Wheel Removal

[sbmcd]

So did you grease bolt threads in the gas industry? Guess not.

never re-use so not relevant.

 

[Zen Dog]

Before our current Portugal trip I tried to rotate the wheels front/rear. Standard steels which were impossible to unbolt. Had to take it to my local mechanic for an airgun attack. Lesson learned though. I now apply copper grease but only under the bolt face, and untighten then retighten using a torque wrench from time to time, just enough to shift the bolts. Hopefully this will avoid any unfortunate roadside problems. I agree that greasing the thread itself would probably lead to excessive torque. One final thought - keep an eye on the spare tyre pressure!

 

[Christine Kirk]

The corrosion which locks the wheel to the hub is where the alloy is in tight contact with the wheel Hub so that the wheels are difficult to remove; our cali had a puncture in the first year and we had to get the VW Assist to get the wheel to part from the hub. The assist technician said that he did several of these jobs a month and recommended that the mating surfaces particularly the centre shoulder be lightly sprayed and wiped with a grease! He carried a spocan to do this!!

 

[B J G]

Rather than applying grease I tried applying a good wax polish to both the hubs and alloy wheel centres, after cleaning any corrosion/rust off. Nothing applied to bolts.

One year later on doing the annual wheel off cleanup the wheels just dropped off with hubs etc showing no corrosion.

 

[Vagophile]

I now apply copper grease

Just before Christmas I had four new all weather tyres fitted at a branch of a large regional tyre company. Before taking the van in, I said to the manager that the wheels might be difficult to take off; his response, we've never been beaten yet. In the course of our discussion and without prompting, he told me "Never use copper grease when refitting a wheel. Always just wipe over the joining faces with white grease." Given that they remove and refit hundreds of wheels in a week, I am prepared to take his advice.

 

[Vagophile]

I've now read the other posts on this and note a few references to copper grease. My post above is just a comment on the topic.
Being a D.I.Y. motorist for more than 60 years, wheels stuck on hubs are certainly not uncommon. I remember having to use a heavy duty puller to remove a steel wheel from the rear axle hub of a Merc 306D, so it's not just alloys. I think the main problem is just lack of routine maintenance.
I certainly would not put grease on wheel bolts, but usually spray with WD40 and dry off with a cloth so the thread is clean.
As to torque, in a completely different sphere (erecting steel bridge beams) on one occasion bolting to the "design" torque resulted in two of the fixing bolts suffering rotational shear failure. Was it faulty materials, incorrect calculations, or some other factor? As a temporary student employee, I was never party to the conclusion.

 

[Vagophile]

Now, whenever I have a wheel change carried out by a "professional", I always undo the bolts a little then re-torque them . The photo illustrates the reason, trying to undo bolts cross threaded and tightened by a moron with a windy gun.

 

[B J G]

Now, whenever I have a wheel change carried out by a "professional", I always undo the bolts a little then re-torque them . The photo illustrates the reason, trying to undo bolts cross threaded and tightened by a moron with a windy gun.View attachment 117676

I've witnessed 'professional' tyre fitters torque up then "add a bit" as they put it, Had to apply your DIY method as a waste of time trying to explain/correct the practice.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I've witnessed 'professional' tyre fitters torque up then "add a bit" as they put it, Had to apply your DIY method as a waste of time trying to explain/correct the practice.

Explain? I'd be beating them over the head with the torque wrench. Although my impression is that's a tool that's only dragged out of its dusty corner when a potentially knowledgable customer is lurking around the fitting bay.

Yep, if it bothers you, re-torque them at home.

 

[Vagophile]

Yep, if it bothers you, re-torque them at home.

The bother to me is dramatic over tightening to the point where, if left, undoing, especially in an emergency situation can be more fraught than it need be. I'm not too worried about plus or minus a lb-ft here or there.
Interestingly, after having new tyres fitted I was asked to return after driving about 25 miles to have the wheel bolts re-torqued (and this was printed on the invoice). When I returned, there seemed to be a little surprise that I had actually done so, and even more surprise when I suggested to the fitter that she would surely need the locking bolt adapter for that bolt on each wheel, the implication being that checking four bolts out of five was sufficient.

 

[sidepod]

Now, whenever I have a wheel change carried out by a "professional", I always undo the bolts a little then re-torque them . The photo illustrates the reason, trying to undo bolts cross threaded and tightened by a moron with a windy gun.View attachment 117676

Go on then, I’m curious, leaf springs, drum brakes and five stud wheels?

 

[Vagophile]

Go on then, I’m curious, leaf springs, drum brakes and five stud wheels?

The photo was by way of illustration, only the footwell mat is VW. The hub belonged to a 1995 Hymer on a Fiat Ducato chassis; the tyre sidewall decided to blow having been subjected to some abuse on mountain tracks in northern Greece. After fitting the spare with the three good bolts and driving carefully to the nearest habitation, the drum was removed, the sheared studs extracted from the inside and the threads re-reamed. All competently done by the only motor mechanic for miles around at a cost of twenty euros including two cups of coffee and slices of baclava. Replacement bolts couldn't be found anywhere locally, so we set off to return to the UK with four bolts in each rear wheel. Replacements were eventually found in a Romanian scrapyard.

 

[AdyP]

Finally got around to putting the summer wheels/tyres onto our Beach which we bought in December . Couldn’t budge the bolts with the vehicle tool kit (I was keen to give it a go to mimic changing a wheel roadside) so I got a proper socket and bar……still no joy. Not even a good thump with a lump hammer wouldn’t do it. It took a rather extreme bar extension in the shape of my fence post spade to budge them!!




Got there in the end and torqued up properly afterwards followed by a call to the dealer!

Other observations…..the supplied wheel brace is crap. As others have suggested I’ve put a proper socket and bar in with the tool kit. The supplied jack is also horrid, I used it for one corner and then got the trolley jack out!

 

[sidepod]

Finally got around to putting the summer wheels/tyres onto our Beach which we bought in December . Couldn’t budge the bolts with the vehicle tool kit (I was keen to give it a go to mimic changing a wheel roadside) so I got a proper socket and bar……still no joy. Not even a good thump with a lump hammer wouldn’t do it. It took a rather extreme bar extension in the shape of my fence post spade to budge them!!

View attachment 124903


Got there in the end and torqued up properly afterwards followed by a call to the dealer!

Other observations…..the supplied wheel brace is crap. As others have suggested I’ve put a proper socket and bar in with the tool kit. The supplied jack is also horrid, I used it for one corner and then got the trolley jack out!

Put the nuts on with the supplied brace and they’ll come off in the same way. Simple.
Search 1000+ similar discussions.

 

[B J G]

Put the nuts on with the supplied brace and they’ll come off in the same way. Simple.
Search 1000+ similar discussions.

probably nothing like the torque required on the wheel bolts achieved with the supplied wheelbrace..

Biggest issue that I found with the wheel brace supplied was due to it being angled it tended to cause the wheel locking bolts to 'spin' off rounding off the bolts edges making them virtually impossible for future use.

 

[AdyP]

The supplied brace seems to be a very poor fit to the 19mm bolt heads. I have no confidence it will overcome the 180nm without slipping so it seems a no brainer to me to slip a decent socket and bar into the tool kit.

 

[andyinluton]

probably nothing like the torque required on the wheel bolts achieved with the supplied wheelbrace..

180NM = 18.35KG/m
wheelbrace is say 330mm long
need to apply (1/0.330)x18.35 kg to it = 55KG

For the 4 normal bolts I usually put the brace slightly above horizontal & stand on it, for the locking one I just do as tight as I can by hand. Its not going to be 100% right but its tight enough.
Check with a torque wrench as soon as I can.