gkb

I was wondering if there is a professional tool that you can use to remove wheels when there stuck to the hub?

......I was at my friends tire shop today and some lady came in with her beamer, she had on some nice 20" and they were just kicking the **** out of them wheels to remove it, even though i'm Anti-BMW I felt bad. So I looked at the worker and I said "when I come back here to put on my 20" how will you guys take them off if they need to be balanced or rotated" he said "kick it" and I lol'ed at him. Don't know about you guys, I know kicking is the most used way to remove a wheel but wouldn't it **** you off seeing someone kicking the **** out of your $thousand$ dollar-plus wheel & tire package?

chuckee98

The local detail shop here uses a weighted plastic mallet to hit the inside of the wheel to break it loose, if it needed it. I'm pretty sure that they hit the tire and not the rim, but I wasn't paying that much attention when he did it. One or two good whacks took care of it. To avoid this issue, I put a thin layer of anti-seize on the centering ring of the hub every time I have the wheels off.

freshfrompacificrim

there should be no need for such force if the wheels are torqued properly..

topshooter

We have such tools over here. CLICK!

chuckee98

It has nothing to do with lug bolt torque. It's all about the hubs rusting enough to seize against the centerbore of the wheel. If you don't remove the wheel periodically, eventually the hubs rust so bad that you can't get the wheel off by just pulling.

The_Mizarc

2nd that. Aluminum wheels and steel alloys don't like each other

wild

You should apply a thin layer of Lithium grease (available in hardware stores) on the surface of the wheel that contacts the hub, avoiding the hole/threads where the bolt enters. This prevents corrosion between surfaces, especially if they are of different metals. Also, it is proper practice to torque the bolts evenly (all 5 bolts,in an opposite sequence) to the correct specification. This avoids warping the wheel/hub and ensures that the wheel is perfectly flat against the hub. Unfortunately, most tire shops do not take the trouble to do this properly because it takes a few extra minutes. Also, they use pneumatic bolt drivers and just tighten each bolt all the way, usually in circular sequence, rather than tightening each one gradually in an opposite sequence.
So you should buy a torque wrench, jack the car up so that the wheel is off the ground and do it properly yourself. During braking, a lot of the heat generated on the rotors is conducted to the wheel. This causes expansion of the metal and if the wheel bolts are uevenly torqued, there will be uneven expansion of the wheel that is in contact with the hub, leading to warping.
Hope this is helpful.

GomerPyle

3rd that. Aluminum and steel have different expansions rates in addition to galvanic corrosion (i.e. you alloy wheel will speed up the rusting process of the steel hub).

Enough heat will do the trick, as the aluminum will expand more than the steel. However I don't like using heat as too much will damage other parts. Penetrating lube is another option. Let it sit for some time to work. Do not heat after using the lube unless you want a fire.

Kicking and beating on the wheels is not the best method. Impact loads on your parts are bad. Lots of slow and steady force like a press, or in the case of a wheel, a puller as posted earlier is the best option.

If you do not have a puller, one thing that I tried that worked on a stuck front wheel, was to leave the lug screws on finger tight, load the wheel, and turn the steering wheel back and forth slightly. It most closely simulates a puller force. I wouldn't recommend this method except when you have run out of options in your garage.

rs4-380

Anti seize works great (and is meant for this exact type of thing)