Removing Wheels

[slysnake]

It's been warm but raining here so I thought this would be a good time to remove my wheels and clean the wheel wells, etc. on my '05. I have never removed them myself, having the shop do it when I put new tires on. That was in 2008 and yes, I will be having new tires put on this spring. Anyway, I took the lug nuts off and the wheel wouldn't budge. I didn't want to try a pry bar as I am afraid of damaging something. Is the wheel not pulling off common? What do need to do to get it loose?

btw. I was in my garage and put the rear passenger tire in the air with a floor jack, no lift. Car was raised at the correct point and was raised with about two or three inches of clearance off the floor.

[HyperViper]

No clue

[St.Char]

It's been warm but raining here so I thought this would be a good time to remove my wheels and clean the wheel wells, etc. on my '05. I have never removed them myself, having the shop do it when I put new tires on. That was in 2008 and yes, I will be having new tires put on this spring. Anyway, I took the lug nuts off and the wheel wouldn't budge. I didn't want to try a pry bar as I am afraid of damaging something. Is the wheel not pulling off common? What do need to do to get it loose?

btw. I was in my garage and put the rear passenger tire in the air with a floor jack, no lift. Car was raised at the correct point and was raised with about two or three inches of clearance off the floor.

Are you sure all the lugs are off...lol! Sometimes the rims get stuck to the hub, this is easily fixed by...
(1) Put on a pair of thick gloves and with the palms of your hands or your fists, pound the outside wall the tire, the top and then the bottom.
(2) This is the method I prefer, sit on the floor directly in front of the wheel, using both heels, kick the tire around the bottom portion, you may have to kick pretty hard, this will not hurt your car.
Either one of these methods will fix your issue:drive:

[MoparBoyy]

its just stuck on the center hub, kick the tire, it will come loose.

[Henry]

I suspect that it has rusted in place - probably from water that gets into the hub area when washing the car. As long as all of the lugs are off it will break loose. I had an incredibly tough time with a Viper who's owner was a nut about washing his car all the time...

[slysnake]

I suspect that it has rusted in placeThat's what I think too. Would you squirt some WD40 there? I did try hitting it with my hand. Now I'll kick the tires. lol

[Bugman Jeff]

Before you kick the tires, spin the lug nuts on a few threads(still very loose). When the wheel pops loose, the lug nuts will keep it from falling all the way off the hub and dinging up the calipers.

[Torquemonster06]

Before you kick the tires, spin the lug nuts on a few threads(still very loose). When the wheel pops loose, the lug nuts will keep it from falling all the way off the hub and dinging up the calipers.
Good call Jeff.

[Hiss Highness]

was thinking if rims are painted on the back side they may have "glued" to rotors, could have dissimilar metal bonding between rim and rotor as well, good call on leaving lug nuts on a bit usually a thump with a rubber mallet or swift kick to the rubber frees it up, on my highway tractor they use a sledgehammer to knock it free as the Alcoa rims bond to steel

[KNG SNKE]

A solid kick and you will be fine. No need to pry.

[Torquemonster06]

So I guess it worked.

[ttamez]

this happened to me a couple months ago. one rear tire would not budge at all and hitting with a mallet did nothing. i ended up spraying some pb blast where they were stuck together and then hitting from the inside with a hammer (holding a piece of wood against the rim to not damage it). eventually it came off but i wasted a damn hour just to get one wheel off. i think this happened because when i had my rim centers powdercoated the guy did the backside where it touches against the rotor. when i put it back on i wiped a little anti-seize on the rotor where the two meet.

[scloudin]

You know what this means. You don't take your wheels off often enough. I'm surprised you didn't have trouble geting the lug nuts loose. Every time I take my wheels off, before putting them back on I spread some graphite on each and every stud. That keeps them lubricated so even if they stay on a while they will loosen up much more easily. Don't use paste anti-seeze, use only powdered graphite. This will also help extend the life of the studs especially if you change tires often like 3-4 time a weekend. Just a suggestion and a voice of expereince havi9ng learned the hard way:furious:

[slysnake]

So I guess it worked.Sorry folks. I got side tracked and it got cold outside so I haven't tried it again.


You know what this means. You don't take your wheels off often enough.They haven't been off for years.
I'm surprised you didn't have trouble geting the lug nuts loose.I did. It took a lot of effort.


Before you kick the tires, spin the lug nuts on a few threads(still very loose). When the wheel pops loose, the lug nuts will keep it from falling all the way off the hub and dinging up the calipers.Great tip!

[slitherv10]

Funny, I had the same problem with mine and all I did was release the jack abruptly and just let the car drop straight down.

keep you toes out of the way though..









JK :devilish:

[redrichard]

15251526The rear tires are heavy watch your toes is good advice, putting them back on can be challenging. Don't jack them up to high and use a long screw driver or pry bar to lift the tire. Good time to grease the upper ball joints as you can not get to them with the tires on the car.