94 Camry 4 Cyl

I was about to check my brakes, and possibly change the fluid to learn the bleeding system. But I ran into a huge problem before I even got the car off the ground!

I attempted to crack the lugs like you're supposed to before you get it off the ground. The problem was... they were already pretty much loose. They weren't hand loose, but I can tell you I didn't put much force at all into the tire iron to get them loose. I've loosened lugs before that were MUCH harder. 4 of 5 of them were like this. Then the 5th was TOO tight, and it was getting tighter the further it got, then I noticed metal shavings were coming out behind it. I just retightened it and didn't try to get it all the way off, because this has happened before on this car, and by the time I got it all the way off the stud was completely flat (no threads!). I had that stud replaced.

I checked the other 3 wheels, and they were all in the same status. 4 really loose, 1 REALLY tight! I am wondering if it's really the mechanics that don't have a clue about lugs... or maybe I don't have a clue about getting them off. Is it possible that 13 year old studs can just degrade to this condition where they either barely hold a lug or they are destroyed when taking a lug off? The ends of the studs that you can see through the lugs do look pretty rusted, but I don't know how the threaded part looks because I don't want to risk taking them off and not be able to reattach.

Any suggestions or info will be greatly appreciated? Is it practical to just have all the lugs AND studs replaced? Or am I the problem? Or is it the shop I last had it done at?

To give an idea on how little torque I had to apply to the loose lugs, well, I took wheels off bicycles that were torqued more. When I retorqued them, I got at least 1/2 a turn more on the tire iron before I felt they were tight enough.

The recommended tightening torque for most Camrys is 76 foot lbs. I would guess that when tightened properly, it would take 100-125 foot lbs to break them loose. It sounds to me that whoever worked on the car last, overtightened 1 lug nut per wheel with an impact and no torque stick, and barely tightened the other 4. That 1 that was overtightened has been holding each wheel on. The other 4 have been doing very little. The only way I can think of to get that one lug nut off would be to loosen it just a bit and then spray some good penetrating oil on that nut. If it is not an acorn style lug nut and just a standard lug nut, spray the threads on both sides of the nut first and wait about an hour. Then work it back and forth spraying more penetrating oil periodically. Hope it comes off this way without doing too much damage. It has to come off eventually, so it's best to get it off now in a controled environment, rather than when changing a flat on the side of the road some night while it's raining. If you are already seeing some shavings, chances are you may have to replace that wheel stud. You already know how much that will cost you having replaced one before, so I would just go for it and get it over with. Just be as patient as possible working the lug nuts back and forth and hope for the best. Then use a torque wrench to tighten them to 76 foot lbs.

Good luck.

Mike

Thanks :)

The lugs are the acorn style.

If the studs do get damaged, is that something I can replace myself?

Thanks :)

The lugs are the acorn style.

If the studs do get damaged, is that something I can replace myself?



Yes, it just takes a little grunt work to pound out the old stud and then push in the new one. We used to pull the new stud in to place by using a mess of large washers and then using one of the lug nuts to draw it in to place. If you do this, I would suggest you bug one open style steel lug nut to use when doing this. Don't beat up the chrome acorn style ones.

Mike

I have rusted style acorn lugs instead of chrome :-X I am probably going to buy a new set just to be safe.

I looked at the Factory Service Manual, and it looks a lot easier to do in there than it does in the Chilton book. The Chilton book says "Now remove the wheel bearing; see page 1-48", flip to page 1-48 "Haha Jokes on You! The wheel bearing is not serviceable" In the factory service manual it just shows to remove the pads, caliper and torque plate to get the disc off, and the hub should be right there with the studs.

In the service manual they show a SST that looks like a windshield washer arm puller. Should I buy a similar tool? I see you said something about pounding them out. Do you mean with just a hammer? Is that safe for the hub?

Thanks again!

I have rusted style acorn lugs instead of chrome :-X I am probably going to buy a new set just to be safe.

I looked at the Factory Service Manual, and it looks a lot easier to do in there than it does in the Chilton book. The Chilton book says "Now remove the wheel bearing; see page 1-48", flip to page 1-48 "Haha Jokes on You! The wheel bearing is not serviceable" In the factory service manual it just shows to remove the pads, caliper and torque plate to get the disc off, and the hub should be right there with the studs.

In the service manual they show a SST that looks like a windshield washer arm puller. Should I buy a similar tool? I see you said something about pounding them out. Do you mean with just a hammer? Is that safe for the hub?

Thanks again!


I believe it will be safe. I have never seen a tool to remove the old studs, just one to insert the new ones, so I can't comment on whether it is worth it or not. I would just find out how much it will cost. If you think it's worth it, then give it a try.

I wonder now that you brought it up if places like Autozone loan out this or the insertion tool if you buy the studs from them. In my experience the insertion tool isn't really necessary, but if you can use it for free, it might make the job easier. This is really your call.

Mike

At the age of the studs and nuts I'd replace them all. Also, I often get one stud out then use that as a "punch" to get the others out. Simple enough of a job.