I bought my 95 Cherokee used. I am NOT an experienced mechanic. The previous owner was a high school kid, and he ran this Cherokee hard. I have been fixing and replacing the stuff he tore up as I am able to afford it. My Cherokee has a Dana 35 rear end with 3.72 gearing. My latest problem is that one of the right rear wheel studs was spun in the hole. I think the kid used an impact wrench on it, and spun it. It stripped the striations on the lug, and/or wallowed out the stud hole. It has a lug nut on it, and I cannot change out that wheel and tire until I fix the stud problem. I took a 4-1/2" grinder to the lug nut, but even if I grind the stud and nut completely flat with the outside of the wheel, there will still be a small part of the lug nut (the beveled part) still in the lug hole.

I have never had the axles out of a rear differential. I'm thinking that if I put it up on jack stands, drop the differential cover and gear lube, I will then be able to remove the C-clips (the D35 has C-clips, correct?) and pull the axle and wheel out of the diff tubes enough to grind the head off the wheel stud.

Is this correct? What happens if I grind the lug nut & stud flush with the wheel and then drive the stub inwards through the axle flange? Will this tear something up behind the axle flange?

And, how difficult is it to remove the C-clips to pull the axle out? I feel sure I'm missing something important.

 

Grind the lug off and get tire removed then remove brake drum. Knock whats left out and replace with new stud no need to remove axle . Heres basic idea after drums removed.....

 

If you cut into the stud and make a cross like screwdriver slots the remaining piece of tapered lugnut should be able to be chiseled out. The stud can then be knocked in toward the brakes. If the new stud spins in the axle, the axle should be replaced or the stud welded from the back to keep it in place. I would have no problem welding the stud in place myself. A used axle from a Pick and pull is around 50 bucks.
Ron

 

Thanks very much, guys. This is exactly what I needed to know!

 

a complete D35 shouldn't be to hard to find for free.