xxwildbillxx

Here's the story...

After buying my truck last fall, I had Firestone install a new set of tires on my stock rims...after the install the instillation guy tells me there's a stripped stud or lug on one of the wheels (I decided to deal with it later). Fast forward to the other day...I stop in to the same Firestone to take advantage of the free tire rotation...I'm there for a 1/2hr and come to find out they spent the entire 1/2 hour working on the one wheel with the stripped stud/lug and discover a 2nd stud/lug is stripped - WTH!? The lead tech goes on to tell me they see this on Dodge Trucks all the time and wants to set up another appointment to replace the bad studs/lugs...He quotes me $100...I tell him the truck was fine when I brought it in and he reduces the price to $50 but parts are extra of course...Now the whole time I'm feeling like I'm being played and/or wondering if their service dept is actually this bad(!?) Then I recall a friend of a friend who use to work at a Firestone and had witnessed their techs putting oil on customers shocks to trick 'em into buying new shocks.


Anyway, was considering the following options...

1) Let Firestone do the repair since I just found a coupon good for $20 off any repair over $30...I can just see the look on the Techs face when I hand him the coupon - LOL!

2) Head to the dealership and gamble they take care of me or bend me over as well!?

3) Dust of my impact wrench and do it myself...like I should've done from the start

Rob C

If you have the right tools and don't mind getting dirty, I say you do it yourself, that way you know the job will get done to your satisfaction.

djbikeman

An impact wrench in the hands of the wrong person is a dangerous tool. You need to remind them that other than their mechanics, the only one that has touched the lugs was the guy assembling the vehicle. MAYBE (Actually, probably) it's their fault and they should fix the problem at N/C.

I do my own rotations and use an impact wrench to remove the lugs and then to run them back up to the wheel, without tightening them. I use a torque wrench to finish the job. I do about 5 rotations a year and have never seen this happen or read about it here. The other thing I did was add a little anti-sieze to each stud.

Thanks by the way. I just remembered what I need to do this weekend!

xxwildbillxx

Upon further investigation, it looks as though the 2 wheel studs became an issue when Firestone installed a new set of tires last year...it looks like the firestone tech biffed the threads when lifting the tire back on to the hub!


Anyway, finally got around to replacing the wheel studs myself for piece of mind and found the job easier than expected...after fighting off the 2 lug nuts from the 2 cross threaded studs by applying a good deal of pressure from behind the lugs... removing the tire and caliper were a piece of cake and the hub studs came out fairly easy with just a few hefty blows from a small mallet. Used 8 washers and a lug nut to draw the new studs in nice and tight - The entire job took less time then rotating the tires - LOL!

phabib

That reminds me of why an impact wrench in the hands of the wrong guy is such a bad idea. Back when I was about 18 I bought a ****** truck. My dad owned a diesel repair shop so I had the truck there to check the brakes. I couldn't get the lugs to break loose and I was walking back to the truck with a 3/4" impact wrench when one of the mechanics stopped me and asked me where I was going with that tool. I told him the story about how that wheel seemed to be frozen in place and I needed the bigger impact to get it loose. He asked me which wheel was stuck and then told me the left side has left hand threads. That 3/4" wrench would have snapped the 1/2" stud like it was nothing.