I have a couple of stripped lug studs on my '90 240 Dl. They look to me as if they are pressed into the hub. FCP Groton has replacements but I am not sure if this is a job I can do myself.

Anyone out there ever replaced these? How do I get the old ones out and the new ones in?

 

This is quite easy if you have ever changed the brake pads. Even if you haven't it's not a big job and you should be able to pull it off. You're going to get far enough in that the question of whether you want to replace the brake pads and wheel bearings is going to come up. Just wanted to let you know, It's not a tough job but if you don't have experience you could wind up over (or under) tightening the wheel nut, or not properly bleeding your brake lines either of which could make you (or your survivors) very unhappy down the road. It's your call on replacing the brakes and wheel bearings while you're in here. If all you need is a new stud or two - forge ahead!

I'd suggest you have a jack stand, at a minimum, as your precious head is going to be sticking between the top of your fender well and garage floor for part of this and you don't want the cheap Volvo screw jack to roll over while you're at work - a head is a terrible thing to waste!

The studs are pressed into the back of the hub on each wheel.

Get the car off the ground, remove the wheel and the hub will be hiding behind the disk rotor which will have to be removed to complete the job. The caliper will have to come off to proceed.

The front caliper is attached by two rather large (17 or 19 mm if I recall) bolts which are hiding from you on the dark side of the wheel well and must be removed. Once these are both free I like to take a piece a light weight rope or string and loop through the caliper and tie the ends to one of the loops in the spring assembly. You don't want to let the caliper drop to the ground while your working as the hydraulic brake line is still attached.

Once the caliper is out of the way, remove the gold colored locator pin from the caliper with a 10mm wrench and set it aside. The disk rotor should pull free. If it doesn't give it a few gentle taps with a hammer and it should break free and you'll be staring at the hub with the five studs. You can drive the bad ones out from the front with a hammer. No need to get too heavy handed. Many medium whacks will have the same affect as one heavy blow. The old stud should give up it's seat after a bit of this.

If your 240 has a lot of miles or you're hearing bearing noise from the wheel -- now would be a good time to replace the wheel bearing. If you've got the skills, tools, time, etc.

Place the replacement stud in from the back. There's not a lot of room but you can get it back in the hole. You're going to use the lug wrench during final tightening of the wheel to get it pressed back into the hub - you don't need to worry too much about that now. Just get it seated enough that you'll have a few threads to work with once the wheel is back in place.

Reassembly is the reverse of breakdown. You may have to push the disk pads back down into the caliper to get it back on the rotor. Make sure the two large bolts are plenty tight. If you're going to replace the brake pads have a look at them before you put the wheel back on.

The rear is a little different, the primary difference being that the 240 has a drum style emergency brake working against the inside surface of part of the rotor, which, if you forget to release, will resist your most valiant efforts at removing the disk rotor. Since the emergency brake is going to be released, now is a good time to remind you to make sure that the car is on dead level ground, the car is in gear, and the front wheels are chocked before you stick your head in there.

Good luck, I think the 240 has the breeziest brake system on the planet. I've been in and out with new brake pads all the way around in less than an hour, the studs of course will add some time. I like to put a bit of heavy grease on the studs to keep things from binding up on reassembly - not strictly necessary but it makes me feel better.

 

Thanks for the reply.

The brake pads have been replaced recently so I don't have to deal with that. However, I was a bit concerned about driving the old studs out with a hammer. Isn't this a bit hard on the bearings? I was thinking that I may need a press of some sorts to get the old ones out.

Thanks again...

 

it would be a trick to get a press against the stud. Gentle use of the hammer will have the desired effect without putting the wheel bearing at risk.

 

The original question and answer deal with a pre ABS hub. My 93 has a ring with teeth that work with the ABS sensor. How do I get the ring out of the way without damaging it? There looks to be no way to get the studs out with the ring in place.
Thanks,
Bill

 

continuing this thread 8/2010- does anyone have an answer to the question immiedately preceeding? What complications (if any) should i expect this replacing three lug studs? Does this ABS ring get in the way?
Thanks -
Mark

 

Mark,
I understand that the ring can be removed. However, I would suspect that most hubs this old will have the ring firmly attached by rust. I tried to remove it but suddenly saw myself on a buffalo hunt for one at the junk yard after ruining this one. So, I did what most shade tree mechanics do and improvised. I found that by grinding a minimum amount off the head of the stud on one side I could easily miss the ring and, after lining the stud up with the hole in the hub, draw it tight with the lug.
Bill