Old Library

Hi guys-

Anyone ever had a problem getting the rear wheels to come off?  I rotated my
tires last night and the damn things never want to come off easily.  I end
up kicking them, prying them, and doing anything else neccessary to get them
off.  Usually takes me a good 1/2 hour to get one of them off.  What a PITA.
Fronts come off nice and easy though.  Any ideas?

Bryan
95 Black GTI VR6
Sticky wheel edition

One solution you can try: Losen your nuts (your lug nuts that is) a little
bit and go for a short drive around the block, that will get those wheels
off.

Disclaimer: this can be dangerous and probably considered stupid, but it
will work, and no, I have never done it nor would I. :)

Peter J.
Club H2O Atlanta/GA Rep
http://www.clubh2o.com
&#112;eter.jolles&#64;ps.ge<img src=/i/dc.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>

&#99;hmidt&#64;nhc.uwm<img src=/i/de.gif border=0 width=35 height=15> wrote:
>  Anyone ever had a problem getting the rear wheels to come off?  I rotated my
>  tires last night and the damn things never want to come off easily.  I end
>  up kicking them, prying them, and doing anything else neccessary to get them
>  off.  Usually takes me a good 1/2 hour to get one of them off.  What a PITA.
>  Fronts come off nice and easy though.  Any ideas?

  Give the tire a few swift kicks inboard at points opposite each other
  from the center.  That might "rock" the wheel back and forth on the hub
  and loosen it.

  Failing that, do what Peter J. suggested.

  After you get them off, smear some anti-seize compound on the hub before
  putting the wheel back on.  Put some anti-size on the bolts too.

--
Andy Nguyen \ &#97;qn&#64;panix<img src=/i/dc.gif border=0 width=35 height=15> \ http://www.panix.com/~aqn/

VW Golf (&#118;r6nitedriver&#64;yahoo<img src=/i/dc.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>) wrote:
> lol i aint driving with my bolts loose,
> that just will create more problems

  Well, I gotta admit that actually _driving_ with the bolts loose is a
  iffy proposition, and in all fairness, Peter Jolles said so himself                                           in http://www.gti-vr6.net/library/wheels_tires_brakes/remove_stuck_wheel.html

  One time at the auto-x, I forgot to torque one of my (non-hub centric)                                        wheels.  We were running on an 3/8 miles oval that time.  It only took
  about 1/2 a lap before I hear a LOUD racket from the wheel.  I pulled
  into the pits and parked.  One of the bolts had fallen off, and the
  remaining four had about 1 1/2 thread of engagement left.  Another 20                                         feet or so and the wheel would have fallen off and I'd be one hurting
  puppy!

  However, I believe it's quite another story to just loosen a hub centric
  wheel's bolts one or two turns, then do a few start/stops.  I'm not
  talking about driving any distance.  I'm talking about starting &
  stopping semi-hard within 5-10 feet or so.

> i ask this question, cause if i ever get a flat on
> the road, it will be a bitch to get the tire off, and                                                       > this happens on all 4 tires.
>
> never seize = dont work and i think its not designed
> for aluminum

  Are you sure about that?  A quick Google for "anti seize on aluminum"
  sez that general-purpose anti-seize is basically a mix of aluminum flakes
  & graphite powder (hence the silver gray color) and can be used for
  steel-aluminum interfaces e.g. spark plugs in aluminum head.

  I take off & put on wheels way too often so I can't say for sure whether
  anti-seize will prevent a wheel from sticking to the hub, but I do know
  that a smear of anti-seize behind the front rotors guarantees an easy
  time taking them off.

--
Andy Nguyen