Alloy Wheels - A Word of Warning
 

It may be that all other subscribers to this newsgroup may be well aware
of the following information but I certainly wasn't.

It recently became needful to remove all the wheels from my alloy
wheeled VW vehicle. Vehicle was jacked, axle stands inserted and all
fasteners removed. This was the point at which progress ceased! I could
not budge any of the wheels. The solution was to "thrash" the wheels on
their external faces with a rubber mallet in order to break the
corrosive bond between the hub locating boss and the wheel. Corrosion
occupies more space than metal and in this case all clearance had been
taken up by this means. It took considerable force of hammer blows to
release the bond and I was very glad I was not trying to achieve a wheel
change with a puncture, in pouring rain/ snow. It would not have been
possible to remove any of the wheels using purely muscular effort!

All the wheels have now been cleaned up on the locations and a light
smear of lubricant applied against further problems of this nature.

The vehicle was five years old and it was the first time the wheels had
been removed.

Hope this may save someone from the same discovery in an emergency
situation.

Regards

Alloy Wheels - A Word of Warning
 

Joe Ponce > wrote:

>It may be that all other subscribers to this newsgroup may be well aware
>of the following information but I certainly wasn't.
>
>It recently became needful to remove all the wheels from my alloy
>wheeled VW vehicle. Vehicle was jacked, axle stands inserted and all
>fasteners removed. This was the point at which progress ceased! I could
>not budge any of the wheels. The solution was to "thrash" the wheels on
>their external faces with a rubber mallet in order to break the
>corrosive bond between the hub locating boss and the wheel. Corrosion
>occupies more space than metal and in this case all clearance had been
>taken up by this means. It took considerable force of hammer blows to
>release the bond and I was very glad I was not trying to achieve a wheel
>change with a puncture, in pouring rain/ snow. It would not have been
>possible to remove any of the wheels using purely muscular effort!
>
>All the wheels have now been cleaned up on the locations and a light
>smear of lubricant applied against further problems of this nature.
>
>The vehicle was five years old and it was the first time the wheels had
>been removed.
>
>Hope this may save someone from the same discovery in an emergency
>situation.
>
>Regards

If you had EVER rotated your tires, this would never have been a
issue.

I have always lubed the hubs on all my vehicles.

Alloy Wheels - A Word of Warning
 

On 8/21/2013 6:24 PM, SnoBrdr wrote:
> If you had EVER rotated your tires, this would never have been a
> issue.
>
> I have always lubed the hubs on all my vehicles.

Yep, tires should have been rotated on a regular basis--that's good
maintenance practice. I use anti-seize on my wheel to hub interfaces.

FWIW, this problem happens with ALL wheels, not just alloy ones. Steel
wheels will rust fast and need to be beaten off as well. For some
vehicles (with steel wheels) we've had to use a six lb sledge hammer to
get the wheel loose--dog help the person who needs to change a flat in
the middle of nowhere when that happens.

I recommend rotating tires either with each (six month) service or
annually if the vehicle is not driven much.

--
I'm never going to grow up.

Alloy Wheels - A Word of Warning
 

PeterD > wrote:
>On 8/21/2013 6:24 PM, SnoBrdr wrote:

>> If you had EVER rotated your tires, this would never have been a
>> issue.

>> I have always lubed the hubs on all my vehicles.

>Yep, tires should have been rotated on a regular basis--that's good
>maintenance practice. I use anti-seize on my wheel to hub interfaces.

>FWIW, this problem happens with ALL wheels, not just alloy ones. Steel
>wheels will rust fast and need to be beaten off as well. For some
>vehicles (with steel wheels) we've had to use a six lb sledge hammer to
>get the wheel loose--dog help the person who needs to change a flat in
>the middle of nowhere when that happens.

No big deal: Loosely ("hand-snug") install the screws (bolts), lower
car back on the ground and rock it back and forth and sideways with
the weight on the wheel. Works with a flat tyre as well as an
inflated one.

Corrosion is more likely between dissimilar metals.
--
/"\ Bernd Felsche - Somewhere in Western Australia
\ / ASCII ribbon campaign | For every complex problem there is an
X against HTML mail | answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
/ \ and postings | --HL Mencken

Alloy Wheels - A Word of Warning
 

On 8/26/2013 12:42 AM, Bernd Felsche wrote:
> No big deal: Loosely ("hand-snug") install the screws (bolts), lower
> car back on the ground and rock it back and forth and sideways with
> the weight on the wheel. Works with a flat tyre as well as an
> inflated one.
>
> Corrosion is more likely between dissimilar metals.

I have seen them so 'stuck' that even that didn't work!

--
I'm never going to grow up.