Found some broken wheel studs on my NH L 190, got the wheel off drove out the old studs, and figured I was in the clear, and this was going to be an easy fix. On the last stud murphy showed up. As I was tightening it down the lug nut suddenly spun free. Looks like the splines on the stud are no longer holding. Fortunately I didn't have the wheel on, so I have good access. I tried a vice grip on the rear of the stud but it can't get enough grip. I didn't want to grab the threads and roll them over and get into a deeper problem so I decided to stop and get some advice. I'm assuming I can use a grinder or nut splitter to get the lug off the stud, but is there any viable repair option for the now stripped stud hole, or is this going to be a replace the hub/flange affair? I'm new-ish to SS, so I'm more used to car/truck where this would be a replacement brake rotor, but on a skid it looks like the flange is fairly integral to the whole assembly coming off the side of the machine, and I've got some expectation that would be a very expensive part to replace?
Impact wrench and make sure the vice grips are grabbing in the right direction. Most of them the teeth are directional
Peen the hole in the hub smaller with sharp chisel on a air hammer when the pointed chisel goes in it displaces metal around it then weld the backside to ensure it won't spin next time you take the wheel off
I was thinking about the weld option, but that seems like the next removal might be even more 'fun'. but hopefully I won't have to replace that wheel stud again.
Yeah it isn't to likely to need to replace the stud again keep the wheels tight and check them again after running a bit should be fine though honesty if the need arose to replace again it would take 5 extra minutes to blow the weld off or you could replace the flange at that point
Don't be afraid to grab the exposed threads on the stud to get the nut backed out a little. You can always grind the damaged threads off once you get the nut loose enough to push the stud back through enough to get a grip on the back end. I've sometimes welded three or four ridges on the splined part of the stud, then ground them a little sharp. Kind of a sketchy repair, but you don't really want to replace the flange.