Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Wheel stud defect??

I have an 98 SVT, 36,000 mi on it.

Several months ago I had a rear wheel stud shear off when loosening the wheel nut. Of course had to go to the Ford dealer and get a new stud and install on the rotor.

Yesterday while tightening wheel nuts on the front, I had another stud break off at 60 Nm torque. I always torgue up the nuts in sequence, 85 Nm being the spec for the Contour.

Anybody else have this problem?? I'm beginning to think I got a batch of bad studs on my rotors.
A stud certainly shouldn't shear off at 60 Nm when you have to go up to 85 Nm for the spec.

Obviously this is a serious safety issue. Any input on this is appreciated.

Has anyone other than you ever changed wheels on the car? They may have overtightened on that occasion and stressed the studs to where they now snap. In that case it *would* be a good idea to exchange them all I guess.

BUT... I am by no means a mechanical engineer, so my reasoning may be completely wrong.

What rims are you running? I had to install longer studs for the rears when I swapped rims to aftermarket...

I sheared off 2 of mine... But that was because I had the steel spare on with the factory alloy nuts... The metal siezed. Now, if I have a flat, I make sure to replace the spare ASAP!