2003 Malibu Wheel Studs?

I have to replace two front wheel studs on a 2003 Chevy Malibu (no ABS). I know the general, easy procedure - hammer out the old one and slide in a new one. However, on some cars I know there is not enough clearance to get the old studs out and the new ones in. With this car, is getting them in and out going to be a problem? If it is, what is the solution? Is taking the whole hub assembly the solution? How do you do that? Thanks!

 

just align your stud in question with recess in brake rotor splash shield, and then weck it out. if the splash shield does not have recess, then there's a suitable size hole in the shield for that.
insert new stud back in as far as it goes with fingers, then, if you can, slightly tap it in, make sure you do not set it crooked. put the rim back on, and using lugnut/lugnut wrench, pull the stud back into the seat. you may put some oil on the stud splines to facilitate this beforehand.
you'll be much better off applying antiseeze to all studs threads, esp if you have alloy wheels. those are notorious about "sucking" lugnuts in, to the point that i have broken many of them just to remove wheel for regular maintenance. i do not recommend, based on bad experience, using power tools on those wheels, just hand torque to spec with torque wrench.

 

There is not any room for the stud to come out. You can cut the end off the old stud, then it will come out. Some new studs are just a touch shorter than the old ones, and may slide in with no problem. But, it might not. So, what I do, is grind a small area out on the knuckle just enough to allow the stud to fit in. If you don't want to do that, you'll either have to cut a little off the new stud (not recommended) or remove the wheel bearing to get it in.

 

On the inner side of the knuckle are 3 ----13 mm bolts...

remove the caliper and rotor....loosen the 3 bolts, and slide em in.....

As stated, it isnt recommended to modify the stud.....

Although I have seen studs with a flat edge, that do clear the knuckle very easily. I think they are from "DORMANS".

 

 

True, but It is likely more beneficial for the Novice DIY,without damaging it, to figure out where and how it comes out. This will likely be the same place that it goes back in.

 

Do I have to remove the center nut from the half-shaft and pull the shaft out of the hub, or can I loosen the three bolts enough to get the studs out without removing the half-shaft?
Thanks

 

Usually , you are only looking for 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch clearance. This is do-able without removing the "Halfshaft", Although extreme care should be taken not to "Displace" or Over-extend the CV joints. If in doubt, remove the axle nut and push the halfshaft "Stub" back into the bearing.

 

Just a heads up here. Half the time I replace a wheel bearing, the back side of it where the wheel speed sensor connector is, separates from the bearing and stays in the knuckle. Just be careful, and don't beat too hard on the flange area trying to get the wheel bearing out. You can damage the bearings and then you'll have a noisey wheel bearing.