakes or hubs is much easier without them.