Freightliner chassis. Today was a " how in the world does this happen" Moment. Studs spinning in drums??

onanysunday

onanysunday

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1999 National Tradewinds. Freightliner chassis which there are a ton of on the road. Second set of tires I have put on this coach. First three corners of 8 big 30mm lugnuts torque just fine. Then on the last rear double wheel bolts just keep spinning and won't torque. Not 1 but 4 studs are now spinning in the drum. So now I need to pull this apart and either put in new studs or spot weld the back side if I think the weld on cast iron will work. Strange but true. Anyone ever see this? Oh and I am not positive but thinking the drum should slide off when I pull the dual wheels?  450lbs torque on these big lug nuts so I will need the tire guy to come back after I fix it.  

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I am thinking this is going to be me. 

 
8 new studs and nuts.   never seen that happen i bet those wheels are hard to find dont think they used that 8 lug setup for long . almost all trucks are 10 lug hub piloted 

 
Jersey_Jeff73 said:
8 new studs and nuts.   never seen that happen i bet those wheels are hard to find dont think they used that 8 lug setup for long . almost all trucks are 10 lug hub piloted 
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Thanks. Need to figure out where to buy the studs local in Phoenix when I tear it apart.

 
freightliner dealer with the vin number get a extra nut and a few washers to pull the studs in.   pull the studs in with the nut and help seat them with a hammer 

 
Jersey_Jeff73 said:
freightliner dealer with the vin number get a extra nut and a few washers to pull the studs in.   pull the studs in with the nut and help seat them with a hammer 
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i would not weld the studs if you ever get a flat they might spin and then you will have to cut the studs to get the wheel off turning a simple flat into a nightmare

 
Jersey_Jeff73 said:
i would not weld the studs if you ever get a flat they might spin and then you will have to cut the studs to get the wheel off turning a simple flat into a nightmare
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Yep. You are right. Not worth the risk. Welding was an earlier thought that became less of an option as I thought about it.

 
you are going to need a hub is my guess i am sure there is an truck supply place that is not a dealer that will save a bunch of money but to check call dealer with the vin ask price and availability if they don’t have it they will usually give you a part # this you can use to call around and find it cheaper and hubs usually come with studs installed you will also need an axel seal 

and  jack up the side you are working on enough for the oil to run to the opposite side about 3 inches and hubs come in aluminum and steel if you have aluminum you can changeover to steel it will be cheaper 

 
Arch Stanton said:
you are going to need a hub is my guess i am sure there is an truck supply place that is not a dealer that will save a bunch of money but to check call dealer with the vin ask price and availability if they don’t have it they will usually give you a part # this you can use to call around and find it cheaper and hubs usually come with studs installed you will also need an axel seal 

and  jack up the side you are working on enough for the oil to run to the opposite side about 3 inches and hubs come in aluminum and steel if you have aluminum you can changeover to steel it will be cheaper 
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Not understanding why it would need a hub? Studs are just spinning. I have installed many studs in different passenger car and truck applications. These are just bigger parts.

 
my guess he is thinking that the holes in the hub are worn and the new studs wouldn't hold tight. personally I've never seen one spin ive changed alot of them usually putting longer studs in for alloy wheels. they are pressed in very tight my guess why the spun looks like someone heated them up to get them off and possible lost the hardness which allowed the knurling to flatten out and spin.  they are a oddball hub ive only seen them on a few freightliners the common ones are pretty cheap the hub with studs could be cheaper than the studs alone. ask them to send you a quote on the parts so you can get the part numbers most of the time they wont give up the part numbers if you ask for them directly.

 
I have seen that problem many times. The holes in the hub may be a little bit oversized due to the stud spinning in there but some new studs should solve your problem. Replace the ones that are spinning and any others that are questionable. The knurl on the new studs is measurably bigger than the holes in the hub so even in the oversized holes new studs should fit tight. That knurl on the new stud will “squish” a little when forced into the holes. They’ll squish more in the good holes and a little less in the bad ones but should still fit tight unless the you’ve got a hole that’s just destroyed but that’s unlikely. 

 
Jersey_Jeff73 said:
my guess he is thinking that the holes in the hub are worn and the new studs wouldn't hold tight. personally I've never seen one spin ive changed alot of them usually putting longer studs in for alloy wheels. they are pressed in very tight my guess why the spun looks like someone heated them up to get them off and possible lost the hardness which allowed the knurling to flatten out and spin.  they are a oddball hub ive only seen them on a few freightliners the common ones are pretty cheap the hub with studs could be cheaper than the studs alone. ask them to send you a quote on the parts so you can get the part numbers most of the time they wont give up the part numbers if you ask for them directly.
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Funny you say that. Today the tire guy could not get 1 lug nut off. I heated it up almost cherry red to get it to break loose. This guy was referred to me and did not have the adequate tooling for a mobile service. His socket was to short and only grabbing less than 1/2 the surface area on the lug nut. I thought an extra 50 for the mobile guy would be worth it but should have taken the coach in to a big truck shop. Live and learn. This motorhome came from back east so there is some rust which is the discoloration. 

 
Rorschach said:
I have seen that problem many times. The holes in the hub may be a little bit oversized due to the stud spinning in there but some new studs should solve your problem. Replace the ones that are spinning and any others that are questionable. The knurl on the new studs is measurably bigger than the holes in the hub so even in the oversized holes new studs should fit tight. That knurl on the new stud will “squish” a little when forced into the holes. They’ll squish more in the good holes and a little less in the bad ones but should still fit tight unless the you’ve got a hole that’s just destroyed but that’s unlikely. 
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Hoping it is just this one hub. Makes sense since 4 off them are spinning. I will replace all 8 in that hub.

 
I am guessing the hub is Aluminum and the stud holes are corroded out and thats why the studs spun It could happen with steel also. Once a stud has spun I don't believe there will be enough hub to get a stud to grip. The east coast salt and other chemicals just ruin everything and make everything harder to work on.

While you have the wheels off clean the corrosion off both the hubs and wheels it can cause vibrations that gets blamed on wheel balance.

I run dump trucks that get new tires every year plus brake jobs and suspension work that requires pulling the wheels I have had trucks go 20 plus years with aluminum hubs and never had a stud spin and trailers that are 40 plus years old with the old ball seat and thimble that I have run for 25 plus years with steel hubs and never had one spin I have had broken or striped threads and replaced studs, if you can get them to grab in the  hub turn the hub threads of stud down on top of the break drum and beat the new ones in when they seat the hub will bounce different on the drum. the studs are usually marked on the back of the stud with a code that will identify it.

 
Watching the way the lugs were spinning in the bore and if this is aluminum for sure the hub will be junk.  Probably just take your advice and order a hub.  :makerain:

 
Called Freightliner and hubs and studs are both obsolete. This might get to be fun

 
You should be able to buy the studs at any parts supplier that sells heavy duty. Napa, Fleetpride, etc

 
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