MF 135 rear wheel studs

[mikescilly]

Hi,
Two or three of the rear wheel studs are loose and rotate when the wheel nuts are turned. Can someone tell me the easiest way to remove and replace them please? My first thoughts are to grind them off.

 

[whistlepig]

Hi,
Two or three of the rear wheel studs are loose and rotate when the wheel nuts are turned. Can someone tell me the easiest way to remove and replace them please? My first thoughts are to grind them off.

Knock them out with a hammer. Replace them by putting a lug nut on the new studs and tighten them until they seat. If they are loose I would suggest Devcon or having them tack welded.

 

[Mur386]

the easiest way to remove them would be with a cutoff tool and slice through the nut, like this Klutch Low-Noise Air Cutter — 3in. | Air Saws | Northern Tool + Equipment
or a torch be careful if you use a torch.
then replace stud and nut
Billy

 

[mikescilly]

Thanks for the advice from both of you, I haven't heard of the air cutter, perhaps my 4.5" grinder will do the job.

 

[Eagleview]

My neighbour had this happen to his MF , he put a tack of weld on the heads at the rear to stop them turning and then undone the nuts . He then drove the studs out with a hammer and fitted the new ones . If you do this , make sure you put the earth lead on the hub and not somewhere it will arc through a bearing etc .

The grinder wont work as the nuts are tapered and you cant cut the stud because it is too deep in the hub because of the taper .

 

[mikescilly]

Thanks Iron Horse,

But how do I get at the rear of the studs to spot weld them?
Don't I need to take the wheel & brake drum off first? Which can't be done because the wheel nut & stubs rotate freely and won't undo.

 

[Eagleview]

If it is the same as his , you can see the heads of the studs at the rear of the wheel hub .

 

[mikescilly]

Sadly not, I'll double check. But there's a plate with just a little hole where you adjust the brake shoe clickers.
Maybe it would be possible to grind a slot in the studs and hold them with a screw driver.
Anymore suggestions welcome please
:confused2:

 

[Eagleview]

Does it look like this ? Maybe a picture or two will help .

I think my neighbours tractor has inboard brakes come to think of it .

 

[whistlepig]

Sadly not, I'll double check. But there's a plate with just a little hole where you adjust the brake shoe clickers.
Maybe it would be possible to grind a slot in the studs and hold them with a screw driver.
Anymore suggestions welcome please
:confused2:

You should be able to see the back of the stud on the inside of the hub. If it is spinning weld a nut to it so you can hold it with a wrench. If you try to use a cut-off wheel on a grinder to cut the nut off you are going to chew up your rim a bit. I would weld a nut on the backside and put a wrench on it. Then I would take my 1/2" impact wrench and nuke it off.

 

[Mur386]

Sorry to disagree but the cutter/grinder will work, if you cut as in the picture, without gouging the Rim. You then use a chisel and hammer to break whatever part of the nut you cannot reach with the cutting disk. And there is another way as well, just thought of it, you could drill into the nut and then use a chisel and hammer to break it open. Recently used just a chisel and hammer to cut all the way through a 15/16 inch nut holding a gearbox to a bushhog, did not take very long, just trying to ease the work load with the cutting or drilling technique.
Good luck Mikescilly you can do it.
Billy
ps sorry that I did not give better instructions in the first post, let us know how it turns out. K?

 

[whistlepig]

Sorry to disagree but the cutter/grinder will work, if you cut as in the picture, without gouging the Rim. You then use a chisel and hammer to break whatever part of the nut you cannot reach with the cutting disk. And there is another way as well, just thought of it, you could drill into the nut and then use a chisel and hammer to break it open. Recently used just a chisel and hammer to cut all the way through a 15/16 inch nut holding a gearbox to a bushhog, did not take very long, just trying to ease the work load with the cutting or drilling technique.
Good luck Mikescilly you can do it.
Billy
ps sorry that I did not give better instructions in the first post, let us know how it turns out. K?

No need to apoligise.The more ideas the better. If I were going to do the grinder thing I would grind the flange of the back side of the stud. Less work.

 

[mikescilly]

Thanks for the ideas guys.
Here's some pictures which should give a better idea, you can see that it looks as if it can't be done from inside.

 

[massey driver]

Just to elaborate on what MUR 386 was saying about using a drill.This sounds like the best solution for you.Use a drill bit just a bit bigger then the stud eg.If the wheel stud is 1/2" then use a 9/16" drill bit to drill through the center of the stud all the way into and through the nut.The nut will basically fall right off once you've drilled through it.This way you won't be damaging the rim's tapered hole at all.Us a good sharp drill bit and it won't take long.If the stud & nut want to turn while your drilling just use a set of vise grips to hole the nut,this way both your hands are free for handling the drill.I've removed nuts this way before.Larry

 

[Eagleview]

Thanks for the pictures , it is totally different to my neighbours tractor .

The nuts could in fact be drilled on either side and split with a chisel as said , or they could be heated cherry red and quenched with cold water and undone with a 1/2" rattle gun . After quenching they would undo easily , or if you just want to keep it going a bit longer you probably could also re-tighten them with this method .

 

[David Devuono]

As the stud is spining, heating and cooling wont help. Drilling or grinding a slot and then using a cold chisel should crack the nut off. That is one rusty 135. Has it been sitting outside? Mines plowed snow in Canada for 40 years and I had no issues removing the drums when I got if a couple of years ago.

 

[mikescilly]

Well it took nearly nine years but I finally did the job today, drilled out an inch into studs, cut into the nuts and a couple of whacks with a hammer smashed of the nuts.

 

[PatrickS2222]

Hi Mike, good to see your tractor is a "twin-sister" to ours! I'm glad you got them off. That's the way I'd have done it too!

Before you reassemble it all, as my late father instructed me in 1981, regarding what was then his tractor, do this:
Lightly grease the threads of the studs, but not the ribbed portion.
Pull the studs into their holes as previously described.
Then coat all the remaining exposed surface of the studs with grease.
Also, lightly coat the axle flange - the brake drum mating surface.
Refit the drum, remember to grease the screw's thread too, then grease the wheel-mating surface of the brake drum.
Fit the wheel but try to keep the tapered holes clean and dry - this helps keep the nuts tight.
Check them a few times, tighten them all a little further if any have come loose, but don't over-tighten them.

You can imagine my appreciation of that advice after I needed to remove one rear wheel a couple years ago ... and found they all has stayed tight - but unscrewed quite willingly - after around 35 years! THAT is how we look after these wonderful old machines who are all still working happily!

 

[mikescilly]

Hi Patrick,
Many thanks for your advice.
I've taken the opportunity to clean up the drums & shoe surfaces and all around there, some of the shoe retainers were missing, they have arrived and will be fitted.
I'm now looking at the front end body work, new grill & headlamps to fitted.
Kind regards
Mike