Fricken' wheel stud length is making my day long

[Jerry Bransford]

I just have to vent... I just came back from the local Sears tire shop (only because I have a $50 credit there) to get my new AR aluminum wheels mounted and after busting the old tires and wheels down, they refused to install the new AR wheels.

The studs I had pressed into my new rear disk brakes and the Warn front hubs a few months ago are too fricken' short for the thicker American Racing wheels so they refused to mount them. Actually there were 6-7 threads engaged, enough by most standards, but the Sears shop-manager dweeb said he was "uncomfortable" with the whole thing and sent me packing over my strongest-possible objection to his decision.

I'm waiting for some ET (extended thread) lug nuts to arrive at my local tire shop which should work where they'll be happy. MAYBE the new wheels will be installed by tonight but no guarantees.

Damn, I can see now how asking for stock-length studs was the wrong thing to ask for with the thicker Warn hub flange and new rear disk rotors, but they worked fine with the steel wheels I have been running with their thin flange. It never occurred to me they would be marginal with aluminum wheels that are always thicker at the flange. DUH! Obviously longer studs are a good idea and I'll press them in asap but dang, I sure never expected this to happen.

[Robert J. Yates]

......good luck finding longer wheel studs Jerry.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
......good luck finding longer wheel studs Jerry.

You find some that will work with the hub conversion and the shoulder doesn't stick out past the WMS, I'll take 20 of them.

[Jerry Bransford]

Really!!! So this is not an unusual issue at all, I had no idea. Did you guys go to ET lug nuts or are you just running on the 5-6 threads that I think I'd have?

[Robert J. Yates]

Put the Jeep on jackstands and then take your tires and wheels down to the local shop. If you need different lug nuts to work with the rims, try Autozone - that is where I picked mine up.

[Jerry Bransford]

Thanks Robert, I'm feeling much better about all this now.

Where I bought my last set of wheel studs was really an excellent parts shop and they really knew the subject well... I'll at least ask them about longer studs and if they find some where the shoulder is the same dimension, I'll get a brand-name and p/n and post it here.

Thanks guys... you got me grinnin' again.

[Stu Olson]

Yep....same here too, Jerry. Welcome to the "don't you think that's a little short" club!

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
Really!!! So this is not an unusual issue at all, I had no idea. Did you guys go to ET lug nuts or are you just running on the 5-6 threads that I think I'd have?

Actually, I did it the easy way, I bought some extended nose lug nuts. Gotta be careful with them though. They can bottom out on the shoulder of the lug stud and come up to torque without clamping the rim to the WMS.

[Jerry Bransford]

Warn is sending me ten freebie longer studs to try, the same ones that come with their 5x5.5" kit... these are longer than what are supplied with the 5x4.5 hub kit I have so I'll see if they are what we need for the 5x4.5" hubs. These are Bendix p/n 142092.

If they work up front and have the right shoulder dimension, I will probably buy ten more of them for the rear.

[Jerry Bransford]

Forget the above Bendix p/n for longer studs as a possible solution. Warn just called me back to say the shoulder diameter of that stud is too big which would require machining of the hubs and rotors in order for them to fit. The only answer to the short stud issue is, according to Warn, is a deeper type of lug nut.

Ok, end of subject.

[Jeff Weston]

Jerry,

I got my new lugnuts from America's Tire when I got my American Racing Bajas. Everything worked fine, continued to work fine after adding the Warn hub conversion and still worked fine after going to Superior rear axles with the supplied studs. Either Sears is jerking your chain or you've got some funky lugnuts. Got to AT and they'll get it to work. Save your $50 credit for some new Toughskins jeans (do they still sell those?).

[bart]

FWIW, I put some AutoZone lugs in and they were crap! Stripped out within a couple of changes. I went to Dorman studs them and they seem to be much higher quality. I had (for now) an Explorer 8.8 and the studs are intended for a Ranger 8.8. HTH. If you were so inclined, you could go with open end lug nuts to avoid Blaine's problem.

-Bart

[speaceman]

Sears. Ha! They'll give you grief over mounting 31x10.5 BFGs on 15x7 wheels stating something about how the wheel isn't wide enough to safely mount the tire.

What a bunch of jokers.

[Darrell C]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
...The studs I had pressed into my new rear disk brakes and the Warn front hubs a few months ago are too fricken' short for the thicker American Racing wheels so they refused to mount them...

Jerry,

How long are those stock length studs, and how thick is the hub flange??

I've got an idea, but not sure if it'll work.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Darrell C
Jerry,

How long are those stock length studs, and how thick is the hub flange??

I've got an idea, but not sure if it'll work.

Not stockers. They are the studs Warn has picked out for their small hub conversion.

They have a very high shoulder with knurling at the top of the shoulder to reach through the rotor and into the inner hub flange. Kind of a unique situation.

[Darrell C]

Hum...ok.

Not sure how long the Warn supplied ones are. I discovered, after busting off a wheel stud, that the stock studs on the '03 are somewhat longer than the stock studs on the '01s, '02, etc.

My buddy had a spare stud from his '01, but it was too short. The '03 stock studs are 2 1/8" overall length with a 9/16" shoulder. I've also got a couple wheel studs laying around that are 2 11/16" OAL with a 1 3/8" shoulder...probably way too long in the shoulder as it would stick through the WMS and interfer with the wheel.

Just thought I'd try...

[Jerry Bransford]

Life is good again. The extended-length lug nuts the guy at the tire store ordered came in late afternoon and they did the trick, the wheels are mounted and they do look really good. The ET lug nuts have a narrowed shank that fits perfectly down into the wheel's bolt hole which adds at least an additional 3/8" of thread inside the lug nut. The wheels look better than I expected, and they'll be better yet once I can have them beadlocked... probably next year though. Thanks for all the advice all, everything worked out.

[Deaver]

Drag racers are required to use longer studs for thier applications

Would something in this index work?


Click here

[Phil Howell]

With a 1/2" stud, 1/2" (or more, of course) of thread engaged is fine.

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally posted by Phil Howell
With a 1/2" stud, 1/2" (or more, of course) of thread engaged is fine.

Exactly. Even though I carfully and repeatedly pointed out that the Cadillac sitting next to my Jeep only had 1/2" deep lug nuts, as much as my lugs were being engaged, the guy just refused to listen. That's Sears for you.

[karstman]

Hey Jerry,
Do you happen to recall the brand and/or part # for the ET lug nuts you picked up. I need to acquire a set today.

thanx!
mark

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally posted by karstman
Hey Jerry,
Do you happen to recall the brand and/or part # for the ET lug nuts you picked up. I need to acquire a set today.

You are lucky I was able to slowly work my way out to the garage after having a bit of belly surgery this morning.
The brand is "Excalibur Wheel Accessories" and the kit part # is IK22, Lug Style: E-T, Thread Style 1/2" (1/2x20), Valve Stem Style 504 (it comes with valve stems too).

That particular kit also comes with wheel locks but since it is designed for 6 lug wheels, you can choose to go with or without the locking lug nut. It's a nice kit. They're based in Ontario Calif, contact information for them can be found at http://www.theautochannel.com/parts/...tml?SUPERSTORE by selecting Excalibur from the drop-down menu.

[JMyerz]

http://www.dutchmanms.com/4_axles.html

Tell them what you need and I'm fairly positive they either have it or can get it.

When I built my scout D44 for my last TJ, I had custom disks, spacer and they found the perfect wheel studs to fit my application.

Justin

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
You are lucky I was able to slowly work my way out to the garage after having a bit of belly surgery this morning.
The brand is "Excalibur Wheel Accessories" and the kit part # is IK22, Lug Style: E-T, Thread Style 1/2" (1/2x20), Valve Stem Style 504 (it comes with valve stems too).

That particular kit also comes with wheel locks but since it is designed for 6 lug wheels, you can choose to go with or without the locking lug nut. It's a nice kit. They're based in Ontario Calif, contact information for them can be found at http://www.theautochannel.com/parts/...tml?SUPERSTORE by selecting Excalibur from the drop-down menu.

[karstman]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
You are lucky I was able to slowly work my way out to the garage after having a bit of belly surgery this morning.
The brand is "Excalibur Wheel Accessories" and the kit part # is IK22, Lug Style: E-T, Thread Style 1/2" (1/2x20), Valve Stem Style 504 (it comes with valve stems too).

That particular kit also comes with wheel locks but since it is designed for 6 lug wheels, you can choose to go with or without the locking lug nut. It's a nice kit. They're based in Ontario Calif, contact information for them can be found at http://www.theautochannel.com/parts/...tml?SUPERSTORE by selecting Excalibur from the drop-down menu.

Many thanks
I went to 5 tire shops, checkers, autozone, car quest, napa, and a few 4x shops, and most just look at me like I'm inventing a new type of lug nut. Very, very frustrating.
I'll be tracking down and ordering tomorrow...maybe Monday...I just got my new Currie steering and Antirock to keep me busy tomorrow

thanks!

[Jerry Bransford]

Just in case that 3rd party link with the information for the extended thread lug nuts ever goes dead...

Excalibur Wheel Accessories
2130 Lynx Pl
Ontario, CA 91761

Contact us at: 909-930-1307 or toll free: 800-227-0504
Contact: Bruce Totten, Pres
Email: annie@excaliburwheel.com

Company Products:
Accessories, Lug Nuts, Etc.
Bolts/Nuts, Hub
Caps, Valve/Hub
Wheels/Covers

[AprilzWarrior]

Sorta the same boat,
I installed an 8.8 in my Grand, but its 5/8" narrow on each side, so I had a shop fab some Aluminum 5/8" Spacers which shortend my stud to nothing... Stock 8.8 Top. ARP Lower



Over all, It took about 3hrs from start to finish.


AprilzWarrior

[karstman]

I had about given up....
Called Excalibur directly...they won't sell to the public (only the 800 number works, btw). Got a number for a distributor...they sell wholesale only, no retail. They gave me the # for wheel shop in Denver....it's out of business

Decided to try the one parts store I had not hit....Checkers....and they did not have them, but while driving back I pass this crappy looking garage with a window full of bling-bling wheels.

Bingo

He's got them...now I have them.


later,
mark