Removing wheels for cleaning

R

rashenup

New member
Last week I picked up a used Audi S4, and one of the things this car has done is to take all of my free time. It's made me go from someone who takes car of thier car to going down that road of being a nut about it =] Certianly no regrets here.



Anyways, I'm now moving on to cleaning up my wheels. They are in decent condition, but you can see all of the brake dust that has accumulated over the past couple of years on the inside of the wheel. What I'd like to do is to take the wheels completly off (as I've seen suggested here before) so that I can give them the nice deep clean that they deserve, and then top it off with some polish. Most likely some #20.



I don't have a torque wrench at home or air compressor, so would it be safe to take them off by hand (not a big deal), and then to put them back on. I'm want to make sure that I'm able to get the wheels back on tight enough so that I don't have a wheel loose when I'm driving. What do y'all think? Are there any suggestions for the whole process of removing and putting the wheels back on??
 
Well, if you are planning on doing any work at all on the car, then you should invest in a torque wrench. It doesn't have to be a $400 Snap-On it can be an inexpensive one that you can find locally or look on e-bay. I picked up a set (1/2" and 3/8" drive) for less than $30 and they work great (chances are you'll need both anyway). I have checked them against a friend's Snap-On and they are well calibrated.



Second suggestion, get some Wheel Wax. I got mine at autogeek.net. I just tried it out last night and I really like the way it goes on. It wipes off easily and leaves a beautiful shine. Most users, I believe, have positive comments on it's protection and durability too.
 
Congrats on your new car! Although I use a torque wrench now I put wheels on for years by "feel" and never had a problem. When the wheels are off check for rust on the lugs and clean it off with a wire brush if there is any. While the wheels are off you may want to go over the brake calipers with some brake cleaner and/or a strong cleaner like EF Hi Intensity.

BTW blowing off wheels and brakes with compressed air is not a good idea since some brake pads contain asbestos. You don't want to breathe that stuff.

Finally tighten the lug nuts with a fairly long 1/2" drive rachet or breaker bar. Your car manual should tell you the torque for the lug nuts. Most wheels should be torqued between 80 and 100 ft-lbs. You can get a Craftsman torque wrench for as little as $25, but you don't absolutely need it. I am a bit of a nut about torquing bolts myself. I even torque the oil pan drain plug.

Hope this helps. :)
 
Larry_Bar56 had some good thoughts I forgot. First try ebay, but remember if you get an old torque wrench you have to check it. An out of calibration wrench is worse than no wrench.

I use wheel wax and find it works great. It seems to have a lot of cleaner in it and takes off dirt other stuff doesn't. Another avenue I have taken is to put Klasse AIO and SG on the wheels. It is quite durable and makes cleaning wheels a breeze. You will often be able to get by with cleaning the wheels with regular car wash. I am a believer in using the least aggressive cleaner that will do the job. Super strong wheel cleaners used regularly will eventually corrode your wheels.
 
Well, if there is anything that should be torqued, it's the oil pan drain plug! :D You don't want the screw that one up....literally!
 
2nd the Klasse twins for wheels. Looks great, cleans up easily and this is one place where durability counts a ton.
 
Thanks for the input. I guess I was just thinking that any tourque wrench would be big $$$. No real reason for it, just seems like it's a fancy tool that should cost a lot. So I guess I'll be making a run out to the autoparts store/ sears/ someplace this weekend to see what I can find.

But 80 - 100 ft-lbs. That doesn't seems like so much. I'm guessing that'll be just about as tight as I can get it by hand. So now I'll just have to see if I can be patient and wait for the weekend or if I just go ahead and clean the wheels up tonite.... such decisions.



The Wheel Wax sounds good too. I was going to order some stuff anyways, so I guess that will get thrown on the order =]
 
Removing the wheels is not a big deal, one of the most basic things you can do. Just make sure you support the vehicle properly. Jack up in location on the uniframe specified in maual. Then the most importantly, SUPPORT THE VEHICLE WITH JACK STANDS, DO NOT TRUST A JACK TO SUPPORT THE CAR.



80-100 ft lbs is pretty tight, but it is not a problem with a torque wrench that is 16"+. Also, I would get a 1/2" drive one and buy a 1/2" to 3/8" adapter so you can use both socket sizes on the same wrench. You can find a decent one for $30.
 
You'd be surprised how little effort it takes to torque your lugs to 80 ft lbs with a 1/2" drive wrench. If you just used a breaker bar and put some muscle into it you would likely be way over spec.



Try sending some e-mail to Ed at this address:

Shoplakeland@aol.com



I bought my set of 2 torque wrenchs from him on e-bay and then he sold me another set for friend. If he still has them, he should be willing to sell them for about $30. That includes shipping!
 
I wouldn't take the wheels off to clean them, unless its virtually impossible to clean them while on.....meaning the design is such that it makes access very hard.



With the right cleaners, sponges and brushes you should be able to clean them up, inisde and out pretty good. I clean my Boxster wheels inside and out everytime I wash the car.



The reason I don't recommend taking the wheels off, is because of the risk of scratching them. When I took my fronts off, I took all the care in the world, had plastic coated sockets etc, and still scratched a rim.



Once its scratched, you have a problem. Sure they can be repaired, but the ones I have seen, look like they have been repaired.



I do concours events...so having things perfect is not desirable..its mandatory. Dirt I can remove from almost any where....wheel scratches...thats another issue.



Just my $0.02.
 
rashenup, Good idea to use a torque wrench, especially on wheels. If you don't tighten them evenly, you run the risk of warping the rotors. Cleaning the wheel studs is a good idea, but resist the urge to put oil, or anything, on them. If you put anything on the studs, it will affect the torque value.
 
Well I managed to resist from doing much with my wheels tonite. I put another coat of wax on instead =]



rek - I hadn't thought about the issues with not having them tighted evenly. I'm definately going to find a torque wrench somewhere. thanks for the heads-up.



JB - I had thought about the scratching issue briefly, but with my wheel design the bolts are all hiden behind a plastic cover. so a little scratch there isn't a big deal. If my wheels didn't have this, I probally would see what I could do without taking the wheels off. I don't disagree with you at all, but given the covers, and the fact that the wheels already have some minor scratches in them, I'll take the trade-off for being able to really get at all the junk on the insides.



On painting the calipers.... It's something I want to do at some point. I really dislike the look of the dull factory "finish". But alas, it'll be a project for another time. I still need to look further as to what brand of paint to get, and then decide on a color.



Thanks all for your input!
 
rashenup- Welcome to Autopia. Fellow Ohio Audi nut here. Yeah, get the torque wrench. 85 lb/ft IS pretty easy to do by feel (and it's NOT very tight), but you really oughta torque them properly.



Make sure your in-trunk tool kit has the threaded plastic peg (black, maybe 4" long or so) that goes in your hub's lug bolt hole to help guide the wheel back on. It's a pain to reinstall the wheels without one.



I use the thick, last tooth of an "unbreakable" plastic comb (other teeth cut off) to pop the plastic hub covers off without scratching them. I would NOT use a screwdriver for this.



*I'D* use a floorjack with a rubber pad instead of the in-trunk jack. MUCH easier on the car's jacking points (don't want to chip 'em down to bare metal and start the rusting process).



Remember to crack the lugs loose a little BEFORE jacking up the car.



The backsides of your wheels will probably be pretty awful. Have some kind of scrubber handy (TOL sells one, like a yellow Scotchbrite on a red handle), plenty of strong cleaner and some clay.



While you have them off, do your wheelwells properly. It's more time, but it's just SO much easier to do when the wheels are off. Again, they will probably be pretty awful in the spots that are normally inaccessible. Even just a cursory wash with some strong cleaner is better than nothing (dirt hold moisture). And once you jack the car up AND PUT JACKSTANDS UNDER IT!! it's a good time to take a look at the undercarriage in general.
 
Accumulator, you're in NE Ohio?? So am I :wavey. What a small world.



I haven't looked for the plastic peg. But I'm 95% sure that it's there. The previous owner took really good care of the car.



Yes, my plan does include cleaning the wheelwells up so they're nice and shiny. I don't think they've ever really been cleaned, so let's hope that I can manage to get all of the junk off.



ok here's a couple pictures for y'all to see.

profile.jpg


frontBrake.jpg




Now I just need to get the tools so that I can get to work on this project. I'll try to remember to take some pictures so that I can show you the results.
 
larry_bar56 said:
Well, if there is anything that should be torqued, it's the oil pan drain plug! :D You don't want the screw that one up....literally!
Click to expand...



I always hand tighten it plus 1 full turn...putting it on too tight will strip the thread then you'll really have problems, like the thing blowing out on the highway (yes it happened to me).



So if you torque it, use a conservative number to set it to.
 
Yea, seriously don't worry about hand tightening (although a torque wrench is obviously better). My dad always taught me to get them tight as you can using the wrench by turning it normally, then give one UNK after adjusting to use your weight for a little leverage or whatever. Remember that when you put on a spare tire you usually don't have a torque wrench...it's okay to fudge it.



Definitely watch out for scratching the rims though...



Detailing the inside of the rims is the next level. At this Lambo/Ferrari service place we saw this pearl orange Diablo that had been detailed. The inside of the rims were PERFECTLY clean...SO impressive...
 
I went ahead and ^started^ celaning out the wheels. Just thought I'd share my expeince, and what widsom I now have ;)



Anyways, rather than going out and buying a torque wrench and messing with getting them off by hand, I decided to run into the shop at work (I work at a nursery, so it's DIRTY. i needed to give it another wash anyways =] ). A nice bonus was that I had a lift to use, and air tools!!



lift.jpg


Here's the lift. I took forever lining up the lift arms to the right place. I was SO worried about messing something up. Luckily everything turned out ok, and now I know how to do it next time.



air.jpg


Once I got the car up in the air. I went ahead with an impact wrench. (for those of you counting the S4 has 17mm lugnuts). They came right off, and I don't think I scuffed up the wheel too much doing this. Once the lugnuts where out, I ran into my first problem. The wheel wouldn't come off!! I could see that the center cap on the hub had rusted to the wheel so I decided to give it a little kick. And here's my first major thing I learned.

MAKE sure that the wheel isn't going to just fall off! mine did and now I have a nice ding on the wheel for my carelessness. Lesson learned.



This turned out to not big a major deal, as I found that the wheels aren't in perfect condition. I can't tell if some of the paint is peeling off, or if it's some kind of coating (My guess is a bit of both) When I scrape some part off with my finger nails it comes off silver, and leaves a dull finish underneath. Yet other spots still come off silver, but seem to leave a shinier surface. I thinking that I'll just ask the guys at the dealership about it next time I go in.



Anyways, on to my process. I took some A2Z (yeah I've heard about how the stuff can be dangerous to wheels. But I only plan on using it this one time, or if the wheels evern happen to get ^really^ dirty again). I then went to work with a terry cloth to scrub the wheels like crazy. This got about 98% of the junk off of there. They aren't perfectly clean now, but since the paint on the wheels isn't looking so good anyways, I figured it was good enough and went on to the other rear wheel while this on dried.



Once I had the other wheel done up the same. I went back to the other wheel, dried it off the rest of the way with another terry towel, then clayed it up to get rid of more junk on the wheel. I then topped this off with some #20 that I found laying around. I'm thinking that should give them a nice layer of protection. They sure are nice and smooth =]



Once I had the wheels all cleaned up I put the wheels back on using the guide tool that Audi gives you so that the wheels line up easily (thanks for the heads-up on this one Accumulator, this helped out a ton) I got the lugnuts back on with the tool in the car kit so so that they were tight by hand. I then lowered the car back down, got out the torque wrench to finish the job off. I set the wrench somewhere between 85-90 ft-lbs. I couldn't find the torque specs in the owner's manual, and I didn't have i-net access out there too look it up. Then I drove home and ate some food. Man was I hungry. I guess I worked harder than I thought.



dirty.jpg


Here's a picture of the front wheel that I didn't clean yet



clean.jpg


And here is one of the rear's all cleaned up.



It's kinda hard to see the difference here since the wheels are back on the car with the shadows and all. But needless to say I'm very happy with the results. They're not PERFECT, but I'll take it =]



Unfotuantly I ran out of time before I had to go to dinner, so only the back wheels got cleaned. I'll just have to find some more time when the shop is open so that the fronts can get cleaned up.



I'm already thinking about my next project after I get the wheels cleaned, painting the calipers. Right now I'm thinking that I'll go with read with some grey or black audi ring stickers.



Anyways thanks for all of the advice.
 
Wow, what a job! My hat goes off to anyone serious enough to clean the backsides of their wheels like that. :bow



One thing I do when removing and replacing wheels is when I'm breaking loose the lugnuts or giving them the final tightening I have the car raised just barely so that the tire is contacting the ground enough to grip it and cannot spin, but isn't resting on it fully. I just feel it puts less stress on things this way because the movement of the suspension can tilt and push the wheel in funny angles (camber change) sometimes.



Also if I use a jack and stands I rest the car on the safety stands but don't lower the jack and use it to partially support the front/rear end a bit. As long as it's not in the way, this makes me feel better with 3 points of support and it's easier to jack the car back up to remove the stands later. I'd only do this if it's for a reasonably short job though since I'm not sure how good it is for the jack to leave it loaded all the time.... I picked up both of these tips from my dad. :D
 
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