Removing a tire stuck on a car without harming the rim can be tricky. Here's how to pull it off.
Introduction
Remove a rusted-on wheel with rust penetrant, a hand maul and a block of wood. Prevent rusting with anti-seize lubricant.
You were all psyched up for a quick tire rotation—until you found a rusted-on wheel. The culprits could be many: perhaps the car’s been sitting for a while, or went through flood or a hurricane, or maybe you just live in an area with high humidity or where the roads are heavily salted.
“Rusted or stuck wheels and wheel bolts are relatively common,” says Duane “Doc” Watson, a technical trainer at Bosch Mobility Aftermarket. “But a well-maintained vehicle is less likely to experience this as opposed to an older vehicle that is not regularly maintained.”
Whatever caused your rusted wheel, the good news is that you’ll probably be able to get it unstuck with a little elbow grease, an 18-in. length of 2×2, a can of spray rust penetrant and a hand maul. You’ll also want to jack up the car, support it with jack stands and remove the lug nuts.
Here’s how to “unstick” your rusted wheel and prevent it from sticking again.
Materials Required
- Anti-seize lubricant
- Rust penetrant
Project step-by-step (3)
Step 1
Apply penetrating fluid
Spray a generous amount of rust penetrant into each mounting hole. Let it sit for five minutes. Rotate the tire a half turn and reapply the spray.
“When freeing up rusted lug nuts, I recommend using a penetrating oil that can go deeper than motor oil or other ordinary oils, as penetrating oil is chemically formulated to infiltrate tight spaces and microscopic gaps,” says Watson.
Also, since you’re likely spraying oil near a brake, have some brake cleaner on hand to clean the brake parts afterward, says Chris “Moose” Pyle, an auto expert with JustAnswer.com. “That brake needs friction to work, and the oil prevents friction,” he says.
Step 2
Knock the wheel free
Place the end of a 2×2 on the outer edge of the wheel and smack the wood with the maul, just enough to create some breaking force and vibration. Rotate the tire a quarter turn and repeat the smack/rotate procedure until the wheel is free.
Step 3
Prevent future wheel sticking
Clean the rust penetrant and surface rust from the mounting surfaces. Then apply a light coat of oil or grease to the once-rusted areas, or use a small amount of anti-seize lubricant (but do not put either on the studs).
Anti-seize lubricant
This special lubricant stops rust but should never be used on lug nuts, says Watson. That’s because torque specifications are for dry threads, and applying anti-seize can increase these torque values. Anti-seize can also cause studs to stretch, metal fatigue and changes in thread geometry.
Pyle says to also note that “anti-seize gets thick when hot, so when you do have a flat, you will need to use the tire tool to work the nuts off those long threaded studs all the way. You will not be able to spin them off by hand once broken loose.”
About the Experts
- Duane “Doc” Watson is a technical trainer at Bosch Mobility Aftermarket. He has more than 45 years of experience in automotive repair, has trained thousands of technicians and earned many industry awards, including Chevrolet Technician of the Year and Buick Service Master of the Year.
- Chris “Moose” Pyle is a master-certified technician with 20-plus years of automotive experience. He has also worked as an expert for JustAnswer.com since 2006, where he answers hundreds of car maintenance and repair questions a day.
