My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated. Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug wrench managed to loosen them but unfortunately I cannot say the same for the aluminum wheels. They are on so tight that I cannot budge them. Any suggestions as to how to loosen them for removal would be appreciated.
Don
My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated. The wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug wrench managed to loosen them. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the aluminum wheels. They are stuck solid and refuse to budge. Any suggestions on how to loosen them for removal would be appreciated.
Don
you can try heating the nuts with a torch for a few seconds
A couple of things you can try:
Beat on the back of the tire with a hammer at several places. Stay off of the rim with the hammer blows.
Reinstall the lug nuts about five or six turns and then drive the car a short distance while turning the steering wheel left and right.
Take the car to a tire shop and let them worry about it.
good luck
You might replace the lug nuts, drive it hard enough for the wheels to heat up, and rush back to the *removal station*. The difference in heat transfer between the (steel) hubs and (aluminum) wheels should expand one material faster and allow removal. HTH, s
You would be surprised what you can do with your foot. Put the lug wrench on one of the lugs and use your 200 lbs to kick down on it. Then again, you could always use your keyboard...
Put the lugs back on then loosen one turn each. Drive around the block, make sure you brake hard and take a sharp turn at least once. Wheels should be loose by the time you get back in the garage.
good luck
nate
You are correct. I now suggest getting behind the wheel and kicking it or finding a BFH to hit it with. A long 4x4 can work too. Put enough force to bear on the tire and the wheel will come off.
He won't have to go far beyond his parking spot. It's the wheel turning that will pull the wheel loose. Back up and turn the wheel back and forth and he will hear the pop of it coming loose.
Ive usually been able to get that type of wheel off just by wobbling it by hand, but they can be really tight at times. A squirt of penetrating oil on the studs and the wheel center may also help. A rubber mallet can help loosen them without having to worry about damaging the wheels.
How about putting nuts back on finger tight, backing them off half a turn, and move the car for a couple of revs of wheel? I would not DRIVE it that way, but maybe a couple of revs of wheels might help.
When I rotated my wheels/tires this summer, I put a light coating of anti-seize on the surfaces. It will be interesting next year when I rotate them again to see if it did any good.
If the ant-seize gets washed off by rain, snow, water puddles, then I'll have to find another solution.
Lg
I would recommend putting a lot of good penetrating oil into each stud space and any other place that will allow it to get behind the rim. You might need to do this many times over a couple days to get it to soak through.
I live in the rust belt and see aluminum rims that have fused to the hubs so that both get destroyed when it finally comes off with 2 shop guys running at it from the back side with a railroad tie battering ram.
When putting them back on I recommend a lot of antiseize compound on the back side of the rim to help for next time.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT'sDJP wrote:
What I do use use a long - about 6' - prybar and judiciously apply leverage. You can break a wheel if you make a mistake. What I have seen pro's use is a large orange soft-blow hammer - 4' long handle and about an 8 pound head, or the aforementioned pry bar. In a pinch, I have kicked, beaten upon etc, and I have loosened the lugs and driven about slamming on the brakes. In one case, I just gave up and took it to a tire dealer, where he did all of the above but with more vigour than I was comfortable with.
Brian
Cheater bar, dude. Get a empty pipe, put it at the end of the tool you're using to loosen the lug nuts, and just use good 'ol leverage.
Failing that, go get someone with an air wrench.
HTH.
-LMB
i've nevr tried the drive with loose lugs idea.but i will next time.i've always employed the afore mentioned "buford" method.
Just applying a thin layer of grease to the surfaces before mounting the wheel would do.
I always do that when shifting winter/summer-wheels and had never had the problem of stuck wheels (as I used to before).
/johan
I noticed that the dealership used some kind of oil on the hub and the backside of the alloy wheels before they mounted them. I didn't know what exactly this *stuff* was, but if it is ordinary grease, thanks for the tip. I've got lots of moly-grease I wasn't using. Now we have found a use for it. Thanks for the tip.
Lg
We run into this all the time with the aluminum wheels. So far, I've never had any problem getting them off. Use a long, large pry bar, and you pry between the wheel and the rotor or drum...or the whatever happens to be close to the rim of the wheel (from the back side) that is solid. It will pop right off. Do not attempt to hammer on the wheel itself unless you use some sort of rubber or plastic deadblow hammer.
Ian
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