Replacing Mazda 3 wheel lugs

OK guys

So whilst driving on the highway I noticed my car shimmying a little and making a wudwudwudwud noise from the rear. So when I got home I checked it out, and the driver side rear tire is missing a lug. Like, it got broken off.

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So I did some quick googling and it looks like this is a fairly straight forward fix. I just wanted to confirm that it is.

Take wheel off Take caliper off Take rotor off Bang broken lug out Put new lug in (12x1.5 according to the internet) Torque down (one site reports it should be about 100ft/lbs) Put rotor on Put caliper on Put wheel on

Minus jacking, choking etc. Is this as straight forward as it sounds? Is this something I can tackle?

They are cake. The lugs loose?

You may need some sort of spacer when you draw the lug in. An old oversize nut will work.

Or a stack of a couple of washers. You slide them on first and then put an open lug nut on backwards so the flat side is against the washers instead of the cone. Easy peasy.

I would inspect the other lugs on that hub for damage. Really closely inspect.

I have lost a wheel.

On the track.

While leading the race...

David

My wife's 3 needed a few wheel studs after some errant BFH swings last time I did her front brakes. Pro Tip: if the parts store says they don't have them in stock, ask for some from a late 2000's Ford Fusion. They are identical. You just remove the brakes, bash out the old stud, and pull the new one on with an open lugnut and an impact gun (at least that's what I did). Very easy.

wish my Honda's were that easy

wbjones wrote: wish my Honda's were that easy

The rear ones probably are. Fronts can be an issue, that's for sure.

I have heard in the past that drawing the lug stud in by torquing the lug nut often does not fully seat the stud, any truth to this?

Streetwiseguy wrote:

wbjones wrote: wish my Honda's were that easy

The rear ones probably are. Fronts can be an issue, that's for sure.

not sure about the rears … but the fronts are a PITA

screwing with the rears & the E brake hardware is also a PITA … but I'm pretty sure it's not any worse than other cars with screw-in/screw-out calibers

I am confused as to why the wheel got wobbly with one stud missing / broken.

There is something else going on here.

Rob R.

Ohhh hey! I'm a dork!

SlickDizzy wrote: I have heard in the past that drawing the lug stud in by torquing the lug nut often does not fully seat the stud, any truth to this?

If you pull it in all the way, then it will fully seat. The risk is that if it doesn't go in quite right then you might strip the splines off the stud and it could spin in the hub.

I wouldn't use an impact, for something like this I like to use a big ratchet for the control. A flipped over nut should work, but I've used a conical washer that came with my fender rolling tool that's designed to adapt lug nuts to flat surfaces. Lube up the splines, washers, lug nut, etc and it goes on a lot more easily, also make sure that there is enough of a spacer that you're not going to bottom out the lug nut before you get the stud in all the way.

The right way to do it is to take the hub off and put it in a press, of course.

OK, so I have another question and be gentle.

Where is the proper place to jack up the rear of a Mazda 3? I've seen the diagram but I want to be sure I'm doing it right (you know, so I don't die).

I've been jacking it up using a floor jack and placing the head on in the center of this plate I circled.

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However when I jack it up right here it only goes high enough that the jack stands fit underneath on the lowest setting. Do I just need to throw a 2x4 on the jack head?

That spot should work well. It sounds like your jack is not exactly a high lift jack.

You can put anything on top of the jack to get more height. Most people use wood.

With the wood, there is a higher chance of the car falling off th ejack. Make sure you are not under the car AT ALL until the jackstands are in place.

I am still curious why your wheel got wobbly after loosing 1 stud. It also seems strange that you would break a stud while just going down the road.

Is there more to this story? Did you just have some work done?

Rob R.

wvumtnbkr wrote: That spot should work well. It sounds like your jack is not exactly a high lift jack. You can put anything on top of the jack to get more height. Most people use wood. With the wood, there is a higher chance of the car falling off th ejack. Make sure you are not under the car AT ALL until the jackstands are in place. I am still curious why your wheel got wobbly after loosing 1 stud. It also seems strange that you would break a stud while just going down the road. Is there more to this story? Did you just have some work done? Rob R.

The last thing I did was replace the rear brake pads but that was a few weeks ago and this just started the other night. One other bolt was a little loose, but not very much. Perhaps two bolts where loose and it created enough wiggle room for it to break?

I replaced the stud this morning and it went pretty smoothly. Let's hope my wheel doesn't fall off!

Make sure you retorque them to the proper specs after driving on it for a few dozen miles.

IIRC, the torque spec is only around 90 ft /lbs. <-- it seems "not that tight" when you do it.

Rob R.

The question IS , why were those nuts loose ?

iceracer wrote: The question IS , why were those nuts loose ?

I probably didn't cinch em down tight enough. I've since gone through and made sure all the other nuts were on tight.