[BobNovas]

How are the bolts that stick out of the front wheel hub removed? Are they pressed in? Do you need a press to get them out and put new ones in or can you smash them out with a hammer? And, where do you get longer ones? Curious minds want to know. Same question for the rear wheels too.

[Trak Ratt]

Pressed in and out. If you are careful you can get them out by screwing a steel nut almost flush with the top, add heat and a sharp “rap”. Repeat as necessary. Delete the nut if you don’t care about reusing the stud. Most shops like RPM can order longer studs for you but almost all the online shops have them too. Same for rear but harder to get to.

I’m tied up for the next two weekends but if it can wait I have a press and can help.

[Jazzbass]

Never done the fronts personally, but I do know they are a press fit as David says. I'd be hesitant to go pounding on them with a hammer myself as the hub is aluminum and I'd be afraid of one bad blow deforming it.

I have done the rears, and they are pressed into a steel ring, so knocking them out with a little heat and a hammer is no big deal. The stock size stud can be threaded in through the e-brake mechanism with a little maneuvering, and then you just put a steel nut on the other side and tighten. As you tighten, it will pull the stud into the ring. Be careful with longer wheel studs, as the longer ones don't fit through the e-brake stuff and you'll have to remove all that crap to get them in.

[APKhaos]

Last Sunday I removed the studs from the cracked hub Kurt posted in teh Holy Hub Cracks Batman thread.

- Place a steel lugnut on the stud to a point where the stud is one or two threads down from the top of the lugnut.

- Place a suitably sized socket [one that clears the stud head] against the hub over the stud head.

- Press the stud out using a sturdy vice.

They are in there fairly solid, so you'll need a decent vice. No way I would consider beating on studs to remove them from an Al hub. Too much risk of cracking the hub. Side note: hubs are not cheap.

[Trak Ratt]

Totally agree with TK, don’t beat on your hubs But in my own defense I really meant a “sharp rap” not a stern “beating”. As JB points out (often) I need to work on my verbal skills! A vice can work as well as a press. Just remember they are measured by the width of the jaws not how far they open. HF has a nice $30 five inch vise that can serve very well as a non-hydraulic press in a “pinch”.