Simple DIY trick to remove stuck wheels

[potxoli]

I dont' know what it is about BMWs, but the hub carrier on the axel tends to rust right at the wheel and firmly seems to "weld" the wheel to the axel when you are trying to take it off, especially if you haven't done it in a while. My X5 did this and now my 135i. I'm sure the NE salt on the road does not help.

I was trying to take off my rear wheels today to put on winter wheels and after removing the bolts, they were still firmly stuck on. Tugging, kicking, hitting with a rubber mallet, nothing worked.

Since I have a big hydraulic jack, I tried to lower the car back on the ground with no bolts to see if the weight would help and presto, the wheel tips inward and off the top.

You have to be very careful with the speed. Too slow and it will not come off, but too fast and you might have a big problem with the car supported by a wheel on the floor.

But if your wheel is stuck and you can't get it off, this trick will make it happen.

[jkoral]

I do something similar, but I put two wheel bolts in loosely (finger tight and then back off a couple turns) and lower the jack. Bolts are loose enough for the wheel to move, but no risk of wheel falling off hub.

[potxoli]

smart. There you go, now this is the perfect solution

[bmw1racer]

A generous coating of anti-seize on the hub might help for future wheel removals.

[siegester]

A few quick taps on the tire with a rubber mallet work wonders.

[Dackelone]

What I do is loosen all the wheel bolts and back them out about three full turns(or so). Then I move the car back and fourth(drive say 20 feet) and then jack up the car. This usually is enough to break the wheels free from the hubs. Sometimes I have to do it again and apply/lock the brakes up in my garage.

I have tried using anti seize on the back of the wheel to the rotor and also on the hub of the rotor. Nothing seems to help. My wheels are almost always "welded" onto the hubs.

[jordantii]

I use anti seize but first I remove all the rust and scale from the hub then apply the anti seize. Works great.

[froop]

I've also used this method with a couple bolts still in finger tight so the wheel doesn't pop right off.

I had aftermarket rims on mine with aluminium hubcentric spacers and I was on the ground literally kicking at the inside of the tyre and it wouldn't budge at all. This was the only thing that worked.

Just make sure you don't lower the jack too quickly or too low as I'm sure it's not great to putting the full weight of the car only one or two lug bolts that aren't fully seated.

[moveswiftly]

Usually a few bangs with the rubber mallet does it for me too

[potxoli]

Originally Posted by chesterfan1230

Usually a few bangs with the rubber mallet does it for me too

Maybe you guys have a bigger mallet I even kicked the tire hard with my heel several times with no luck. Lowering the car back on the ground was the only thing that worked for me.

[moveswiftly]

I lift.

[allies_jh]

I actually use some all purpose grease on the hub of the axle and a little bit on the center part of the rim I'm putting on. Never had an issue with the wheel sticking to the car when I switch out my rims.

[Overpar56]

Hard to believe a $40k+ car can weld the rims to the hub. Last fall my CPO had 3 out of 4 rims rusted to the hubs. No matter what I tried the rims wouldn't budge. I finally took the car up to a tire dealer where they kick the crap to get the tires off. 3.5 months later, I'm trying to get the winters off and 3-4 came off with WD40, loosening and lowering the car down to the ground. One is just stuck. So off to the tire dealer in the AM to manhandle the tire off. And to top things off, I found a nail in the left rear run flat that needs to be removed. Hopefully it's not too deep and the tire can be saved.

Never had this problem with any car I owned. I can't believe this is normal.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by Overpar56

Hard to believe a $40k+ car can weld the rims to the hub. Last fall my CPO had 3 out of 4 rims rusted to the hubs. No matter what I tried the rims wouldn't budge. I finally took the car up to a tire dealer where they kick the crap to get the tires off. 3.5 months later, I'm trying to get the winters off and 3-4 came off with WD40, loosening and lowering the car down to the ground. One is just stuck. So off to the tire dealer in the AM to manhandle the tire off. And to top things off, I found a nail in the left rear run flat that needs to be removed. Hopefully it's not too deep and the tire can be saved.

Never had this problem with any car I owned. I can't believe this is normal.

This is never a problem with vehicles that have loose tolerances and/or shallow or no hubcentric boss (typically American or Japanese manufacturers). BMW has a tight tolerance and deep boss to better locate the wheel for accurate and vibration free running. The problem is worse with an alloy wheel compared with a steel wheel due to electrolytic corrosion. I use zinc based anti seize compound on the hubcentric boss (which seems to stay on the hub better than copper anti seize) every 6 months as I swap between summer and winter wheels, never have a problem with removal.

[Overpar56]

Originally Posted by aerobod

This is never a problem with vehicles that have loose tolerances and/or shallow or no hubcentric boss (typically American or Japanese manufacturers). BMW has a tight tolerance and deep boss to better locate the wheel for accurate and vibration free running. The problem is worse with an alloy wheel compared with a steel wheel due to electrolytic corrosion. I use zinc based anti seize compound on the hubcentric boss (which seems to stay on the hub better than copper anti seize) every 6 months as I swap between summer and winter wheels, never have a problem with removal.

I picked some hi temp anti seize today. Weeknight project this week. I took the 1 up to my local tire place and they knocked the remaining wheel off with a bigger mallet than I have. From what the tire shop said, Honda is worse than BMW and Audi. He said they have to break Honda wheels sometimes to get them off.

My recently departed RX 8 looked almost factory new compared to the 135. Not a bit of rust around the hubs.

[ozimmer]

jkoral's method (above) saved me when the rubber mallet & kicking the rim failed to do loosen one of the wheels. After cleaning up the hub surface I applied nickel anti-seize. I don't know if this is better or worse than copper or zinc based anti seize in this application, given the potential for electrolysis(?)

In any case, that was 4 months ago. I've had the rims off a couple of times since with no fuss

[MZWIE]

Mallet and 2x4 works every time.

[One///Em]

Never lower jack without any bolts on the wheels! That's going to end in tears.

Use anti-seize and/or hit the tire at position 9,3,12,6. Suggest painting inner hub and ring with anti-rust primer too.

[cpt97m3]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

A generous coating of anti-seize on the hub might help for future wheel removals.

That's been working for me so far, but I do add some every 3rd or 4th wheel change.

[dsh135]

Maybe you guys have a bigger mallet I even kicked the tire hard with my heel several times with no luck. Lowering the car back on the ground was the only thing that worked for me.

Don't kick or hit it with a mallet from the front, hoping to vibrate it loose. Jack it up enough so that you have decent clearance then hit the tire from the back, knocking it away from the hub. Better to use a big hammer (like a sledge) with moderate force than a small one with violent blows. Make sure you only hit rubber and not metal (or use a piece of wood as a buffer to protect the rim) and keep one bolt on halfway so the wheel doesn't go flying when it breaks free.