Welded Wheel Studs onto Hub

You're OK Chris ( in my opinion!)Had the studs of one of my wheels welded as an urgent roadside garage repair in darkest France 18 years ago and now many thousands of miles later all still doing well. No problems whatsover. Okay okay , if/when new drums are needed I'll need to replace the hub as well, but that's life and $$$ or in my case £££.
 
Last edited:
Hi Brent, Tinman, Updraught, Railcarmover, Dennis, Jim, Frank, Dino:

Many thanks for the input. Yip, it seems that we should have drilled out the old studs first, then swaged in the new studs. I am picking up a chatter on the front right which may or may not be from the welded studs but it seems I am in for a set of new hubs and studs to get the car to OE spec.
 
Hi John - only saw your post now. If I can get the chatter/shrieking noise on the front right sorted out I will leave things as is. But if not I guess I will have no choice but to replace the hubs and studs and start again.
 
@ Brent: When we tried to fit the hub to the wheels, we found that they would not clear the brake linings evenly, because they were (visibly in some cases) out of round. So we removed the hubs from the drums, had them reamed, but now I can clearly see we should have done this together with the hubs fitted. I am pretty sure that my chatter/vibration in the front right wheel when I apply brakes is because there is an out of round issue. I think that once this is taken care of I am going to bite the bullet and just order a new set of hubs and studs (and, I suppose, bearings, right?) and start again. Fortunately the new cast iron hubs are still servicable.
 
@ Brent: When we tried to fit the hub to the wheels, we found that they would not clear the brake linings evenly, because they were (visibly in some cases) out of round. So we removed the hubs from the drums, had them reamed, but now I can clearly see we should have done this together with the hubs fitted. I am pretty sure that my chatter/vibration in the front right wheel when I apply brakes is because there is an out of round issue. I think that once this is taken care of I am going to bite the bullet and just order a new set of hubs and studs (and, I suppose, bearings, right?) and start again. Fortunately the new cast iron hubs are still servicable.
 
swedging the stud makes an assumption that the hub is true, there is no piloting as in hubcentric drums....you still need to center the standard brake shoe to drum..
 
Chris Van said:
@ Brent: When we tried to fit the hub to the wheels, we found that they would not clear the brake linings evenly, because they were (visibly in some cases) out of round. So we removed the hubs from the drums, had them reamed, but now I can clearly see we should have done this together with the hubs fitted. I am pretty sure that my chatter/vibration in the front right wheel when I apply brakes is because there is an out of round issue. I think that once this is taken care of I am going to bite the bullet and just order a new set of hubs and studs (and, I suppose, bearings, right?) and start again. Fortunately the new cast iron hubs are still servicable.
Click to expand...


try brake floaters too,they center the shoe in the drum on application
 
I have a similar question as the original poster with a different spin - I have a few studs that are loose on my front and rear hubs. My hubs are original and my drums are cast iron. From what I understand my new studs are the new type that don't include the shoulder that would have been on the original studs. New hubs are made to accept the new stud. If they are already pressed in would tac welding help prevent them from spinning?
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20260117_000533529~2.jpg
    PXL_20260117_000533529~2.jpg
    66.1 KB · Views: 25
Last edited:
Don't do that. The vendors sell the tool to swedge the studs. You just need to find someone with a 10 ton press. Swedging swells the studs to fit tightly in the holes. The welds eventually break loose and you are back at square one. Randy Gross is your friend.

Update, Should be 20 ton press, see post #34.
 

Attachments

  • Randy Gross.jpg
    Randy Gross.jpg
    46.7 KB · Views: 5
Last edited:
nkaminar said:
Don't do that. The vendors sell the tool to swedge the studs. You just need to find someone with a 10 ton press. Swedging swells the studs to fit tightly in the holes. The welds eventually break loose and you are back at square one. Randy Gross is your friend.
Click to expand...

Yes, I would love to send my stuff out to Randy Gross. But I just recently had this done, and he's on the opposite side of the country to me. The new studs were pressed and swedged in (supposedly) by a shop closer to me. Can you re-swedge a stud if it is loose?
 
Absolutely, Positively NOT.

A customer lost a front wheel taking out the front fender, running board and bending his splash apron. All his drums had studs welded by the previous 'restorer'. ALL Five welded studs broke loose with time & mileage.

It's your time, safety & liability. No amount of 'blessing' from a web site will make up for having the job done correctly. Glad you don't drive on my roads !
 
Mike1291 said:
Yes, I would love to send my stuff out to Randy Gross. But I just recently had this done, and he's on the opposite side of the country to me. The new studs were pressed and swedged in (supposedly) by a shop closer to me. Can you re-swedge a stud if it is loose?
Click to expand...

I see no problem with that.
 
I respect Synchro's expertise and if he says it can be done then it can be done. In my case I found a hub with three welded studs and I replaced them all and swedged them in. The vendors sell a tool for removing the studs. If the swedged studs are loose then the press was not big enough. I forget what the tonage was for the press I used but it was the only one in my area that was big enough. I had to remain in the next room while the operator pressed the studs in place because of the danger of such a large press. I first tried the Ford dealer here but they had no idea of what I was talking about. My brain thinks it was 18 tons but at my age I don't trust my memory.
 
Last edited:
They should be able to be reswedged.
But you need at least a 20 ton press.
We do a lot of drums and the minimum we do is 27 tons.

Randy Gross
 
I missed this thread the first time around so I will add a comment now. The swaging process is related to a riveting process in that it tightend the stud on both sides of the fastener that binds the two parts together in a better way than simply bolting them together. It prevents movement between the parts that screw pressure won't do. Movement, no matter how minutely, will cause wear ant fretting. Ford did this for a good reason that can't be refuted. Welding them sets up other problems associated with the metalurgy of the part. Do it if you want but be aware that it's not as good a process as swaging for the type of hardware Ford originally used.
 
jb-ob said:
Absolutely, Positively NOT.

A customer lost a front wheel taking out the front fender, running board and bending his splash apron. All his drums had studs welded by the previous 'restorer'. ALL Five welded studs broke loose with time & mileage.
Click to expand...

While I certainly do not condone welding the studs, I don't see how the studs breaking loose would cause the wheel to come off. Usually the lug nuts just spin and you can not get the wheel off
 
Mel, Thanks for that number. My brain now thinks the press here in Wilkesboro was 20 tons.

Rotorwrench, You are correct that the swedging swells the studs to tighten up the connection. I mentioned this in Post #29.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top