Any other hubs fit our Festivas?

[Nerd Racing]

He can only use those if he gets new stock drums tho, the PO already drilled out and put oversize studs or bolts in..

Those are press in studs, if they are drilled that is the way to go...

[Spike]

Now I'm scared.

~Spike

[Spike]

I've never even heard of 'press-in' studs.

How does one put them in, with a hammer? And how hard are they to remove?

~Spike

[Nerd Racing]

basically any vehicle that came with studs and lug nuts are press in. just start them with a hammer... Then take an old lug nut and press it in by tightening the lug nut. works best with the open style nuts flipped around so you don't mess up the taper.

[Spike]

Last questions before I order these on Monday:

Is this as safe as a normal stud bolt? Will they hold the tire as firmly? Are they easy to take off in case something needs to be done behind the hub/drum?

I just don't want a quick fix to cause me trouble when it comes to replacing my bearings (or anything else) later (i.e. extra mechanic costs).

Thank you for all your help, everyone!

~Spike

[lessersivad]

IMHO, It's safer than the lug bolts. American made cars especially have been using the type of wheel studs I referred to since at least the 1940's, probably a lot longer than that.

Considering NASCAR uses lug studs and nuts, even tho they are a bigger version, I would say you wouldn't have any problems.

As long as there is enough room for the head to clear all the "stuff" behind the drum.

BTW, The wheel studs aren't going to interfere with the normal replacement of bearings, seals, etc.

[TominMO]

I kinda doubt there is room inside the drum for these press-in studs. I'd go with new drums, bearings and screw-in studs like those for the BMW. You would use red Loctite to hold them in, because it's basically permanent.

Cheap solution: get JY drums with bearings, have the drums turned, re-grease the bearings, and get the wheel studs.

See post #6 in the thread below....

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30292&highlight=wheel+studs

[Spike]

Alrighty, here's what I ended up doing -

Driving to Indy Pull.A.P. They had a single Festiva. Left wheel was gone, drum was gone.. but the rear hubs were still there!

Two very nice Mexican gentleman helped me get it off when I tried for about 20 minutes. I had the hammer, I had the screwdriver, I just couldn't get the darn hubs off.

Also grabbed the wheel bearings and a rear-right corner ($6.54 for the whole assembly, thank you PAP! No more giant hole in my taillight).

Mechanic put them on for a fair price.

So after that I went ahead and got new tires (driving to the tire shop, oh my.. felt like the wheels were about to pop), as the old ones were nearly completely bald. Maybe 5% tread.

$17/tire.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I would've gone the push-in method, but all the other replies scared me to death.

Now time to make a new post with new questions!

~Spike

[Zanzer]

EDIT: For future reference -

IMO the press in studs are safer than the factory bolts. They will fit and I'll be installing them on my cars when I do the Aspire swaps. The conversion is pretty simple. There is a knurled shoulder near the head of the stud insert. Measure the shoulder and then drill the holes in the drum .003 to .005 smaller than the knurled area which will give you a nice press fit.

I installed a set of screw in studs on my Festy last week because I had to due to installing a set of aluminum rims and I wasn't exactly satisfied with the fitment. They seemed quite sloppy when I threaded them into the holes in the rotors and drums. Needless to say, I used copious amounts of red Loctite due to this. If I would have had more time I would have definitely installed the press in studs.


Here's a link to a thread where a member did the conversion to Capri drums.
http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=37190

[Pgh5spd]

No reason to be scared of wheel bolts, as long as you're running stock wheels. I've been driving Festivas continuously for 22yrs, and keep the wheel bolts just snug with the factory lug wrench. The taper seat holds them in place. But I also keep a ~24" beaker bar on hand for those times when they get reinstalled at 70ft-lbs after inspection.

If you ever have trouble getting your drums off like you did in the junkyard, which is common for a variety of reasons, reattach the wheel loosely and use that as a sort of slide-hammer to yank the drum. Quite effective!