Help - Wheels stuck
 

I hereby nominate myself for the forum dumbass of the day award. I tried to install wheel spacers today but I can't get my wheels off!

I put my winter set of wheels on about 700 miles ago. I had the stock wheels powdercoated at a local shop. It seems the powdercoat is the problem.

The shop powdercoated the wheels without masking anything. It didn't occur to me until today that this might be a problem. I'm thinking that the powdercoat has been through a few heat cycles and is now acting like glue between the wheel and the hub.

Anyone run into this before? I tried a few things but cant get them off. Any help would be appreciated.

Wait.... you had them powdercoat the wheels while it was on the car or not? Do any of the lugnuts come loose? What kind of tool are you using?

I suggest using a torque wrench. Put some electrical tape around your socket so you don't scratch the wheels. Be prepared to grunt while trying to loosen the bolts. Take 2 aspirin and try again.

The wheels were powdercoated off the car.

The lugnuts come off just fine but the wheel won't come off the car - it's like they're glued to the hub.

That's not good. For some odd reason, my first thought is to get a 2 liter bottle of Coke and let it eat through whatever is holding the wheels on. Yeah, I know it's extreme or weird or useless. Just a thought.

Honestly, that's something which would frustrate me. All the wheels are stuck?

is the car on a lift so you can get under it and inspect it better? i wouldn't think that a powercoat would run and seal like that.

Sounds like a good size rubber mallet! is Needed, start pounding on the perimeter of the tire...and maybe some Wd-40 between the back of the rim and the rotor, or a tire shop as a last resort..

brake cleaner? don't know what would hurt the powdercoating..

Ouch!!!

Wheels get stuck on like that all the time its no big deal. Just tap the top of the wheel with a mallet.

^Thanks guys - When all else fails get a bigger hammer.

I wacked on it with a rubber mallet and it popped off. Wish I would have tried that first!

Thanks again for the help!

I used to work at a tire place, that's all we did, and when that didn't work, I sat on the ground and used my feet, padded of course and never on expensive rims, only the crappy steel ones.

Are you French? by the way, Cause they also fight with their feet! :bowrofl:

I only want to read something like,"I mounted spacers for my winter tire set and it looks awesome!" I'm glad you got them off. I was gonna post something like, "kick um" HaHa!

Dutch, Scottish, Ojibwa, Pottawatomie, lil bit of Swedish.:icon14:The French are my enemies...although the Dutch and Ojibwa were sworn enemies in the new world.

if the wheel does not come off the hub with a decent tap at the top sidewall with your open hand, put the lugs back on finger tight and do a few figure-8's. it's an old skool trick.

dont use any large mallets or sledgehammers. you'll end up damaging the wheels.

I still like yah Bro!!!:bowrofl::roflpuke2:

Right back at ya!:bowrofl::tiphat:

With the help of this forum and a rubber mallet I can now say...

I mounted spacers for my winter tire set and it looks awesome! LOL

Thanks for the good deal on the spacers M.J. and thanks again for the help guys!

http://www.the370z.com/members/schru...1-22-51-50.jpg

That sounds like it would have worked also - I'll remember that one if there's a next time. Good tip.

I used some anti-seize on the mating surfaces putting everything back together, so hopefully there isn't a next time.

That looks great!
Let me know if you're ever out to the islands and I'll show you and the family around.

^Thanks for your very kind offer! We've never been to Hawaii but hope to make it there someday. We have family who vacation there every winter - I think they may be on to something :)

On one of my crap cars I had one wheel that was stuck on there so good that I literally had to kick the crap out of it as hard as I could to the point that it hurt my foot, not good for the wheel bearing but I had already sprayed it down with rust penetrator overnight. Plain alloy wheel against steel hub leads to galvanic corrosion, I made sure I used anti-seize the next time. The wheel had only been on there for 6 months!