Ford Ranger, 2wd, 5 lug bolt pattern.    Now I'm down to 4 lugs on the right rear tire.

Stupid damn nut was tightening as I was lossening it, got about 1/2 way off the lug and then it got real tight and torqued the bolt right off.

I was pretty surprised to see that.


If this was a front lug that snapped off, I could simply get a new rotor which isn't a big deal since I could benefit from new rotors anyhow(these are down to nominal thickness).    Plus with a front lug being snapped off I would be much more apt to want to fix it since I don't much want to muck around with my tires on the front and the ability to actually steer.

But the rear tires, not as much force being acted upon them and I'm thinking 4 lugs would probably be fine.

I really don't like the thought of having to open the diff and remove the entire dad gam axle inorder to replace a stupid lug, which I'm not even sure I could get the damn lug pressed out and a new one put back in.    I figure a damn 5 dollar lug on the rear axle would account for around 70 dollars in labor by the time everything was done and back together.

So, short story long here is the final question.    4 lugs out of 5 on the back tires?    Big deal or not?

No big deal. Knock the stud out. Go to autozone and get a new one for a couple of bucks and knock it in.

Thing is I don't like the idea of having to remove the damn axle to get to it.

There isn't enough clearance to get the broken lug out, forget putting a new one in without pulling the axle.

I am "almost" sure you can replace the wheel stud withiout pulling the axle. There is a place somewhere in the hubs rotation that the stud will come out. A lot of the Ford studs have a flat area on the head that helps with this. You may have to make a flat spot on the new one for clearence. If you do have to pull the axle, it is not that bad a job.

I am pretty sure you wont have to pull the axle as well.

I suppose I'll pull the tire off again tomorrow and take a closer look.

I was in the process of redoing my front brakes along with the tire rotation.    Didn't really want to bother with the lug at that moment.

Most of my driving will be around town minor commuting.     I'll probably fix the stupid lug before I do any long treks out of town.

Just crossing my fingers that I can do it myself, preferably without pulling the axle or needing a press to get the old stud out and a new one put in.

knock the broken one out. turn the hub and wiggle the loose stud until it frees. you probably won't be able to knock the new one in from the backside, so here's a tip. push stud through and stack several washers on the outside of the stud. hand tighten new nut down onto washers. then (hopefully you have an impact gun) tighten nut down. this should pull the stud through. back off nut, remove washers, install wheel.


hope this helps. i've done it on a few late 80's early 90's rangers without a hitch. if you don't have air tools i say pay someone.

edit for spelling

Hopefully I'll be able to do as you say and get a new stud in through the back.

We'll see.    When I glanced at it, I wasn't impressed with how little room there was in there to work a new stud in.

I use anti-seize on my lugs.

ETA: Next time that happens, STOP! Then retighten the nut and spray on some lube then put a thread die on and clean the threads. More lube after that then try again, if it tightens up re-tighten then the nut and go back and forth like you're rocking a car out of a snowbank. Use lot's of lube.

Quoted: knock the broken one out. turn the hub and wiggle the loose stud until it frees. you probably won't be able to knock the new one in from the backside, so here's a tip. push stud through and stack several washers on the outside of the stud. hand tighten new nut down onto washers. then (hopefully you have an impact gun) tighten nut down. this should pull the stud through. back off nut, remove washers, install wheel. hope this helps. i've done it on a few late 80's early 90's rangers without a hitch. if you don't have air tools i say pay someone. edit for spelling

huge +1.  

Air tools make things so much easier.  Invest in a portable-type (jobsite kind) compressor.  
The kind with the 2 little tanks on them.  They work fine if you only have a few bolts to remove/tighten.  

And they are small enough to store in a closet/ect. if you live in an apt. and don't have a garage.  

If you use them constantly all-day long, the compressor will have to run alot.  They work fine for impacts and air hammers though.