I have a flat tire and it won’t come off!! ’04 Corolla.

Tell them what happened at the store where you get the tire changed. Ask them what the problem is and what they did to get the tire off. There probably is just rust or something holding the tire on.

BTW, you should be able to look in your owner's manual. If there is an additional nut or something you would have to do, the answer is there. (There is not a center nut to take off; this holds the rotor on the car).

Jeff

Wow...an '04 and the wheel won't come off!

Rust is your enemy. When you get the wheel off, grease the hub and the base of the lugs to prevent this from happening again.

I've had to hit tires with a sledgehammer so hard I thought I was going to break the bead on the tire before the wheel loosened!

Not unusual. Your driving conditions and time have corroded the wheels to the hubs. I have had the same issues with other vehicles. Sometimes I use a small sledge hammer and placing a wood board against the inside of the rim with vehicle supported by my hoist. Other times I've had to resort to a large slide hammer. If you try this yourself be patent and careful not to strike so hard that you take a chance bending a rim. I have had good luck using anit-seize lubricant between the rim and hub prior to reassembly. You might want to check all the wheels on your car. IMHO. Good luck.

thanks for clearing that up. there is a lot of rust on the hub where the tire bolts on. so, that makes sense.

too bad i don?t carry a sledgehammer around with me.

"Hachiroku_$B%O%A%m%/(B" wrote: > On Wed, 14 Mar 2007 05:30:27 +0000, beastmaster wrote: > > > I know, I know. You?re saying to yourself, "This guy has to > be kidding, > > right? He can?t even change a tire?" Well, let me elaborate > before we > > start jumping to conclusions about my intelligence... > > > > I have an ?04 Corolla S. Earlier in the evening today, > after I got out of > > class, I noticed that I had a flat. I?ve changed tires > before, but this > > is my first flat with this car. I jacked up the car, took > the five lug > > nuts off, tried to pull the tire off, but it wouldn?t > budge. I took the > > tire iron and tried to pry it off. No luck. My only guess is > that there is > > another nut in the center hub of the wheel, but I can?t get > to it because > > there?s a cap over it. > > > > I was able to find someone with an air pump, and inflated my > tire enough > > so that I could make it to the store and pick up some > Fix-a-Flat. I?m due > > to have the tires changed, so I?ll have this taken care of > tomorrow, but > > I?d like to know for future reference how to get a tire off > of my car! > > > > Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe you work at a shop > and have dealt > > with this issue. Please, I?m really confused. > > > Wow...an '04 and the wheel won't come off! > > Rust is your enemy. When you get the wheel off, grease the hub > and the > base of the lugs to prevent this from happening again. > > I've had to hit tires with a sledgehammer so hard I thought I > was going to > break the bead on the tire before the wheel loosened!

You're better letting the shop do this. Unless the car is properly secured it can be a crushing experience.

Jeff

Corrosion around the hub is probably holding the wheel on. If you have alloy wheels, electrolytic action can almost weld the wheel to the rotor. Besides the lug nuts, there is no other fasteners holding the wheel to the car.

If you are on the road away from home when this happens, re-install the lug nuts by hand until they are snug as you can get them by hand, then back off

1 or 2 turns. BTW, you want to do this at home if you are banging on the wheel so the wheel doesn't go flying off when it comes loose. If you bang on the wheel, use a 2 x 4 so the hammer is not striking the wheel or tire directly.

Back to on the road... Drive slowly, making sudden turns of the steering wheel away from the side with the problem wheel. If it is the front wheel, pull up next to a curb and crank the steering wheel so the curb acts as a fulcrum. When you hear the wheel pop, jack up the car and change the wheel.

To prevent a reoccurrence, apply wheel bearing grease or anti-seize around the center hub and on the marks on the rotor or drum where the wheel touches.

I am the shop.

Great...now he tells me. Shoot, man I use a full blown sledgehammer! Usually takes one or two blows on a Toyota...when I did the pads and rotors on the Grand Caravan I thought I was going to knock the thing off the friggin' jack stands..and it was a steel wheel!!

If you are in a shop where customers can see what you are doing, they tend to get excited when they see someone swinging a sledgehammer at their car and see the wheel go flying off, hitting the car in the next stall. The 2 X

4 reduces the chance of damage to the wheel and tire and reduces the chance that the hammer will bounce off the tire and come right back at you, and the loose lug nuts keep the wheel from flying off. Voila! You've gone from looking like the 3 Stooges to looking clever!

These are my cars, in my backyard..!

Oh, do the loosen the lug nuts and drive around trick then ;-)

Um...no thanks...done that twice.

First time. I odn't know HOW the lug nuts came loose, but they did on my '74 Corolla 1200. Went for a LONG ride in the wilds of NH, and came back through VT. Got off the first Mass exit because the car felt weird. Three lug nuts were loose, and one of the mounting holes had elongated, causing the tire to rotate funny.

2nd Time, 1997, Hachiroku. Had new tires put on, lugs weren't tightened. Felt funny and had a noise at 60MPH, pulled over and checked them by hand (I MEAN hand). Seemed ok.

Next day, wheel came off going over a bridge, almost bounced over the railing. Good thing I had realized something was up and was limping over to Toy of Gfld...

Carry a 'single jack' in the trunk! It's a small hammer about 4 lbs and can be swung with one hand. Get them at Home Depot...

I just kick the GD thing till it comes off. One time I almost kicked the damn car off the jack!

The wheel is probably rusted to the hub as others have mentioned. You can use the weight of the car to break the rust if you are careful.

You probably left the car sitting on the wheel to break each lug nut loose didn't you, and then you jacked the car up to finish removing the lug nuts.

After you break the lug nuts loose (one half turn or so). Move the car a foot or so. It will break the rust bond. Now jack the car up and remove the wheel.

RunnerBiker