I removed the 4 bolts but the rear wheel will not budge or come off the hub/brake rotor. I tried hammering it with rubber mallet and other things, but it just wont come off. I don't think it's rusted. How can I get the wheel off?!!

thanks

 

spray it with penatrating oil and hit it harder.......

 

A rubber mallet is about as good as a fly swatter. Get a piece of 2"x6", with a heavy hammer, 2 or more pounds, rest the 2"x6" up on the rim and hit it. It will come off. Be sure to have a helper when the rim comes off it will want to roll away or fall on the center & put a ding in it or, worse, it will roll into someones car door.

 

lay on your back and kick the snot out of it

 

Better yet, leave one of the bolts partway in so it cannot fall off.

 

Yep - standard stuff. Keep whacking (make sure the car is secure!) - the mallet worked for me. It can help to rotate the wheels a bit during the process. The wheels are hubcentric and the wheel 'fuse' to the hubs. After you get it off, a thin layer of grease solves the issue. Some recommend loosening the lugs and turning a figure 8, but I'm not comfortable with that approach.

 

Before re-assembly be sure to put a thin coat of anti-sieze on the hub surface.

 

That would depend on how good the paint on the wheel is ( where the lugs seat ).

"Some recommend loosening the lugs and turning a figure 8, but I'm not comfortable with that approach."

Wow, who thought of that???? That can't be good for the rim or the lugs. I'm with you on that one

 

Thanks for the advice. I already tried whacking it and kicking it and prying it and jacking the car up and letting it down "fast" several times -- still no budge. I'm hoping the penetrating oil (like liquid wrench?) will work.

What about heating the wheel so it expands away from the hub?? (Not that I have any idea how to heat the wheel - I don't have a blow torch).

 

No. Don't heat the wheel with a torch. If you're still using a rubber mallet, it won't work..... No weight or shock..... If you live where there is salt air or salt on the ground those wheels are on there. I have a friend that blew a runflat, here in New England. Thee wheels were on the car since new, about 1 1/2 years. They did not come off easily even after using Nut Buster.

 

I was under the impression that this would be a bad thing to do... The wheel to hub surface acts in part with the lug nuts/bolts and the hubcentric rings to keep the wheels on the car. Adding a slipping agent will remove this connection from the overall package, putting more stress on the other 2 components. I've had to use a 2x4 padding and a hand-sledge to free a frozen wheel before (gently)... I'd probably clean up the wheel / hub mating surface with a bit of sandpaper once I got everything free and just remember to rotate more frequently.

Haven't seen you in a while, Brad! How are things?

 

Just put some juice into your kick....it will come off eventually. I had to beat the living crap out of one of my wheels to get it to come off......

 

just finger tight the lugs and slowly do a figure 8. it will come loose.

 

a 2 x 4 (cut the right length) and a jack can be used to push the wheel off

 

Wow that wheel is really stuck.

I'm glad I change wheels each week so I don't have that problem but I've seen others that don't rotate and the wheels are stuck like yours. Anti- seize on the hubs are fine to use.

Normally I would have suggested all those things tried and usually they do work.

Liquid nitrogen maybe? Don't wack it hard when frozen, it might shatter.

Loose lug nuts and slow figure 8 would be safe approach.

 

crawl under ur car and kick it from inside. and when i say kick it, i mean kick it HARDD.. kick it with HATRED... PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT POWWWWWWWWW

my bbs gets stuck everytime i put em on.. time to put some crap load of anti seizes on em the next time i put em on..

 

I've done this before on old British cars with good results. You haven't seen a stuck wheel until you've seen a knock-off wire wheel fused to the splined hub.