GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

hey everyone,
just wanted to get my name out there. My wife drives an 03 pontiac vibe. I do just about all the work on it myself and this looks like a great discussion group for getting all of the vibe in and outs. First order of business is replacing one of the wheel studs on the front . I have only looked at it briefly but noticed that it does not look like a regular socket for getting the nut off to take the wheel hub off. I noticed that there is also a crimp in the nut to prevent it from coming off. How do I do it guys. I know what to do to replace the stud, but getting that nut off is my biggest obstacle right now. Any helpful hints would be greatly appreciated

If you know someone with a impact wrench you can possibly get the nut off that way, sad to say you might need to cut the bolt to get the nut off and just replace the stud afterwards. The few times this has happened to me it was Discount Tires fault and they replaced the stud free of charge.

Despite what the repair manual says the wheel studs can be replaced with the hub on the car.
Here's a video showing the hammer method.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX9te2iFH3E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There are also stud removers, you can borrow (with a deposit) from places like autozone.
http://www.amazon.com/OTC-4295-Wheel-St ... ud+remover" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Separately, if you do need to remove the axle nut. Take the 30mm (or what ever it is) socket and put it on a breaker bar style socket wrench like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/18-Socket-Wrench- ... 338&sr=8-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
These can be had a Harbor Freight for cheap.
With the wheel on the car, and the tire firmly on the ground, start wrenching, it'll come off no problem even with that divit pounded in to it. The Axle nut can only be installed once. So go to the Toyota dealer and pick up a fresh one if you need.