Sorry to dig up an old topic, but I need help.
I know about coppaslip to stop wheels sticking to the hub, but for some reason I never thought to take my rear wheels off when I didn't need to. I now have two front wheels that come off easily and two rears that I can't budge.
The car is a Focus with the 5 x twin-spoke 16" Ford alloys.
I've tried my usual trick that I use on reluctant HGV wheels, i.e. slacken the nuts 1/2 a turn and let the weight back onto them, no good. Also tried hitting the tyre with a large lump of wood, but worried about damaging wheel-bearings and tyre if I overdo it.
Any suggestions?
I assume if I give in and take it to a garage they will just hit it a bit harder than I would until it came off.
Thanks,
Chris
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I wouldn't go hitting alloy with lumps of wood, my friend.
What I would do is find yourself a nice piece of carpet.
Place it and your car on a nice level spot with the handbrake on and the car in gear, preferably in a place where you won't get run over.
Lie on the carpet and get in between the 2 rear wheels, ie under the boot. Spray Plusgas onto the inner rim of the wheel, as close as you can get it to the hub.If a bit goes on the rear disc it will evaporate away and leave no residue.
Because of the very tight clearance you will get capillary action, which will draw the Plusgas between the alloy wheel hub and the steel axle hub.
Leave it 3 or 4 hours in total, though repeat every 10 mins or so during the procedure.
Never known this to fail.
If you're, how shall I say, a bit rotund, you may need to put the car on ramps or axle stands. Don't just jack it up and have it fall on you.
Good luck
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Sean,
Thanks, no I wasn't hitting the alloy bit, just the tyre!
Re. Plusgas, have used it in the past with reasonable results, will try to get hold of a can. Was worried about WD40 getting on the disk, but Plusgas is certainly worth a try.
Thanks,
Chris
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Never failed to shift a stubborn alloy wheel with the aid of a large 5" fence post, hitting the tyre squarely.
Made much easier with the car in the air on a ramp.
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Jack up each wheel in turn so that the wheel is JUST off the ground. Chock each of the other three wheels, both front and back with large bricks or similar and put the car in gear.If you can support the car on a jack plus axle stand, so much the better. Slacken each wheel nut two turns (no more).
Using a large block of timber and a 2/3 lb lump hammer hold the wood against the outside of the tyre and hit the wood against the tyre. DO NOT try and hit the inside tyre wall whilst under the car - always hit from the outside, the leverage should shift the wheel. As someone else suggested it may be worth letting plus gas soak in for a while. Be very careful!
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Guess which plonker used copperslip on the wheel nut threads!
I had always had trouble undoing the wheel nuts on my Renault 11 so I used some.
For a while I had trouble keeping them tight - then the penny dropped!
Petrol rag on the threads and I was away, with the wheels!
Chris.
Never tried this but have you thought of using spreader clamps or similar between the insides of the wheels?
H
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Hugo,
NO.
These are REALLY light alloys.
They look lovely, but are a tad weak.
Mind you, by spreader clamps, I'm thinking of those building things that they keep the floors up on houses with. Length of scaffolding pole, with a winding handle that increases it's length.
The ally will give before the Al/Fe juncture IMHO.
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I've had this problem and found none of the tips suggested worked. I even tried leverage with a 10 foot scaffold pole. In the end I undid the nuts a couple of turns and drove fast round a few corners.
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Thanks for the suggestions, haven't had time to try them yet, but I'm sure something along those lines will work.
Cliff, your idea was going to be my last resort, hope they're not stuck that solidly!!
Chris
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Cliff - that was brave of you! :-0
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I only went a short way, and it was obvious once the wheels had freed. And I didn't undo the nuts completely!
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The proper name for the scaffolding spreader is an "Acrow";available at your local hire shop but a short-repeat- short run with nuts undone one-repeat-one turn should do no harm.
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Please do not chock or support your car with bricks of any description!! These crumble and the car can fall. People have been killed this way. Use wood or proper chocks.
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Loosen wheel nuts a bit, then drive over a speed bump or two.
IIRC there aren't many places in the urban UK where there isn't one handy.
It's nice to find an actual use for the b***** things.
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You might be able to get penetrating oil into the hub/wheel interface by prizing out the wheel centre caps.
If this is rear wheels and it's a fwd car, try loosening the wheel nuts 2 turns max, put the handbrake on real tight and apply thrust gently with the engine in both 1st and reverse. You might then be able to knock them off in the conventional way.
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