I took my car to Costco to get new tires put on. They did an okay job but whoever used the impact wrench stripped out one of the lug nuts.

The wheel came off easily, and I could see just how chewed the threads were.

Rotors normally don’t come off as easily, though. But there is a an 8mm bolt used to mount a caliper bracket (seen in the background of this image) that can be used in the two threaded holes to break the rust free. When you need some extra persuasuion, you can spray around the bolts with penetrating oil and hit it a few times with a deadblow hammer.

To keep stress off the flexible part of the brake line, you can buy inexpensive “caliper hangers” to keep your hands free while you work.

Wheel studs have flutes cut into the shaft so they tightly grab the wheel hub. That usually means that removing a wheel stud is a crude affair. You can install an appropriate nut on the end of the wheel stud if you can get it to thread on to give yourself a bigger target, but the end of the day… you just need the right tool.

To install the new wheel stud, you’ll want to be much more precise. It’s best to install two nuts down at the base of the threads so the second nut jams against the first, then use a powerful, corded impact driver to pull the new wheel stud in. You’ll want to go very slowly to ensure the stud is normal to the face of the hub.