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blew a tire but the wheel is stuck to the car...

27K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  Slam 
#1 ·
Ok, I blew out my right rear tire. I tried to pull it off so I could put the spare on to get it over to the tire store.

Well, I can't get the wheel off. Its just a stock SVT wheel. I took off the four lugs, I've made sure it's off the ground. My dad thought it might be frozen to the car so I left a space heater blowing at it for several hours. I've even kicked the wheel to try to get it loose. No luck. It won't even wiggle. [?|]

Has anyone encountered this, or have some advice or trick to get the wheel off?

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
that's what i was going to suggest.....hit it and it will eventually come loose. just becarefull not hit it off the jack stand or jack.
 
#9 ·
that happened to me when I was swapping out wheels for my winter set-up. It wasn't too bad, just took a few kicks to alternating 'corners' of the tire. Funny, it seemed only to affect the rear wheels. I don't think mine were as bad as they could have been, though, because the wheels had just been rotated not too long beforehand (maybe 1K miles).
 
#12 ·
Don't use WD-40 it will dissipate over time and start rusting again. clean the surface with some soapy water and a wire brush or steel wool to remove the rust. Then put a thin layer of axel grease over the surface to prevent it from rusting, this grease will never go away. Just make sure it's a thin layer and you put a little extra torque in tightening your lugs.
 
#14 ·
S2 said:
^^^^ that is why you leave the car on the ground and loosen the lugs first prior to jacking the vehicle up.
NEVER put a wheel on the ground that is not being held to torque on to the plate. if you put the cars weight on the studs, you will bend or snap them. if there is remaining tire, hit the tire, if there is not, DO NOT hit the edge of the rim. this will cause it to bend and never seal again. take 2 hammers, one can be a sledge, but the other HAS to be a rubber. put the rubber mallet inside the wheel from the back with the wooden handle end sticking out and take the sledge and hit the wooden handle. if your worried about missing use another rubber hammer, but position yourself so you are NOT under the vehicle. if the tire is on the rear, position your head behind but not completely under the rear bumper and swing with both arms if you have someone else to hold the second hammer. if not, put yourself in the same position and hold the rubber hammer with your right hand and your striking tool with the left. this leaves you the abilitity while on your side to drop and pull if the car does fall. switching these will cause more of your body to be under the car and on your back so in the case of an emergency, you will probably be smashed. also do not rely on jacks, take several wooden 2 by 4's and stack them like lincoln logs up to the pinchrail but not on it, and then take a wooden wedge and with another board hit the wedge into the space causing the weight to be distributed through the stack, and will also catch the car. USE WOOD. wood will break before you break anything on your car. its softer so it forms as well. anyways, just a mechanic/firefighter's idea on that. good luck with your rim. also try WD40 and letting it sit if it is not cold, or bolt off, but spray in the space between the wheel and plate. good luck with you wheel.
 
#15 ·
Hehe, it actually happened to me too. Two weeks ago I was swapping out my stock springs for some new shiny Eibach ProKit ones, and my rear driver tire just wouldn't come off. After some careful planning I opened up a can of whoop-ass on it, and eventually it gave up and released itself from the brake. I guess it happeneds to the best of us. [:)]
 
#16 ·
For any who have followed this thread this far, this is not an uncommon problem in places like Dayton (or here in Michigan) where the road crews use salt to melt the snow off of the roads in winter. The problem is electrolytic corrosion. Whenever you have two dissimilar metals (aluminum wheels and steel hubs) that are both immersed in the same electrolytic solution (water and salt), you will have corrosion. You can help prevent the problem by with axle grease as one person suggested, or Vaseline works too. This is a good idea for anything exposed to that road salt. For example, your pretty exhaust tip may be stainless steel (mostly nickel and chromium) but the bolts holding it on could be steel, or cadmium coated steel. Again, with the road salt, the conditions for electrolytic corrosion are in place.

You can also apply paint on the surfaces that contact each other. A good time to do this would be when you rotate your tires.

Hope this helps.

Sam
 
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