RussMcB
05-31-2015, 02:04 PM
I'm adding this post in case it saves someone some effort in the future.
I bought longer studs(*) a few months ago, and have not been looking forward to installing them, but finally got around to it today.
I found out, you do not have to remove the hubs, as mentioned in the FSM.
On the left rear, I started by following the FSM steps, but then I noticed the bottom of the hub (near the 6:00 position) seemed to have enough clearance to slip in the longer stud, barely. That was a relief. The hub star bolts were being a pain.
For some reason the right side did not have enough clearance, so I had to remove a tiny bit of material from the caliper mount/hub housing. I wasn't crazy about doing that, but it's a meaty area, and I smoothed it out with sandpaper to remove any possible stress points.
You do still need to remove the caliper and rotor, but you can leave all of the other parts mentioned in the long FSM procedure.
Another thing I noticed was it was very hard to rotate the hub after about one-third rotation. It seemed to hit a hard stop. However, after I remounted one of the rear tires, I had enough leverage to overcome the resistance (I assume is from the limited slip).
* gmpartsdirect.com
Part: 22551491 (special order non-returnable part)
Description: Olds Rocket parts (Wheel Studs)
Unit Price: $5.73
Quantity: 10
Ext.Price: $57.30
SHIPPING: $12.97
TOTAL WITH TAXES: $70.27
PS. Later while Googling, I noticed someone strongly suggesting to not remove the small wheel speed sensor bolt because they are often seized and will break the head off easily, making the job much bigger than planned.
I bought longer studs(*) a few months ago, and have not been looking forward to installing them, but finally got around to it today.
I found out, you do not have to remove the hubs, as mentioned in the FSM.
On the left rear, I started by following the FSM steps, but then I noticed the bottom of the hub (near the 6:00 position) seemed to have enough clearance to slip in the longer stud, barely. That was a relief. The hub star bolts were being a pain.
For some reason the right side did not have enough clearance, so I had to remove a tiny bit of material from the caliper mount/hub housing. I wasn't crazy about doing that, but it's a meaty area, and I smoothed it out with sandpaper to remove any possible stress points.
You do still need to remove the caliper and rotor, but you can leave all of the other parts mentioned in the long FSM procedure.
Another thing I noticed was it was very hard to rotate the hub after about one-third rotation. It seemed to hit a hard stop. However, after I remounted one of the rear tires, I had enough leverage to overcome the resistance (I assume is from the limited slip).
* gmpartsdirect.com
Part: 22551491 (special order non-returnable part)
Description: Olds Rocket parts (Wheel Studs)
Unit Price: $5.73
Quantity: 10
Ext.Price: $57.30
SHIPPING: $12.97
TOTAL WITH TAXES: $70.27
PS. Later while Googling, I noticed someone strongly suggesting to not remove the small wheel speed sensor bolt because they are often seized and will break the head off easily, making the job much bigger than planned.