The other day as I went to tighten all my lugs, for some reason I guess I overtorqued one of them in the front and broke a stud in my is350. I ordered an extra stud from lexus and received it today. I removed the 2 17mm bolts that hold the caliper to the rotor, once I did that I was able to remove the caliper. However... im stuck because I dont know how to remove the rotor??? is there anything Im missing? I noticed the is350 doesnt have a bolt in the middle of the rotor like most cars so in others words I have the caliper off... how can i remove the rotor to reveal the hub to change the stud?

 

I have no idea what to tell you to help, but I just wanted to say that every single time I have tightened a lug nut I have been paranoid of doing that exact same thing! Sorry that happened man!

 

You don't need to remove the caliper or the rotor to change a stud in the front. See this thread for a picture that shows how do to it. Hope this helps,

Javier

 

Tried that just now and it didnt work, its stuck on there pretty good

 

get a bigger hammer or some penetrateing lube

 

OK bro I just did this, this weekend. It's real easy ounce you get the hang of it. And yes you should remove the rotor. It makes it a lot easier if you do. Actually I don't know why you wouldn't. The rotor should actually fall of ounce you remove the brake caliper. Mine was stuck just like yours though. All you need to do is pull it off if possible there's nothing attaching it, just maybe some rust. If it's stuck on there really well then you need to screw in two 8mm bolts through the two bolt openings on the rotor, you can't miss them. Screw in each bolt little by little going back and forth applying equal torque to each bolt until the rotor comes off. Easy huh? Then you can remove the stud by hammering it out. A good 3 to 4 hits should do it. Don't be afraid to hit it just becarfull not to hit anything else cause you could damage the bearings. Actually there is a tool that you can buy to do this which just basically acts like a vise and it slowly pushes out the stud. But since you don't have one just do it the ghetto way Now, to put in the new stud spray some lubricant on the new stud and in the whole. Put the stud through and then put in a washer through the stud and over the rotor. The thicker the washer the better. Then screw on a nut, again the thicker the better. Then all you got to do is screw the nut through until the stud comes all the way through. I saved myself some time and hardship by using an airgun or impact gun. It made the process a lot easier.

 

^Why in the world would you take off the caliper and the rotor if you don't have to? It doesn't provide better access to the studs or make anything about replacing a wheel stud easier - all it does is take up more time and increase the risk that other parts will malfunction from needlessly tampering with them. Just my $.02...

Oh, and by the way, you're gonna have to hit the stud harder if it hasn't come off already. As has been suggested above, spray it with some penetrating lube and wait for a couple of minutes for it to soak, then hit the stud again.

Javier

 

Have you ever done this before? Probably not. Cause if you had, you would know what I'm talking about. I'm speaking from experience. It actually provides a better view and better clearance when putting in the new studs. It doesen't take a genious to figure this out. It would only take you an extra few minutes and it would get things out of the way and clearer view of what your doing. Trust me it isn't "needless tampering". I understand that not everyone is mechanicaly inclined, but this is actually very simple ounce you get the hang of it.

 

^^I've custom-cut my own studs, and changed them ALL out on my car at least 4 times, (not to mention helping countless others on this very forum do the same on this exact car) so I do "know what I'm talking about"... All you have to do is rotate hub and you'll have unfettered access from behind the wheel. I'm not following how your definition of "simple" includes taking off and putting on more hardware... This is exactly the same principle as changing the front brake pads - sure, you can take off the caliper if you want, but why do it if it's not necessary?

Javier

 

+ 1 to that

 

You have to listen to JavyLSU on this one. I've done it too. Y waiste your time taking off the rotor when you can do it without taking it off? It just a big waist of time. All you need to do is take the wheel off. Hammer the stud out. Put new stud in. Using air gun to tighten it....That's simple, Y make things complicated? The only time you take the rotor off, is when you do the rear....

 

You guys know it's not recommended to pound on studs with a hammer because it can damage the wheel bearings, right? They make tools to remove broken studs that put zero stress on the bearings. It looks like this:

 

While it may be possible to take the stud out without removing the rotor, call me cautious but I would never hammer on the suspension unless it was unavoidable.

While it probably wouldn't do anything, the least you could do is throw off the alignment specs.

 

If you change your alignment from even a 5lb a hammer blow, there's something wrong with your car, especially an ISx50 since there are no adjustments. You would have to bend something to change the alignment.

The wheel bearings take the impact directly. Sure, they are designed for high loads, but shock loads like hammer blows are not considered a good application for ball bearings like the ones we have. No, they are not Timken taperer rollers, they are dual race conventional ball bearings. They don't like to be hammered at all.

Additional BAD NEWS - you can't buy replacement bearings. The smallest subassembly is the entire hub and bearing unit. Replacing wheel bearings on the IS will be EXPENSIVE.

Here's the Lexus recommended method:

 

time to invest some $$$ to get a torque wrench?

or dont be lazy and borrow one!