Allow wheels stuck on car.

[Michael Chare]

I have put different wheels with winter tyres on my car for the last three years. This year I found that all 4 of the allow wheels were stuck on and I had to pull has hard as I could to get them off. The car was supported by a trolley jack.

Looking at the wheels there are signs of iron rust on the allow wheels where they are held to the wheels hubs by the bolts.

After using google it looks like I am not the only person to have had this problem. Nearly all my previous vehicles had had steel wheels and I have never know one to be stuck on.

Would smearing the hub or the wheel with copper or silicone grease stop the wheels from being stuck on?

[Michael Chare]

Alloy

[Dave Liquorice]

Just pulling or did you try kicking or whacking the tyre/edge of rim as well?

Never had a seriously stuck rim but then I'd kick or whack it or, in extremis for the fronts, loosely refit a couple of nuts lower the car and waggle the steering.

Mind you the mating faces between rim and hub have always been a bit greasy with copper grease from the stud/nuts...

[Muddymike]

Yes.

Mike

[newshound]

You have probably identified the problem correctly, so the main answer is to get the gaps filled with something that excludes water and perhaps contains corrosion inhibitors.

You can get "sticking" at the flat (axial) interface. You can also get buildup of corrosion products (especially with alloy wheels) at the cylindrical (radial) interface that "centralises" the wheel before you fit the studs or nuts. (The *actual* centering is done by the fact that the nuts / studs have a conical interface)

Wire brushing the steel part to remove "rust" is not a bad idea. Wire brushing the *wheel* poses the risk that you damage the "paint" and this might make corrosion of the alloy worse.

You need a thin smear of grease (but not too thin). Experts would argue endlessly about the best product, so I am reluctant to make a specific suggestion.

It would help to clarify where the sticking is happening. Do you mean it comes loose, but then is a PITA to remove completely, or that it does

*not* move, and then comes right off suddenly?

[Dave Plowman (News]

Yes. Something garages and tyre places never seem to do. Copper grease is what I use.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Slackening the bolts/nuts and driving the car up and down the drive may work. Worst I had was an old Bedford (Viva) van - the steel wheels got welded to the hubs.

[NY]

I don't think I've ever had a problem with car wheels getting stuck to the hub. And I've had at least one car that had alloy rather than steel wheels.

I *have* had a problem with the wire cradle that held the spare wheel under the floor of the boot: the nut on the cradle got rusted onto the long bolt that went through the floor (because it was outside and exposed to water thrown up by the wheels). That was only a problem because Peugeot, in their infinite wisdom (!!) had made the bolt with a semi-cylindrical notch in a smooth *round* head, rather then making it hexagonal of the same size as the wheel nuts. You were supposed to use a flattened end of the wheelbrace as a crude screwdriver. Because the sides of the notch were curved, and not vertical, I couldn't get any purchase on the "screw" and the "screwdriver" just climbed out of the notch. That took an RAC man the best part of half an hour to free up (*) - and then a minute or so to actually change the wheel ;-) After that, I loosened and greased the thread of the bolt every month to prevent it happening again. That was a spectacularly poor bit of design: I'd have used a nylon insert in the nut and/or a proper hexagonal head on the bolt.

(*) He tried dousing it in WD40, heat and lots of cursing (!). Eventually he tried angle-grinding a couple of flats on opposite sides of the head and gripping it with a Mole grip - which meant that at last we could apply brute force which unstuck it very easily.

[Roger Hayter]

I've read two opinions about copper grease on wheel nuts (or bolts). One is that it is an excellent idea, and may make all the difference to the feasibility of roadside wheel changes, as well as reducing corrosion. The other is that it can lead to the nuts/bolts coming loose despite tightening to the recommended torque. Any one have a view?

[Jethro_uk]

Usually the specs for each bolt state whether the torque is to be applied to a dry bolt or coated bolt. There shouldn't be a need to guess.

[newshound]

I was going to suggest that too.

[newshound]

Similar problem with nut/rust on the protruding threads of a Suzuki Carry. Once I got it apart, apart from cleaning and greasing everything, I found a length of plastic hose that was a push fit on the threads, smeared them with grease, and slid the hose over the top.

[Muddymike]

Pal of mine went to wind down his spare wheel on getting a puncture only to find it wasnt there, outcome was the winding mechanism has rusted through and the wheel fallen out some time in the eight months since had had new tyres fitted. #

Mike

[Andrew]

Ex MOT-testwer neighbour just uses a sledge hammer to get stuck allow wheels off.

Don't use copper grease on alloy wheels. Others here will pipe up and disagree but a smear of high melting-point grease is all you need.

[Muddymike]

Copper grease goes on the hub/wheel contact areas not on the threads.

Mike

[Andrew]

Possibly, conveniently inside the tyre bay where the new tyres were fitted. He'll never know the truth.

[Jethro_uk]

They were a magnet for thieves. Set of bolt cutters - job done.

[NY]

I had that happen with my car. I was driving along a country lane and I suddenly heard a metallic grating sound. It was the cage rubbing on the tarmac. Since it had only just happened, I turned round and drove back to see if I could find it on the road or in a ditch, but I never did find it so I had to buy a new one. Kwik Fit were used to supplying new tyres, but a new wheel was a bit more of a challenge, though they managed to get one within a couple of hours, ready for when I passed back through town later in the day.

The mechanism was fine - it hadn't rusted or been cut, and normally it was kept in tension by having the wheel sandwiched between the cage and the boot floor, so I'm not sure how it dropped down and released the wheel.

[Andrew]

Spare tyre had gone flat, allowing more movement, which eventually allowed it to drop ?.

[Roger Hayter]

This is stated in official workshop manuals for cars, is it? I must admit that in the secondary literature (including Haynes manuals) I have used I have only ever seen it mentioned for cylinder head bolts.