Got rid of the wheel bolts

[dlsmith]

I haven't had to take wheels off my BX2230 very often, but when I did, I always cursed the damn wheel bolts. They are a real PIA to get back on, even after I made a couple of alignment studs. A while back, I replaced the front wheel bolts with 7/16"-20 studs and nuts, and the one time I have had one off since, it was a whole lot easier to remount.
So, I finally replaced the ones on the rear wheels today. I bought some 1/2"-20 threaded rod from McMaster-Carr, cut it into 2" long pieces and bought ten 1/2" wheel nuts at NAPA. I removed three of the bolts on each wheel and installed the studs with blue Lock-Tite. I let it set up, installed the nuts and then replaced the other two bolts. Torqued them to 70 ft lbs, so it's all ready to go for mowing season.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

So, I finally replaced the ones on the rear wheels today. I bought some 1/2"-20 threaded rod from McMaster-Carr, cut it into 2" long pieces ....

Just as an observation: there are threaded bars and threaded bars. Most wheel bolts I know have 10.9 rating. Getting 8.8 rated threaded bars I found difficult in the past. Most of them were only 4.8 rated.

Not sure what you used but may be worth checking. Maybe not so crtitical on a tractor either but I would not like my wheels coming off in a car.

 

[GeoHorn]

Hugo makes an excellent point. While tractors aren’t high-speed….they are heavy and operators can be seriously hurt or worse when a wheel comes off and it rolls over on you.

 

[dlsmith]

The rod I used is Grade 5, from McMaster-Carr. Not sure what rating the bolts are, I didn't really look at them, but since they are SAE bolts, I doubt they have a metric rating.
After 2 hours of mowing the lawn Saturday, I rechecked the torque on the nuts, and they were still right at 70 ft lbs.
At that torque, each stud exerts about 10K lbs of clamping force, which is about 50% of the stud's yield strenghth, so I have absolutely no qualms about the ability of 5 of them to safely retain the wheels.

 

[b454rat]

The lugs are just holding the wheel on, the hub is carrying the weight.

 

[GeoHorn]

The lugs are just holding the wheel on, the hub is carrying the weight.

I believe it’s the Wheel being Held On that’s the concern…. not the hub which the owner did not modify.

@delsmith: SAE bolt heads are usually marked to identify their strength and temper.
No marking is a Grade 2 bolt and shouldn’t be used for anything other than light duty where no personal risk exists.
3-radial hash-marks indicates grade 5 and is the minimum for use on automotive structure.
6-radial hash-marks indicates grade 8 and is the recommended grade for use on critical structures.

I would use Grade 5 or 8 for wheels.

Here’s an I.D. chart: https://www.almabolt.com/pages/catalog/bolts/commonheadmarkings.htm

 

[Sammy3700]

I know everyone has their opinion but, I did the same thing on both my L3800s they had 2 stubs and 4 bolts on the rear wheel. Went to local dealer bought 16 studs and nuts. I would rather mess up a stud than strip the hub in the future

 

[GeoHorn]

I know everyone has their opinion but, I did the same thing on both my L3800s they had 2 stubs and 4 bolts on the rear wheel. Went to local dealer bought 16 studs and nuts. I would rather mess up a stud than strip the hub in the future

That’s good logic….. Getting parts from the dealer will assure you the studs/bolts are correct for the purpose.
A torque wrench should be used for the installation and will avoid stripping threads from over-torque if appropriate to the size stud/bolt and/or purpose.
And if a hole becomes “stripped” ….then using a thread-repair scheme (heli-coil, etc) …. is a proper repair.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Wheel bolts are stronger than wheel studs, and due to their mounting resist corrosion ceasing better.

My understanding for smaller Kubota tractors is Kubota uses two studs on the rear to make it easier to mount the wheel, and three bolts to make the mount as strong as possible. On the front they use four bolts as the wheels are small and carry a heavy load.