Wheels Stuck!

steelwind101 said:
Nothing a shot of Water Distributer type 40 (WD-40) wont help with! Pop a straw in the trigger of the spray can and aim it around the offending nut. It will soon melt the rust and allow you to safely and carefully remove the wheel nut.



Remeber! Dont get the Water Distributer type 40 (WD-40) on your break pad and discs though!
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truzoom said:
DUDE! Where ya been?!?



But back to the OP - Try PB Blaster instead of WD40.
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Glad somebody said it. PB Blaster (or any similar penetrator) is thinner and able to work its way in better. WD-40 is exactly as it says, Water Displacement 40. As a side note, it's also NOT a lubricant, despite what they say. Just another thought to anyone who decides to lube stuff with it. It's a temporary squeak stopper that loves to collect dirt.



Setec Astronomy said:
Or, depending what kind of jack you have, try putting a little weight on the wheel with the lug nuts loose (only do this if you can control the jack), that may break it free. Penetrating oil through the lug holes may help, as long as it's not going to run onto the brakes.
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If you're in your driveway and jacking up a vehicle it really should be secured by jack standS. I've heard of a single stand collapsing. When I do work under my car I always have it supported by two (2) jack stands and I have the jack under there also that's about a 1/2" under the jack stands to catch it just in case. Granted this is for working under a car that will drop low enough to crush vital organs... but better safe than sorry, even if it's only a rotor that'll get smashed by the ground if it falls off the jack.
 
Tried WD40, worked on one of the wheels only. I figured out that I have to remove the center cap and spray there. Spraying between the wheel and rotor does nothing. Removing the center cap from the outside is a major pain if you do not want to scratch the wheels (which I obviously don't).



I have to go pick up some new wipers for the wife's car, so I'll pick up a can of PB while I'm there this evening.



Thanks for all the advice guys.
 
This may have been said already, but concentrate your blows with the mallet at the center of the wheel rather than the edges. Of course use caution not to damage the wheel; maybe use a folded towel to cushion from the mallet.
 
spielnicht- Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble with this. Lesson learned huh? Taking them off now and then has all sorts of benefits ;)



The PB Blaster oughta do it, but you might have to let it dwell for a while and apply it a few times.



spielnicht said:
I moved into an apt a year ago and left my jack and stands at my parents house 250 miles away, so lifting the car with the standard jack is not fun at all...
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Noting that I don't consider myself excessively safety-conscious about this sort of thing, I'd be *VERY* careful about whacking the back of the wheel/tire with a mallet if the vehicle is being held up by only the standard jack. And since you probably *will* have to whack it pretty hard to free things up (even with the penetrating oil), well, please take adequate precautions. I'd be weighing the cost of a second set of jackstands (and I find spares very handy anyhow) against the cost of the car slipping off the jack *without* stands in place...easy call IMO ;)
 
Whenever I have this problem, I'll spray it down with WD-40 and proceed to kick all around the outer sidewall of the tire if the kicking alone doesn't do it. For me I believe that's the safest way to do it. Keep in mind the car should be on at least 2 jack stands along with the floor jack supporting it just in case it should fall.



Just remember to torque them back to specs and you most likely won't have this problem again. For me, I only have to torque my wheels to 80 ft-lbs. :p
 
Accumulator said:
Noting that I don't consider myself excessively safety-conscious about this sort of thing, I'd be *VERY* careful about whacking the back of the wheel/tire with a mallet if the vehicle is being held up by only the standard jack. And since you probably *will* have to whack it pretty hard to free things up (even with the penetrating oil), well, please take adequate precautions. I'd be weighing the cost of a second set of jackstands (and I find spares very handy anyhow) against the cost of the car slipping off the jack *without* stands in place...easy call IMO ;)
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Thanks for the concern and advice, I'm taking it to heart. Picked up some stands last night from Wal-mart. Better safe than sorry. I also picked up PB from Advance Auto, I'm hoping to give it a try tonight or tomorrow.
 
Just make sure you wire brush off the loose rust and put something on those mating surfaces...I usually use some white lithium grease, motor oil was mentioned, I think someone also said anti-seize paste. It doesn't take much, usually the most important surface is the hub pilot diameter, and make sure what you're using won't migrate to the braking surfaces from washout or heat (which also means you should be sparing with the lube application).
 
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