Newbie needs help with wheel stud removal

Great forum, I"ve learnt a lot even if it is really difficult to work through threads in plain text indented down pages instead of conecutive html formatted posts on self-contained topics - hopefully that"ll change when I become a member. Speaking of which, how does one sign up? I"ve spent an hour looking but can"t see a "new member" or "create login" link anywhere.

I have acquired an old, but in working condition TA20 (which from reading here I think is a TAE 20) grey MF petrol tractor with a 5 acre property recently Down Under. The previous owner didn"t do much maintenance, including wheel nut tightening, and I didn"t know to look / check them (I naively assumed they were like car wheel nuts) with the result 5 of the 8 wheel nuts worked loose over time and those studs have sheared off.

I am trying to remove those sheared studs but don"t have much skill or equipment. Other posts talk about welding a nut on but although that might help for removing bolts where the head has twisted off, it won"t for studs (that I can see) and I don"t have welding equipment or skill anyway. Another thread mentioned heating the stud and tapping out, which I have tried (5 minutes with a butane torch) but to no avail. Another theme is drilling out with left-hand thread bits but this seems to be more for bolts with threads than the studs which are designed to tap out through the stud holes (the thread is just for the retaining nuts).

The only thing left to me that I can pickup from this forum is simply drilling it out. I assume I need to use a special hardened drill bit (which I"ll need to buy)? Or possibly 2 - one for a pilot hole and the other just smaller than the stud hole in the disc? Is that correct?

Anything else I can try for studs? Thanks in advance - Dave aka Apprentice_GM

Second, use the "expand" function to show all the posts in a single thread on one page so you can scroll through them.

As to your wheel studs, most are pressed in. There are usually slightly oversized serrations or ribs on the top of the stud just under the head which deform to create an interference fit in the hole.

A butane torch will not put enough heat into the stud to make any difference. You're trying to heat up a LOT of metal, and if you can't get the stud cherry red, you're wasting your time.

My advice (ONCE YOU CONFIRM THAT THEY ARE PRESSED-IN STUDS!!!) is to gain access to an oxyacetylene torch, heat the center of the studs to a good cherry red, wait for them to cool a bit, and drive them out with an appropriately-sized punch and a 2 or 3 pound hammer.

Soaking the remnants of the studs in a good penetrating oil while you're looking around for a torch to borrow couldn't hurt either.

The studs are the pressed in ones you describe - I have already managed to knock out the 3 studs that were OK just using a 4 pounder directly on the thread end of the stud. I soaked all the studs in WD-40.

On one of the 5 sheared studs I have mushroomed the end from repeated blows with the 4-pounder. Can I just hacksaw or angle-grind the mushroom bit off?

Thanks for your help.

How come posts that people make aren't in chronological posting order down the thread?

You also need to set the regulator pressures properly. I typically use 7-10 PSI for acetylene and 20 PSI for oxygen.