K5 and 1/2 ton front stud upgrade

[alanjd93]

I’m in the process of doing my front U joints and while I have it all apart I decided to upgrade my 7/16 wheel studs to something a bit bigger in anticipation of the 14b sf axle swap I will be doing later. I’ve seen this question come up several times in multiple forums, but a lot of the working replacement studs either required drilling of the hub/rotor or have been since discontinued.
After digging through the Dorman catalog and testing out a few different studs I’ve found that part number 610-192 seems to fit the bill. They are 1/2-20 thread with a knurl diameter of 0.560, only 0.005 smaller than the stock 7/16 studs. At 2 1/32” long they are just over 1/4” longer than the originals, which is nice for a little extra thread protrusion (in my unprofessional opinion the stock studs are a little too short). I just pressed two of them in last night and they seemed to have a nice snug fit in the hub. I don’t anticipate any, but when I get the truck back together I’ll update this post if I have any issues. Hope this helps someone.

Dorman Products - Aftermarket Auto Parts & OE Solutions - 610-192

1/2-20 Serrated Wheel Stud - .560 In. Knurl, 2-1/32 In. Length

www.dormanproducts.com

 

[dyeager535]

Is the knurled portion short enough that it doesn't protrude from the hub? I measured .717" as close to the length of the stock stud below the threads, if I'm calculating right, that stud you found is .79" for the same measurement?

If you've found one that works that simply, I think it's a good solution. The ones I've got (discontinued) were one of them you probably saw, which required re-drilling two different sizes, but at the time I couldn't find a stud that fit in every other dimension.

 

[6872xtc]

I did a front axle several years ago, but I had to drill the hubs and rotor as well.
I don't remember what part numbers, of course.
Good research, if you end up with the results that you are seeing!

 

[rampage]

Just a suggestion, and I’ve never tried this, but if you freeze the studs using dry ice (commonly found at most larger supermarkets) then they’ll go in a lot easier. Heck, they may even just fall into it place.

 

[alanjd93]

No spline protrusion from the hub, here’s a picture of it side by side with the stock 7/16 stud. Really crazy how small it looks compared to the 1/2”. I ordered up some lug nuts as well, they should be in later this week. We’ll see how it all goes together, I’ll post the lug nut part numbers too if they work well.

 

[alanjd93]

A little update…

Just got the truck back together last night. Torqued the lug nuts to 100 ft lbs and took it around the block. Jacked it up and backed them off/re-torqued just for the hell of it. None of them spun in the hub so that was reassuring.

Here’s a picture of with stock rallys and center caps. Protrusion could be a little longer IMO, but it’s a lot better than stock.

I went with McGard 64000 lug nuts. They were decently priced on Amazon and are solid steel (I can’t stand the chrome capped ones). They have a similar taper to the originals and play nice with the stock center caps.



I probably won’t get around to swapping the 14 bolt in for a while, but it’s nice to have the fronts ready to go for when I do. I plan on trying out a few sets of 1/2-20 studs for the rear too in case anyone was curious about a part number for a six lug semi-float.

That’s all for now!

 

[Fastereddie]

A little update…

Just got the truck back together last night. Torqued the lug nuts to 100 ft lbs and took it around the block. Jacked it up and backed them off/re-torqued just for the hell of it. None of them spun in the hub so that was reassuring.

Here’s a picture of with stock rallys and center caps. Protrusion could be a little longer IMO, but it’s a lot better than stock.View attachment 424306

I went with McGard 64000 lug nuts. They were decently priced on Amazon and are solid steel (I can’t stand the chrome capped ones). They have a similar taper to the originals and play nice with the stock center caps.
View attachment 424307
View attachment 424308

I probably won’t get around to swapping the 14 bolt in for a while, but it’s nice to have the fronts ready to go for when I do. I plan on trying out a few sets of 1/2-20 studs for the rear too in case anyone was curious about a part number for a six lug semi-float.

That’s all for now!

That’s awesome, thank you for the part numbers and update. I wish I would have seen this a month earlier. I just had my front axle apart for ball joints and steering!

 

[dyeager535]

Did 10 bolts ever come w/ metric studs?

Or does anyone have a part number for metric studs that will work in the hubs? I ask because I want my back a front to use the same nuts with the same head size and thread on the trooper.

ck5.com

Rear #s are there

1/2" fastener needs 3/4" thread engagement, so I'm guessing you have plenty on the front.

 

[Blue85]

@alanjd93, this seems like good progress and input to the community. @dyeager535, I know you researched this a lot some years back. Is this 610-192 a new part number or was there some spec that kept you away?

 

[dyeager535]

It's a 60's/70's GM part, so I kind of doubt it's new. Only reasons I can see that I might not have considered it was perhaps the overall length, the non-stock knurl setup, and maybe most importantly, by the figures I got when I added the rotor and hub thickness together.

That's why I asked about knurl protrusion...by my calculations it would seem the knurled section might have been too long. But I may have mis-measured, or with the wheel perhaps it's just right.

I see the head diameter is a bit smaller too than the stock 7/16" stud, but I doubt that matters much.

I feel the one I ended up with was a bit sub-standard, and now being discontinued, it's great to have a better option. I do see a company out there called "PTC" that makes lug studs, so there may be more choices.

Heck if this knurl length worked, it may be worth re-checking some of the "generic" lug studs made, like ARPs offerings and the like.

 

[alanjd93]

I see the head diameter is a bit smaller too than the stock 7/16" stud, but I doubt that matters much.

They were a bit smaller diameter than stock, I should have taken a picture of the back side of the rotor to show the difference. They were still well larger than the holes in the rotor so I didn’t think it would matter either.

Heck if this knurl length worked, it may be worth re-checking some of the "generic" lug studs made, like ARPs offerings and the ARP might have something even better out there, especially if running open ended lug nuts. Most of them I saw were around 3” long. It would probably be the last set of studs you’d ever put on!

Now there’s an idea! If ARP has one that would fit you may never have to replace a stud again! Would definitely need open ended lug nuts though, most of their studs are around 3” long IIRC.

 

[alanjd93]

The nice thing about these studs is the entire length of the shoulder is splined, instead of just the section that goes though hub. Since the rotor holes are larger, the studs pass through without any engagement and only bite into the hub itself.

 

[dyeager535]

"Since the rotor holes are larger, the studs pass through without any engagement and only bite into the hub itself."

Maybe this concerned me as well. Are you saying that clamping force is what will keep the rotor in place, vs. the shoulder from the stock studs? I'm paranoid about this stuff, if the knurl isn't biting into the rotor, then you may end up with the rotor rotating under hard braking?

 

[Blue85]

How do you know the rotor is centered?

 

[alanjd93]

The factory 610-179 studs have a thin band of splines only at the depth of the hub. The 610-192 studs are splined the entire length of the shoulder. Even with the original studs, it isn’t a press fit into the rotor, just the hub itself. The new studs have a shoulder diameter of 0.559” as opposed to 0.562”, only a marginal difference. I’m not sure the exact measurement of the rotor holes, but if the factory setup doesn’t allow the rotor to rotate/come off-center, I wouldn’t think 0.003” would make a difference. These are good questions though. I haven’t had any issues driving on it for the past couple weeks, but being the guinnea pig, I’ll keep you posted if I have any issues down the line.

 

[Big Ray]

Looks good. I'd feel better with those in my rigs too.
Don't know why, the originals look puny i guess.

 

[6872xtc]

How do you know the rotor is centered?

Doesn't it center on the hub? Seems like it , iirc. The studs just keep it from spinning while holding it tight to the back of the hub.

 

[alanjd93]

Last update… I ended up trying out a couple 1/2-20 studs for the rear today. As I mentioned earlier this will be for a 6 lug 14 bolt semi floating axle (9.5” ring gear), so probably won’t work if you have a stock 10 bolt.

Dorman 610-449 seems like a winner. Here it is next to the old M14 studs.





There were a few good contenders for the rear, but I ultimately went with this one because the thread protrusion matched the front studs so well.

 

[blazer74]

610379 will also work for the 6 lug SF, .625 knurl.
Just a touch shorter and slightly less than the .627 knurl on the 610449