Help - Tyre Valve Caps Won't Come Off!

WD40 isn't going to budge them. They are aluminium alloy and the valve stem is probably some mild steel. The 2 dissimilar metals will corrode quickly when in contact and WD40 isn't going to a) penetrate well enough or b) reverse the corrosion. Crunching with pliers is the best bet.

Andy

Or assume they're going to die & dremel them first.

Hi, I know the feeling, I bought my son a set for his saxo vtr and I ended up using a small dremel type tool and thin cutter to very carefully slice two slots through the alloy of the valve cap being very careful not to damage too much the brass valve stem. Once the slot was almost down to the stem then pliers were used. But I had tried wd40, a freeze spray, heat from a fine point flame all without any luck When they did come off, they were not corroded but appeared to have been held by a couple of dry O rings inside the valve cap. Having said that, they did not half grip the valve stem. He has standard black plastic on there now !!!

Gio

Nice to see everyone checks their tyre pressures regularly, isn't it?

Steve

My Fabia used to have alloy valve caps, and when I replaced the front tyres the fitter told me to get rid of them for that reason.

Grip the body of the valve with one set of tyres and twist the cap with another.

That could be tricky.

I'd use *pliers* instead.

Check they don't have a small allen key type screw that goes from the side to touch the thread. It is to stop them being stolen. It depends what type you have of course. Throw that WD40 in the nearest bin, it's evil - it eats through rubber, some cable insulation and NEVER put it near a starter motor or alternator as it will eat the varnish from the wire inside.

Tried it. About to try the Dremel....

You know what I mean, I do mine every week without fail!

Using a 'Mole' type grip, set it to slightly crush the thread part on the diameter of the cap.Work your way round the diameter of the cap. Then, using the the Mole grip as a guage, make sure the cap is round, squeezing any high spots as neccessary. Then try to unscrew it. If it doesn't work the first time, go through the whole procedure again applying a little more pressure with the Mole grip. Still keep using the WD40. With luck, after removal, the caps will still be usable, and the valves themselves should remain undamaged.

I used this method to successfully remove the caps on my sons Peugeot, which were the electronic type that monitored tyre pressures, and relatively expensive to replace. They were refitted after lightly greasing the thread, and never gave any more problems. HTH. Mike.

And the Dremel solution receives 10 points from the Portsmouth jury..... (Dix points)

It worked a treat with only a few 'slices' on each cap with the Dremel, followed by light butchery with a pair of gas pliers and a screwdriver. A quick pressure check followed by some waterproof grease applied with a cotton bud then, wait for it, a set of Inconel caps. (Don't ask!) They'd better not corrode on.....

Just a quick wash to remove the WD40 from the wheel, rubber, etc.

Many thanks to all who suggested.

ROFL. I have no idea why I wrote tyres.

Cider.

Perhaps because you were tyred and emotional?

I used steam from a wall paper stripper to get mine off, using just the hose of course. Easy. Beefheart.