wheel lug stud broke at 90 ft lbs on 2010 4runner

[shuly]

.....Is this a 5G-only issue?

Nope always been an issue. It seems that even though the dealer says they use a torque wrench I have never seen them do it. Nor when I get home to work on the truck I absolutely KNOW they used the impact gun. I swear if I can't get a tire off on a trail because of some yahoo who used an impact gun ..... :gun6:

It is honestly really easy to fix though. The bolts are about 2-3 bucks at any auto parts store. Jack up the rig....support with jack stands for safety...remove the tire. Remove the brake caliper and support it with zip/ties or a box (do NOT let it hang). Remove the rotor. (a few good hits with a hammer will do the trick - look up changing your brake pads) Then use something like a small sledge (engineers hammer) to provide a bigger area to pound. Then take a sledge and hit the engineers hammer a couple of times. (use safety glasses and be careful...don't hit the FLANGE!) The bolt will pop out and you are good to go. Pop the new on in and pick up some 21mm nuts (not lugs). Thread them one on with a wrench to pull the new bolt through. Remove the nut and put everything back together. Voila! I don't remember where but there used to be a thread on here somewhere with pics.

If you haven't done it before it make take 45-60 minutes if you are slow and careful. But honestly it only takes about 20 minutes to repair. Quick and easy! Almost as easy as snapping them in the first place.

 

[Jed]

You can actually change a broken wheel stud without even taking off the brake caliper. Just rotate the hub so the broken stud is in a position where the "gap" is in the dust shield. Then take a punch and hammer it out through the back. Insert the new wheel stud through the back and pull it through. BTW, to avoid marring the surface of the rotor, slide a flat washer over the new wheel stud before "pulling" it into place with a lug nut. You can do the whole job in less than 5 minutes!

Also, don't buy replacement wheel studs from the Toyota dealer. The wheel studs at your local autoparts store are probably stronger and less expensive.

 

[shuly]

You can actually change a broken wheel stud without even taking off the brake caliper. Just rotate the hub so the broken stud is in a position where the "gap" is in the dust shield. Then take a punch and hammer it out through the back. Insert the new wheel stud through the back and pull it through. BTW, to avoid marring the surface of the rotor, slide a flat washer over the new wheel stud before "pulling" it into place with a lug nut. You can do the whole job in less than 5 minutes!

Also, don't buy replacement wheel studs from the Toyota dealer. The wheel studs at your local autoparts store are probably stronger and less expensive.

Sounds like I did it the "hard" way. I just took stuff apart to get to the bolt. Though it wasn't really hard. It just took a bit longer. Next time I'll see if I can rotate the wheel to the "right" place before removing it. It seems inevitable it will happen again ... when it does I'll try your solution for replacing. 5 minutes is faster than 20

I agree on not buying them from Toyota (if they are just going to break again anyway) I picked up replacement studs from Autozone. I think they were 1.99 or 2.99...they are cheap. It's just a lug...nothing special.

 

[John4RunnerTE]

For anybody that has replaced these lug studs. I tried to buy some at Autozone, but they did not have the 2010 4Runner in the sysytem yet. Are they the same as 2009 or does someone have a part number and from what part store? The place that was to replace mine today said they got the wrong size from Napa and would need to get them from Toyota this week. Thanks!

 

[Ryan_S]

I made the dealer replace mine every time. Even though I broke all three of them myself at home. I feel that it's always best to let them touch it last. That way when (if) they finally admit there is a problem, they will have to fix it, and not be able to blame someone else.

 

[Jed]

For anybody that has replaced these lug studs. I tried to buy some at Autozone, but they did not have the 2010 4Runner in the sysytem yet. Are they the same as 2009 or does someone have a part number and from what part store? The place that was to replace mine today said they got the wrong size from Napa and would need to get them from Toyota this week. Thanks!

I'm 99% sure that the wheel studs are identical to the 4th gen.

 

[John4RunnerTE]

Thanks, but since the shop couldn't get the right one and they said they would have to get it from Toyota. I think I'm going to call the dealer in am and first ask if they have been having problems with the studs and 2nd maybe have them do it and take the bill to Discount Tire to pay since this is a new Vehicle. Per my brother which is a mechanic in FL...He said the right way since it's a new truck and all is to remove the brake caliper and rotor to make sure you don't damage anything and I don't want some mechanic to not put everything back correctly.

 

[Jed]

The method I mentioned is really not a short cut or half-assing it. Any mechanic in a dealership or independent shop would do it the same exact way. It makes no sense to remove stuff that you don't need to remove to do such a simple job. There's really no harm that can be done.

 

[edsyoung]

Took my 4R in for it's 5K service and the service writer told me that 2 of my wheel studs broke while doing the tire rotation. They were on two different wheels. He mentioned that it is becoming more of a common occurrence and believe the lug nuts may be over torqued from the factory or a defect in the wheel studs. Toyota is aware of this problem and has not issued a TSB as of yet... only let dealers know via a tech notes?? At least that's what I think he said.

Anyway they replaced them at no charge.

 

[philsey]

Tks for the reminder, I'm almost to my 5K mark.

 

[Froglips]

Took my 4R in for it's 5K service and the service writer told me that 2 of my wheel studs broke while doing the tire rotation. They were on two different wheels. He mentioned that it is becoming more of a common occurrence and believe the lug nuts may be over torqued from the factory or a defect in the wheel studs. Toyota is aware of this problem and has not issued a TSB as of yet... only let dealers know via a tech notes?? At least that's what I think he said.

Anyway they replaced them at no charge.

Thanks. Mine goes in tomorrow for its 5K. Sure does not make one feel warm and fuzzy cruising down the road at 70 plus knowing that the lug nuts/studs are on the edge with only 83 foot-lbs.

 

[Snooperstyle]

Thanks. Mine goes in tomorrow for its 5K. Sure does not make one feel warm and fuzzy cruising down the road at 70 plus knowing that the lug nuts/studs are on the edge with only 83 foot-lbs.

+1...I am getting ready to swap my wheels, and now I am nervous...hopefully Toyota will rectify this ASAP! :lookout:

 

[Jesse1983]

+1...I am getting ready to swap my wheels, and now I am nervous...hopefully Toyota will rectify this ASAP! :lookout:

I've removed my tires many, many times now and haven't had one break.

 

[mckinley]

bolt broke

I have a 2010 SRS and had this issue. I went to tires plus to get a set of Revo 2s put on (got rid of the dunflops) and they broke the very first bolt when they were putting the tires back on.

They claimed that they were using normal factory spec. torque and I went in the garage with them when I heard b/c I recently had read this post (funny but not so funny at the moment). Anyway, they removed the bolt to replace it and there was some kind of lubricant on the bolt--the tire plus guy said that he thought it might have been anti-seize lubricant put on at the factory and that they would not touch the rest of them. Not sure what to believe but this put me in a pickle.

I had to call my local Toyota dealer and have the car sent on a flat bed to them. I reported what tire plus said and had the toyota service manager talk to tires plus. Of course, they said that there was no problem and no lubricant on the bolts from the factory After some *****ing from me and showing them this post, they got Toyota to cover the repair and the towing cost as a new owner courtesy.

I have no idea who/what to believe but I thought that I'd pass this along.

 

[Jed]

You really didn't need to have it towed....it is perfectly driveable with a broken wheel stud. Trust me, the other five would hold the wheel just fine.

But yes, I think Toyota uses relatively weak wheel studs. I've snapped two of mine by hand over the years. Now I'm really careful not to overtighten them. I should probably just replace them all one of these days.

 

[Koz]

Whenever the lugs need to be touched (Which is not often, I do most all my own repairs) I bring a torque wrench already set to the spec and ask whoever to ONLY use this to tighten the lugs. I specifically ask them not to use a gun or I will find someone else.

Koz

 

[mpaquette]

Oh this is fantastic news. I'm planning on rotating my tires for the first time this weekend. Guess I'll be extra careful removing the lugs. I have a torque wrench for putting them back on.

 

[Jed]

Oh this is fantastic news. I'm planning on rotating my tires for the first time this weekend. Guess I'll be extra careful removing the lugs. I have a torque wrench for putting them back on.

Don't worry too much...if you don't overtighten them, they won't break.

A lot of people don't seem to realize that wheel studs work by tension (as do all bolts & nuts) and that they tend to stretch over time. If you remove and install your wheels a lot, then you're loading & unloading the tension on the studs. Still though, they should last a long time before they fail. It's only when they are weakened by overtightening that you should see premature failure. If you're really worried about it, definitely use that torque wrench every time to ensure that you apply the correct torque (I think it's 87 lb.ft. or somewhere around there).

BTW, stretch/tension is also the reason why cylinder head bolts should never be reused. Once you remove a cylinder head, you should never use the same bolts to install it again--new bolts should always be used.

 

[hamiltonj2w1]

Just like Jessie 1983 I have had mine off several times already and haven't had one break yet but I am sure if one broke my dealer would tell me to f!!k off since I seem to have the worst service department known to man.

 

[Ryan_S]

Whenever the lugs need to be touched (Which is not often, I do most all my own repairs) I bring a torque wrench already set to the spec and ask whoever to ONLY use this to tighten the lugs. I specifically ask them not to use a gun or I will find someone else.

Koz

Torque wrench or not, if your studs are damaged like mine (and probably everyone elses) they are going to break. The studs are defective from the factory and prone to stretching. Once you torque them once and they stretch the next time they will basically just fall off. On mine I was able to break one at 50ft-lbs.