Puncture on our Ocean

[Christine Kirk]

a puncture on our 8 month old ocean gave us a long delay as we couldn't get the wheel off the hub!
Living in rural Yorkshire we had the spare wheel option so as to be able to get back on the road with minimal fuss if we had a puncture.
Last Monday, in the dark, in the rain it happened; a total flat, sods law, so we waited until daylight and went to sort the wheels. No problem getting everything sorted until trying to remove the alloy wheel from the hub. No amount of reasonable force would release it; it was on the jack and on a gravel surface!
VW Assist called and arrived a couple of hours later. The wheel was duly removed using a large rubber mallet and a lot of force.
Corrosion between the steel hub and alloy wheel had bonded the two together. The technician said that it is common and can be a real problem if the surfaces are not treated with a release compound such as "copper slip". also the spare wheel cradle support bolts require grease as they easily seize due to the exposure to the elements. Is this a preventive item done at servicing?
Might be a prep job that better service departments would do routinely in the pre delivery servicing; certainly JCT 600 Sheffield didn't do this to our Ocean before we collected it last February, as a result we spent a morning getting the wheel off and back on the road not 20minutes it should have been.
that's life eh! but have yours attended would be my recommendation.

 

[Sandyvan]

a puncture on our 8 month old ocean gave us a long delay as we couldn't get the wheel off the hub!
Living in rural Yorkshire we had the spare wheel option so as to be able to get back on the road with minimal fuss if we had a puncture.
Last Monday, in the dark, in the rain it happened; a total flat, sods law, so we waited until daylight and went to sort the wheels. No problem getting everything sorted until trying to remove the alloy wheel from the hub. No amount of reasonable force would release it; it was on the jack and on a gravel surface!
VW Assist called and arrived a couple of hours later. The wheel was duly removed using a large rubber mallet and a lot of force.
Corrosion between the steel hub and alloy wheel had bonded the two together. The technician said that it is common and can be a real problem if the surfaces are not treated with a release compound such as "copper slip". also the spare wheel cradle support bolts require grease as they easily seize due to the exposure to the elements. Is this a preventive item done at servicing?
Might be a prep job that better service departments would do routinely in the pre delivery servicing; certainly JCT 600 Sheffield didn't do this to our Ocean before we collected it last February, as a result we spent a morning getting the wheel off and back on the road not 20minutes it should have been.
that's life eh! but have yours attended would be my recommendation.

View attachment 51528View attachment 51529

There's a thread on here somewhere, I'm sure someone who's better at finding such things can post a link for you to read. At least you are back moving again now.

 

[T6 CFO]

Here’s one if several on the subject.

Wheel Removal

Woke up early this morning, frosty but fine. Thought Cali coming up to 17 months old and almost 23000 miles. I'll change the wheels round fronts to rear and vice versa, jack up and place axle stands and remove wheel bolts. Wheels seized solid to hubs and had to sledge hammer off after using WD...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Mike

 

[Sandyvan]

Here’s one if several on the subject.

Wheel Removal

Woke up early this morning, frosty but fine. Thought Cali coming up to 17 months old and almost 23000 miles. I'll change the wheels round fronts to rear and vice versa, jack up and place axle stands and remove wheel bolts. Wheels seized solid to hubs and had to sledge hammer off after using WD...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Mike

There is several

 

[SusiBus]

My neighbour, an experienced mechanic, who's often seen me taking my wheels off and changing them back to front, then putting on copper grease, says the main problem causing them to stick on is the corrosion around the centre part of the hub. Looking at Christine Kirk pictures that does show a lot of corrosion at that point. I now make sure that point is well greased.

 

[Drpps]

Often slightly loosening the bolts before jacking it up, so finger tight only and rolling it back and forth helps. Not ideal if tyre completely deflated and rolling on the rim though.

 

[Velma's Dad]

As others have said, tons of info (/debate) on this elsewhere on the forum. There's no doubt that a stuck wheel can be a complete mare to get off and worst cases will need a Thor-sized sledgehammer and block of wood.

I use copperslip on the mating surfaces, but staying clear of the wheel stud holes to avoid getting it onto the stud threads.

 

[Pips Dad]

If you remove your wheels as a regular routine, say every six months when you inspect your brake pads and discs etc, you should carefully apply a bit of anti seize grease such as the white spray grease or copper slip around the inside of the alloy wheel on the contact surfaces.
I’ve done this over many years and never had any trouble of a seized hub/ wheel.
Don’t rely on garages doing this as you may come unstuck or not as Mike found out.
Driving on a flat tyre with an alloy wheel to loosen it from the hub will probably work but you will inevitably bugger your soft alloy wheel in the process.
Preventative maintenance is everything!

 

[inthemidnighthour]

Exactly the same happened to us Sunday , puncture miles from home but managed to limp to our destination.This was our first puncture in our 8 years of Cali ownership the current Cali now being nearly 3 years old.
Jacked up ,wheel totally solid, used a camping mallet tapping still no movement
Loosened wheel nuts ,drove forward back several times,
Then we rocked the vehicle side to side with loose wheel nuts and finally a slight movement but still took a lot more time to totally free the wheel
Spoke to our vw garage today and they are looking at it Friday under warranty
So wait to see what they say
Dave and lisa

 

[WelshGas]

VW Assistance, and brew a cuppa while waiting.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

VW Assistance, and brew a cuppa while waiting.

I agree. At the weekend, we had our 4th puncture in 2 years. Two nails.

I have given up trying to get the wheels off. So rang VW Assistance straight away. They were here (at the campsite) within an hour (as promised). It was hard work getting the vehicle jacked up in this soggy field. And then, of course, the wheel wouldn't budge!

Mr VW Assistance had all the necessary equipment and I left him to it. An hour later, we were ready to go.

It would have been pointless for me to try.

 

[Vantastic2]

My first experience seeing alloy wheels being removed was around 1983!
I owned a Ford Fiesta Supersport and had to have tyres changed,the tyre fitter thumped the hell out of the front alloy wheels, was close to not getting them off!
Having had my rear brake pads replaced back in March this year my mechanic neighbour had to thump the wheels off, putting them back on he removed excess rust and then used i think copper slip or similar on the hub. Just had new tyres fitted all round last month (September), rear wheels came off easy, fronts not so and thumping once again to remove them. Just shows that treatment on the rear ones works well.
Why vehicle manufactures cannot add this simple procedure when making vehicles is beyond me?

 

[rod_vw]

No help to the OP but here is my solution if there is pressure in the tyre.

Slightly loosen the bolts on the offending wheel and drive the vehicle carefully round the block rocking the steering from side to side. Sounds dangerous but in reality very very unlikely to cause any problem but usually frees the seized on wheel.

I've used this method with 100% success and seen mechanics doing exactly the same.

 

[Stuart]

If it's a front wheel, try loosening the bolts a bit and then turning the steering from side to side.