You always get some level of corrosion when two pieces of different metal types are placed up against one another for extended periods of time. That corrosion between the metals may as well be a form of an intense glue, binding the two metals together hard enough that they can’t be separated by hand.
If your alloy wheels won’t come off, you’ll have to go through a series of steps—unless you want to bend it getting it off—before you can safely hammer the wheel loose from the hub while you are behind the tire.
Nothing is more irritating than having to deal with a stuck wheel while you’re parked on the side of a major highway. Of course, it usually occurs after you have managed to remove all of the lug nuts and you just want to get this job done so you can safely get back in your car.
How to Safely Remove a Stuck Alloy Wheel
If the wheel has been in contact with the steel hubs for a significant period of time, it’s possible that the thing may be stuck on there pretty hard. If you’re already in the act of changing the tire, chances are that you’ll have all of the tools you need.
- Hammer
- Car Jack
- Large woodblock or rock to place behind the tire
- Lug wrench
- 2×4
- Patience
Start by removing the lug nuts but leave one in place. Loosen it, to the point where it is close to the end of the threads but leave it on there so that you have something to catch the wheel when you attempt to knock it off later.
Jack the car up so that you have plenty of room to get up underneath the quarter panel, underneath the vehicle. Of course, you should never trust a jack, so you want to place a block of wood, a rock, or a tire stop behind one or more of the wheels to keep the vehicle from rolling.
If you have jack stands, you should also put them underneath for additional support and lower the car down onto the stands.
Once you have plenty of room to swing a hammer beneath and behind the wheel, go ahead and wiggle down there with a hammer in hand and a 2×4. The best piece of 2×4 is something that is no longer than a foot in length.
Place one end of the 2×4 up against the wheel, towards the bottom, right where it meets the tire. Hammer away at it until the corrosion breaks and the wheel pops free. Since you left a lug not on there, the whole tire won’t pop off.
You can use anything in your arsenal to knock the wheel off. Just be sure that it is something that will have enough impact force to break that irritating corrosion seal between the alloy wheel and the hub.
Whatever you do, make sure that you don’t create a rocking motion from beneath the vehicle. You don’t want to run the risk of your car dropping off of the jack stands and on top of you.
How to Prevent Your Alloy Wheels from Sticking in the Future
As usual, the best fix, for any sort of auto repair job, is preventative maintenance. If the alloy wheels never have the opportunities to stick to your hubs, then you’ll never be stuck on the side of the road, cursing up a storm, and trying to kick your wheel off.
Once you have the opportunity, get that wheel back off and start working on some preventative maintenance.
- Remove the wheel again
- Attack the corrosion with fine grain sandpaper
- Go over every inch with a hard wire brush
- Clean it thoroughly
- Apply lithium grease
Once you have the wheel back off, the first thing that you want to do is eliminate every last bit of existing corrosion. Anything that’s left behind will have an opportunity to gain a foothold once more.
Start with a very fine grain of sandpaper. You don’t want to dig into or etch the metal in any way. The fine-grit sandpaper will help you eliminate the majority of surface corrosion.
Next, hit it with a stiff wire brush. The same kind that you would use to clean corrosion off of your battery terminals. Be sure to get every seam, crook, and cranny. Once you’re done, wipe everything down.
If you have an air compressor, it would be even better to blow all of the corrosion—that is now dust thanks to the wire brush and sandpaper—out of the wheel and surrounding areas.
Follow it up by thoroughly cleaning everything with soap and water. Repeat the entire process with the inside of your wheel, paying special attention to where the wheel meets the spigot when it is mounted.
Once that is complete, use a rag to apply a thin layer of lithium grease to the metal surface areas where the wheel and hub come together. Never apply lithium grease, or any other lubricant to the wheel studs, as it messes up the torque when you remount the wheel.
Don’t overdo it. Just stick with a thin layer of lithium grease across the contact points, excluding the studs. Adding way too much will cause the excess grease to compress when you put the wheel on, and it may spread into areas where you don’t want the lithium grease to go.
The reason that lithium grease is a good choice is that the lithium takes the place of the steel and the alloy wheel, sacrificing itself to the corrosive effect, without allowing it to take hold on the steel and alloy wheel, effectively sealing the two together.
All Things Considered
It’s definitely irritating having to deal with a wheel that’s stuck up against the hubs. Since everyone is trying to cut down weight, we now have to deal with cheap, alloy wheels that are practically opening the door for oxidation.
However, preventative maintenance is the best way to combat oxidation and the corrosive glue that results from it. So long as you maintain the wheel by keeping it clean and lubricated, a stuck alloy wheel will never be a problem for you.