Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Model A (1928-31)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-24-2019, 03:59 PM   #1
Mabel1930
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 22
Default Spinning stud on rear wheel

Hello all,
I’ve got a rear wheel lugnut that is just spinning when I try to remove it- seems the stud has separated from the drum. Does anyone have a suggestion for best course to follow to remedy this and get the wheel off? Seems to me I could remove the hubcap, loosen the brake adjustment wedge, and get to the main axle nut to remove wheel and rotor as one? but thought I’d consult here for folks with experience with this problem.
Thanks so much!
Mark
Mabel1930 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2019, 04:25 PM   #2
Jim/GA
Senior Member
 
Jim/GA's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Young Harris, GA
Posts: 1,808
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

You will have a hard time removing the wheel and drum as a unit on the rear wheels. The tapered axle shaft into the rear hub is not easy to separate.

Try wedging something like a pry bar between the wheel and the lug nut as you turn the nut to loosen it. Sometimes that will jam the head of the lug into the back side of the hub and stop it from spinning.

If that does not work, look at splitting the lug nut or cutting the lug nut in half with a Dremel with a cut off wheel (finish the job with a chisel). Not easy to work in there.

Good luck.
__________________
Jim Cannon
Former MAFCA Technical Director
"Have a Model A day!"
Jim/GA is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 07-24-2019, 05:07 PM   #3
MAG
Senior Member
 
MAG's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 925
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Have done this many times over the years because I did not have a puller:
Remove the hubcap.
Remove the cotter pin in the axle nut.
Loosen the axle nut one turn.
Install the cotter pin.
Drive the car around the block a couple times. Right drum - right turn. Left.....
The drum will come off without damage to hub or axle.
__________________
I noticed the harder I work the luckier I get!
MAG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2019, 05:56 PM   #4
Fred K-OR
Senior Member
 
Fred K-OR's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Stayton, Oregon
Posts: 3,806
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim/TX/GA View Post
You will have a hard time removing the wheel and drum as a unit on the rear wheels. The tapered axle shaft into the rear hub is not easy to separate.

Try wedging something like a pry bar between the wheel and the lug nut as you turn the nut to loosen it. Sometimes that will jam the head of the lug into the back side of the hub and stop it from spinning.

If that does not work, look at splitting the lug nut or cutting the lug nut in half with a Dremel with a cut off wheel (finish the job with a chisel). Not easy to work in there.

Good luck.
I also used the Dremel tool. It worked great. But watch so you do not cut your rim.
__________________
Fred Kroon
1929 Std Coupe
1929 Huckster
Fred K-OR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2019, 07:46 PM   #5
Roger V
Senior Member
 
Roger V's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,593
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Wrote an article on this for the Model A News a few years ago. Cut off wheels are hard to manipulate especially if you don't want to cut the wheel. I used a drill motor and bit. Drilled 3/16" holes adjacent to each other along one side of the lug nut and then the same on the opposite side. Finished with a chisel. Another method I was told (never tried) was to use a impact wrench. The faster movement in short trigger pulls was jerking it off the stud threads little by little.
Roger V is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-25-2019, 10:09 AM   #6
katy
Senior Member
 
katy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Red Deer, Alberta
Posts: 5,004
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Quote:
Have done this many times over the years because I did not have a puller:
Remove the hubcap.
Remove the cotter pin in the axle nut.
Loosen the axle nut one turn.
Install the cotter pin.
Drive the car around the block a couple times. Right drum - right turn. Left.....
The drum will come off without damage to hub or axle.
My brother tried that trick on a '39 Ford one time, drove the car for a month before the hub came loose. Luckily it came loose on his way home one day.
__________________
If you don't hear a rumor by 10 AM, start one!.
Got my education out behind the barn!
katy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-25-2019, 09:04 PM   #7
whirnot
Senior Member
 
whirnot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Bend Or.
Posts: 1,053
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Find someone with a three jaw puller that has arms that accept bolts. I made one with an old hub and an old puller.
__________________
Bill Worden

1929 Roadster
1929 Briggs Town Sedan
1930 Closed Cab pickup
Smith Motor Compressor
1951 Ford F1

High Desert Model A's
whirnot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2019, 03:32 PM   #8
Mabel1930
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 22
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Just an update in case it proves helpful to anyone with this problem. I got the stud off by the following method; began by drilling holes across the top of the lugnut and then then connecting them as to sever a channel across the top of the nut. Then with a dremel I used a small cutting wheel to cut the sides as much as possible. With that completed, I drilled into the side of the nut all the way through from top (parallel to the ground) as best I could before putting a nut splitter tool on the lugnut and breaking it with a torque wrench. That successfully broke the lugnut in half and allowed removal of the wheel. All told it took about 4 hours.
Thanks everyone for the input!
Mabel1930 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2019, 04:32 PM   #9
john in illinois
Senior Member
 
john in illinois's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 2,181
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Good job.

John
__________________
Welcome each day
john in illinois is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2019, 07:13 PM   #10
Synchro909
Senior Member
 
Synchro909's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 7,471
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Good job and thanks for letting us know the outcome - many don't bother.
__________________
I'm part of the only ever generation with an analogue childhood and a digital adulthood.
Synchro909 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2019, 10:22 PM   #11
IndyA
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 61
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Had the same problem.. took my Dremel grinder and cut a slot in the end of the stud which was wide enough for a bladed screwdriver.... then held the stud motionless while I unscrewed the nut.... Easy !!!
IndyA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2019, 03:20 AM   #12
Karl
Senior Member
 
Karl's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Manawatu, New Zealand
Posts: 1,416
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

What I did was loosen all the other nuts and then dropped the car off the jack so that all the weight was on the spinning stud -this locked it enough for me to remove the nut
__________________
Such a fine sight to see-Its a Girl, My Lord, in a Flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me.
Karl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2019, 06:56 AM   #13
marty in Ohio
Senior Member
 
marty in Ohio's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Elyria, Ohio
Posts: 753
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Karl, What a simple idea! Your fix was foolproof. I never would have thought of that.
Marty
marty in Ohio is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2019, 08:13 AM   #14
Jim M
Senior Member
 
Jim M's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sebastian, FL
Posts: 479
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

This site is worth more than a set of encyclopedias! I am having my morning coffee and browsing the new posts as I do every morning. Since my memory is NOT what it used to be I save the URL of many of the great tips in an excel file with a small note describing the tip. Thanks to everyone for the great ideas! Jim
Jim M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2019, 10:34 PM   #15
Synchro909
Senior Member
 
Synchro909's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 7,471
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by Karl View Post
What I did was loosen all the other nuts and then dropped the car off the jack so that all the weight was on the spinning stud -this locked it enough for me to remove the nut
Simplicity is brilliance. That's simply brilliant!
__________________
I'm part of the only ever generation with an analogue childhood and a digital adulthood.
Synchro909 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2020, 12:20 AM   #16
Apperloo
Member
 
Apperloo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Mission, BC
Posts: 58
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by Karl View Post
What I did was loosen all the other nuts and then dropped the car off the jack so that all the weight was on the spinning stud -this locked it enough for me to remove the nut
Where is the like button. Good ☝️
__________________
I love a girl and "Ruby" is her name, ChaCha
Apperloo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2020, 09:21 AM   #17
Joe K
Senior Member
 
Joe K's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Cow Hampshire
Posts: 4,174
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by Karl View Post
What I did was loosen all the other nuts and then dropped the car off the jack so that all the weight was on the spinning stud -this locked it enough for me to remove the nut

Answer of the day!


Joe K
__________________
Shudda kept the horse.
Joe K is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2020, 11:48 AM   #18
DBrer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Washington
Posts: 175
Default Re: Spinning stud on rear wheel

Haven't had that problem, but a lot of great info just in case.
DBrer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:09 AM.