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Spacers.....again....

evolve991

evolve991

Resident Problem Child
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Well you'd think I'd have learned the first time but I had the 2" spacer shear the studs off yhe rear again. After researching these things before buying them then again after the first 3 point landing I assumed I hadn't torqued the nuts enough and didn't use threadlocker so the next round I made sure I did both. And yet here I am again. Thinking the studs just aren't strong enough. I'll be going the wider rim route as soon as I can and leave the spacers off this time.
 
Skip the spacers, swap in a 99+ Silverado axle. 4 inches wider and bigger lugs stock.
 
evolve991 said:
Well you'd think I'd have learned the first time but I had the 2" spacer shear the studs off yhe rear again. After researching these things before buying them then again after the first 3 point landing I assumed I hadn't torqued the nuts enough and didn't use threadlocker so the next round I made sure I did both. And yet here I am again. Thinking the studs just aren't strong enough. I'll be going the wider rim route as soon as I can and leave the spacers off this time.
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7/16" studs? They aren't up to anything more than holding a 33" or smaller tire on. Move up to at least 1/2" studs or you'll be doing it again.
 
evolve991 said:
Well you'd think I'd have learned the first time but I had the 2" spacer shear the studs off yhe rear again. After researching these things before buying them then again after the first 3 point landing I assumed I hadn't torqued the nuts enough and didn't use threadlocker so the next round I made sure I did both. And yet here I am again. Thinking the studs just aren't strong enough. I'll be going the wider rim route as soon as I can and leave the spacers off this time.
Click to expand...

What type of spacers did you use? I've used the bolt-on 1.5 inch spacers for a while with no problem, but I'm also running 3/4 ton lugs.
 
Trooper they are 2 inch bolt ons, this time I made damn sure they were torqued and used threadlocker....still sheared them off.
Bigblock thanks for that tip, how would I go about upsizing to 1/2" studs? Drill the holes in the hub out larger? What about making the knurls sink into the hub?
 
I ran 1.5" steel spacers on 7/16" studs for 20 years without a problem. They are hub concentric to a Dana 60 hub of Warn Full float.
 
I'm pretty sure the ones I got were hub centric too. I didn't just casually decide to put these on my truck, I researched it and found more positive than negative on running them, I once had a unilug slot bail on me at 50 mph so I was careful. The first time the spacer sheard the studs I knew I had needed to check them and didn't and I also hadn't used thredlocker. The 2nd time I made damn sure I had them torqued and threadlocked so I'm at a loss now, maybe upgrading the studs to 1/2" and getting the most hardened steel I can will do it but then again......my luck sucks......
 
In the " ya nevva lern" department....seriously,and stubbornly, considering buying the heaviest duty wheel studs I can find and putting the spacers back on. Can't stand the 'forklift' stance and can't afford 10" rally wheels right now. Besides....I paid too much for the spacers to scrap'em. I've read alot of guys run the damn things and thrash the hell out of'em with no problems. Mine had to have sheared from old fatigued metal the first time and cheap soft metal the 2nd :angry1: Think I'll get them longer and use deeper lug nuts this time with threadlocker again. And keep half a dozen or so extras in the emergency kit.
 
Get in touch with the guys at ARP. Tell them whats been going on and what your trying to do. It'll be pricy, but I'm sure they'll have studs that'll handle anything you can throw at them.
They will need measurements from the existing studs, like knurl diameter and length. Some of the materials they use are quite impressive.
 
I'm running 1.5" spacers on my rear axle. But I've got 8 5/8" studs so it hasn't been an issue.
:D:D:D
 
muddysub said:
I'm running 1.5" spacers on my rear axle. But I've got 8 5/8" studs so it hasn't been an issue.
:D:D:D
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LOL Yeah I'd say those will hold well. Mine are only 7/16". Is it possible to drill the holes in my hub bigger? And how hard would it be to keep it centered without a drill press and vice?
 
evolve991 said:
LOL Yeah I'd say those will hold well. Mine are only 7/16". Is it possible to drill the holes in my hub bigger? And how hard would it be to keep it centered without a drill press and vice?
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I don't really couldn't tell you about drilling your axle to use bigger studs, I've never owned anything 1/2 ton. I don't know much about 10bolt axles.
 
evolve991 said:
LOL Yeah I'd say those will hold well. Mine are only 7/16". Is it possible to drill the holes in my hub bigger? And how hard would it be to keep it centered without a drill press and vice?
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Its possible but really only with a drill press. If you were drilling small holes you could use a drill guide but bigger drills and steel is something you want in a vise. That said even 9/16 would be a good upgrade. The tricky part to drilling hubs for the right stud is finding the right diameter drill. You want a press fit which is crucial to the stud to keep it from spinning. .001 inches is pretty good...so if you measure the studs...on the splined section for the hub...which is usually an oddball number, youll have to drill .001" undersize to squeeze the stud in. I used 14 bolt studs on my turned down dually dana 60 hubs.
 
Maybe you could drill and tap for 9/16" screw in studs. They would be significantly stronger and readily available.
 
Yeah, something is clearly wrong because theres loads of guys using spacers with no issues thrashing them in rocks on 40+ in tires.

Last time I checked the installation instructions for them is to torque them, drive the truck 10 miles then retorque them. Ive never heard of using locktight. Is there any chance you are over torquing them? That can be just as bad as leaving them loose in and extreme load situation.
 
evolve991 said:
Well you'd think I'd have learned the first time but I had the 2" spacer shear the studs off yhe rear again. After researching these things before buying them then again after the first 3 point landing I assumed I hadn't torqued the nuts enough and didn't use threadlocker so the next round I made sure I did both. And yet here I am again. Thinking the studs just aren't strong enough. I'll be going the wider rim route as soon as I can and leave the spacers off this time.
Click to expand...

When figuring out how to get the fronts and rear to match with the 14SF 14MM metric studs, I ended up figuring out that the ONLY studs out there that will work with the 10 bolt hub (at least that I could find through a ton of searching) were 1/2", with some drilling.

Everything I know about fasteners tells me that thread engagement/"strength" is greatest when the nut has as much thread engagement as the diameter of the bolt/stud. 7/16" stud needs 7/16" of nut thickness for maximum strength. Anything beyond that is likely wasted.

Look up the torque specs on 7/16" fasteners. I *believe* you'll find that the stock torque specs for wheel studs on the truck slightly exceeds the torque specs for a grade 8 7/16" fastener. Which leads me to think that while there is obviously not an inherent issue with doing so, there is not a lot of margin for error. Such as poor metallurgy, etc. Which is pretty common today.

Don't disagree that if others are running similar without issue, your problem may be different. But I'd be suspicious of the quality of any lug studs that are not OEM or high end like ARP and the like.
 
Stomis: Yes it's possible I overtorqued. I used an inch pound torque wrench and may have been off on my conversion to ft lbs.
Dyeager: I've got a 12 bolt out of a 76 K10 now, ditched the Corp 10. The studs I bought were from Advance, not sure of thier quality.
I don;t think I'll risk drilling my hub. I can live with the stance if it means keeping all 4 wheels attached :whistle:
 
Well a 7/16th stud should roughly be going in the ballpark of 55ftlbs. Thats 660 inch pounds, which I doubt theres a wrench that goes that high in inch pounds. So maybe you drastically under torqued them and they broke from coming loose?
 
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