Wheel studs

[drgibson]

I had large bubble come up on one of the trailer tires this week so I had my regular tire shop adjust and replace the tire. They managed to break off two wheel studs in the prcoess. They said they had frozen onto the lug nuts. Does anyone ever put marine grease on the studs to prevent the lug nuts from seizing up? I guess backing the trailer into the lake could cause some rust after 4 or 5 years.
David

[wolfpack]

I've never heard of this happening. We've had boats and trailers for 25 years now.

[moved2ski]

Don't do it.

Just break them loose spring and fall with a braker bar. Greese on a lug nut is bad news, They may spin off or at least attract dirt and gravel.

[drgibson]

Well I've never heard of breaking studs off either but it seems they did. A little grease on the studs is the same thing as grease on the prop shaft, its just to keep them from seizing up and binding. Breaking them loose spring and fall is not a bad idea. That should serve the same purpose without the grease on the threads although a small amount of grease on the end of the stud wouldn't be enough to spread to the outside of the lug nut. Actually, antiseize compound (used to prevent steel spark plugs from siezing in aluminum heads) would probably a little better but I think I'll just break them loose twice a year and be done.
David

[drgibson]

Just talked to my mechanic. He recommends a little bit of the anti-seize and 100 ft. lbs of torque. He claims it will fix everything but a broken heart and a crack of dawn.
The main purpose of this discussion is to prevent the flat tire on the side of the road scene and you not being able to bust a lug nut loose. Been there and done that, and have NO fond memorys of that episode.
One of the guys over at waterski.about.com likes to tell his story of when he had a flat on the trailer, called AAA and they refused to touch the trailer as it wasn't covered. So he recommends folks check their coverage. Personally, I just pack a jack and a breaker bar and go for it.
David