Wheels Stuck!

I

imported_spielnicht

New member
With the weather finally getting nice, I wanted to begin cleaning my wheels one at a time.



I want to take them off the car because I can't reach inside well. I tried last night to take off one of the rear wheels, and the little bugger doesn't want to come off. I used a rubber mallet and beat it senseless around the edges, nothing.



This even made me worry about having a flat one day.



Any ideas?
 
I'm sure a tire jockey is going to come in with some better ideas, but other than just continuing to beat it with the rubber mallet, and depending how nice and what the inner lip of the wheels looks like, you might try a regular hammer and a 2x4, or a plastic hammer, right on the wheel lip.



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.



On cars that are prone to doing this, I always try to put a light coating of grease on the hub and the flat surface. IME it's usually the hub where they rust on.



Edit: Funny about the flat tire remark. I've had garages tighten lugs so tight I cracked a Craftsman socket with a breaker bar trying to get them off, and said to myself it sure was lucky I wasn't changing a flat on the side of a dark highway. My last two experiences with recent GM cars is that they didn't have the nuts tightenend to the factory spec FROM THE FACTORY. It scared me how loose they seemed (not falling off loose but certainly not the 100 ft-lbs they were supposed to be).
 
Did you remove the lugnuts? Tires completely off the ground? :D



If the rims are being held on by flash rust, then try spritzing the lugnut areas and/or behind the wheels where it meets the hub with WD40 and allow it to sink in before trying to pull on the wheels again.
 
My 91 Civic EX used to be that way. I used to have to beat them off with a metal hammer, the mallet never worked for me. Luckily they where crappy steel wheels. Try and spray some PB Blaster between the wheel and hub. Once you get them off I recommend smearing some grease where the wheel touches the hub. It will make it a tad easier next time.
 
A little trick I have used is to loosen the lug nuts a few spins and then take the car off the jack stand. The weight of the car should break it loose, if not just rock the car side to side for a few seconds and throw it back up on the jack stand. I have never been able to break a rim loose with just a rubber mallet.
 
WS6Seth said:
A little trick I have used is to loosen the lug nuts a few spins and then take the car off the jack stand. The weight of the car should break it loose, if not just rock the car side to side for a few seconds and throw it back up on the jack stand.
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I have to strongly advise against putting the full weight of the car on the wheel with the lugs loose; to me that's an invitation to bend something.
 
Its kinda common for wheels to 'rust' to the hubs and it can be hard to get them off. Ive had it happen before but got them off with a few swift kicks to the back of the tire. Ive also used a 8lb sledge hammer. I dont really like beating on the wheels that hard since it can be hard on the bearings but what can you do?



Ive heard about people loosening the lugs and driving around but Im not sure I would do that. Maybe if it was a beater.



Be very careful around a vehicle when its lifted.



I keep anti-seize on all my studs and the backs of my rims. Never had this happen to my current rims.
 
Yep, as BlueLibby said. Use Anti-Seize when you put them back on. Just make sure you brush the flash rust off the hub and the wheel with some steel wool or a stiff brush.
 
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!
 
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!
Click to expand...



F.Y.I. it's Water Displacement formula 40:doh
 
Yes, weight does work ....this has worked for me in the past.

Jack it up so it's 1/2 off the ground. Loosed lugs. Slowly release jack so the wheels touch the ground. Then STOP. The weight should litterally release the wheel - as long as you're safe re: releasing the jack down to the point where the pressure is all you need to pop them off.



PUT low profile jackstands on all 4 sides as a safety measure but this method does work...
 
Just loosen the lug nuts until they are off the wheel face a little, then lower the vehicle back down and it will break it loose... there is nothing unsafe about this. The wheel still has all the lugs in it and it will not fall off. Then just jack it up and remove the wheel. It'd be a good idea to get the vehicle up on jack stands as well... don't get under it with just a jack supporting it.
 
Joseph K said:
Just loosen the lug nuts until they are off the wheel face a little, then lower the vehicle back down and it will break it loose... there is nothing unsafe about this. The wheel still has all the lugs in it and it will not fall off.
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It's not the worry that the wheel will fall off, it's the possible asymmetrical loading and bending a stud or an expensive aluminum wheel that I worry about.
 
Ok, last night I tried every method mentioned here (yes, even driving, was last resort) except the WD-40 to remove 3 of the 4 wheels (didn't even bother with the 4th) and NONE of them came off :wall



My WD-40 was in my wife's car and obviously, not home at the time.



So, I'm going to give it a try tonight with the WD-40 and this better work. 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. :rolleyes:
 
I've only had this happen once to me, and I was able to fix the problem with a rubber mallet, which you have already tried.

Since that occasion, I've frequently brushed my hub and threads with a wire brush when I have my wheels off, and I apply a dab of motor oil to them. Just enough to coat my fingertip...then I wipe it on.
 
White95Max said:
I've only had this happen once to me, and I was able to fix the problem with a rubber mallet, which you have already tried.

Since that occasion, I've frequently brushed my hub and threads with a wire brush when I have my wheels off, and I apply a dab of motor oil to them. Just enough to coat my fingertip...then I wipe it on.
Click to expand...



DUDE! Where ya been?!?



But back to the OP - Try PB Blaster instead of WD40.
 
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