1974 Blazer Front Hub Lug Stud

[Chief Brody]

I need to replace a lug stud on the front and in the process of looking at the auto parts stores, the rotor is a separate piece from the splined hub.

When I had mine off before changing the wheel bearings, the two did not separate....I just thought they were one piece.

So I am looking at AutoZone and I see the splined hub and it says "Available only until stock is depleted"...what do you think is up with that? Will I be able to get them later???

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Duralast-Brake-Rotor-Front/1974-Chevrolet-Blazer-4WD/_/N-iooz8Z8knrq?itemIdentifier=48598_172975_6649_

 

[tRustyK5]

Why would you need one in this lifetime? The rotor and wheel studs and bearings are the wear parts, not the hub itself. The splined hub is what I'd call a million mile part short of a catastrophic bearing failure.

 

[diesel4me]

I've had to replace one before--the area where the hub bolts on,the splined part,is rather soft and its not that hard to made it egg shaped enough so the hub gears cant slide in like they should..I damaged mine trying to get the hub off after the inner wheel bearing had spun and stuck to the spindle,a few blows with a hammer ,and it was not round any more,and I didn't smash it all that hard either...also the outer race of the inner bearing had spun in the hub bore and no longer was a press fit,so it had to be scrapped..

Autozone seems to "drop" many parts that they dont sell a lot of--my friend spends a few grand a month at one store near his shop--you should see the stuff they write off,and toss in the dumpster--one day they gave him a case of quarts of brake fluid,they were "switching brands"...another day he walked in the store,they had a whole aisle of "Motormite" moulding clips,bolts,nuts,etc,on a rolling cart--they said "its all being chucked,if you want it--take it"--they were in the process of changing to "HELP" products...

Why they dont sell those types of things off instead I cant say,unless the tax write offs are that profitable?...I've seen a lot of "hard parts" like ball joints,tie rods and other stuff get chucked in the dumpster too...one store near me gave me 4 glow plugs for my truck free after I told the guy they rusted away in a short time--he said "well,my computer says "do not re-order",so that means after these are sold,we will have to special order them...HERE--"have a nice day"..my friend has found they can also "adjust" his price if you ask the manager--the "cost" you get quoted is the average walk in customer price--garage customers with accounts can get a LOT taken off that price,IF they ask!...if you dont ask,they will say nothing!..

I bet "Jobber" stores will still carry the hubs and other "wear parts" for our old truck for at least a few more years--might have to wait a day to get them from a warehouse,but I doubt they will become "unavailable"..