Removing wheels to clean,any tips ???

Webb

Member
It will be a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2000 wheels looks good from outside,but dirty inside.
I've never done before,should I pay attention to any specific area concerning car safety ? I will be removing all 4 wheels.

Thanks
 
Not really just make sure you torque them or have a tire shop torque them for you when you put them back on. You can buy a torque wrench at Walmart for like 20 bucks.
 
joshcaro said:
Not really just make sure you torque them or have a tire shop torque them for you when you put them back on. You can buy a torque wrench at Walmart for like 20 bucks.
ahh, you dont have to get a torque wrench if you dont want to. Whenever i change my wheels i just tighten them untill they are tight. you could feel it out.
 
There are several safety tips here. The best ones will come from your owners manual. Make sure you use the correct jack-up points or you could create a real nightmare and that goes for standing on the wrench to tighten or loosen the lugs.

The torque wrench is a good idea if you have never taken off a wheel before, at least you'll know you got 'em on right and make sure you recheck them after about 500 miles to make sure they havent loosened.

Check your owners manual for details.

Aloha,
Robert
 
You might as well rotate the tires while they are off, so that way you can clean each wheel while it is off.
 
If the wheels have been put on by a repair shop be prepared for some very tight lug nuts. This applies to about anything that can be (over) tightened...oil pans, brake calipers, etc.

Too often they just blast away with their impact wrench without regard to torque. I have had occassion where I was afraid the lug would twist off based on the deflection (bending) of the tire iron.

This is especially a problem if the lug nut is a locking type that uses an insert as a key (walls of lug nut thinner).
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After tighten with tire iron, try loosing. If it's too hard to remove probably too tight.

Get a spinner wrench (4-way wrench, get correct size) from K-Mart, Sears, etc. This will speed removal/install and is really good for breaking overly tight nuts (unlike typical tire iron since you can pull up and push down).

ALSO, tighten in a star pattern moving diagonally. First get the nuts (lightly)snug, then progressively tighten equally moving thru the star pattern atleast twice. This prevents warping and gets consistent tightness.

IF they are not OEM wheels then they should be checked for tightness after about 20 miles. This is imperative (I speak from experience).
 
How "into it" do you want to go? All the way or just enough to get by?
Autozone has 1/2" drive, 24" long breaker bars for about $16. Get yourself a proper size 1/2" drive socket. ( Perfect to have, especially if your a woman, for emergency flat repairs.) Get an ordinary socket or impact if you don't care about marring your lugs, and one "deep enough". Put a large O-ring in it if you need a spacer to half way protect the lugs "face". Search the web for [Torque Stick or lug sockets] or something like that. Several makes of nice sets, some places even sell singles and short sets, of sleeved lug sockets at reasonable prices but the insides aren't as non damaging as Protecs. Protec makes some HIGH dollar non-marring sockets that are very hi-tech nice, nice, nice. $65 for two sets. How valuable or perfect are your lugs? Ordinary socket for most people is fine. The long breaker bar makes things a piece of cake. I always carry it in the trunk with my torque wrench and the 200 ft.lb. impact wrench rated Protech socket just in case I have to get a tire shop to help me out when I travel, etc. One under $20 "spinners" have coated insides to help prevent marring (PepBboys). I don't like spinners but there isn't anything wrong with them except the never fit good in the trunk or in the truck. Breaker bars 18-24" do.
If you don't have a 1/2" drive torque wrench, get one. Your going to seal your wheels at least twice a year or more so go ahead. It's only money. It will come in handy many times in the future if you do any other car stuff yourself. Change oil, lube etc. especially on the lower cars. I know, the Jeep is tall. Some torque wrenches are for accurate low torques and some for very high. Most people get a 10- 120 or 150 (?) or so. Not great for low torques on critical fasteners but perfect for lugs around the 75-85 ft. lbs range. Inexpensive ones for lugs are OK. A couple of "dial" styles to choose from. Tighten in criss-cross pattern and set 10 or so lower then spec, go around, re-set to spec and final tighten. Check again about 100 miles later. Don't guess, don't use oil on the threads and don't over torque. I think it's flat out foolish not to use a torque wrench ASAP if you do it without one. Loosen and re-torque just to make sure you didn't King-Kong them on too tight if you don't have one and have to go somewhere to get torqed. Not usually a problem with those tiny "lug wrenches" most car kits have.
The best way to do this is use a floor jack and 2 floor stands. Sam's has a NICE 3-Ton floor jack for under $60 and jack stands are $8-$20 depending on how beefy and tall you need or want. If you don't have a floor jack and the correct jack stands for your vehicle, use your spare tire as a "stand" if you rotate, your Jeep's jack, etc. and follow your owner's manual instructions for tire changes/rotation. But, if you go all out and spend the big bucks AND if you have never used a floor jack and stands before, get someone experienced to show you all the ins and outs and safety proceedures. Not a big deal. Rotation and even balancing is a good idea, but logistics to go balance one or two at a time gets to be a hastle if you know what I mean, but well worth it to me.
Maybe I missed something here and someone else can correct anything I goofed on. (Not going to proof read this as I have a hot date.)This is way more then you probably wanted to or needed to know but when I read "ahh, you don't need a torque wrench....." I just had to chime in. That is "true" but really very bad advice to offer in an "awe-shucks" kind of way because of the potential damage to your Jeep (or worse) like having a big problem changing a flat sometime out in the middle of nowhere 4x4 land. At least someone else advised you to torque ASAP and even your manual will say that. Some people dodge the silver bullet, some don't.
Good luck and happy trails.
 
I only do 2 at a time (I only have two stands ;) ) so I'll do one side first then the other. Rotation is a good idea, so is washing the underbody since you already have the car up anyway.

DON'T FORGET WHEEL CHOCKS!!! Just a CYA measure. You don't want the car rolling forward/backward and off of the stands.
 
Don said:
DON'T FORGET WHEEL CHOCKS!!!

Thanks Don, I knew I forgot something important. Pieces of 4x4 minimum work ok if you don't want to buy real ones. I too only do one side at a time and the wheel wells really get clean/dressed.

Forgot to suggest you use something durable to seal the wheels, maybe AIO or better FMJ. Maybe search around for better ideas.
 
Yea, I like the 4x4 wood blocks (and 2x4) in place of jack stands.

I was doing my Porsche transmission fluid and banging on the 3/8" breaker bar with a hammer while thinking about a post I read concerning rocking the car off the jack stands.
 
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