Hi all. Recently bought a 1.8t RS & tried to change the front wheels to the rear. The alloys are standard fit. Under the centre cap on the front wheels is a big nut which I do not have a spanner for. There isn't one in the tool kit, it must have been misplaced by the previous owner. Can anyone please tell me the size or name of the tool I need?

Thanks in advance.

The 'big nut' under the centre cap is nut that holds the drive shaft/CV joint to the hub. The wheels are held on by the five wheel nuts.

Thanks for the quick reply. I removed the 5 nuts but the wheel would not budge.I did give it some serious welly but it didnt give. Any ideas? Could it have rusted in place as there is a fair bit of rust in the centre cap?

lol

yea take that off and everything falls apart lol.

jus the 5 from the outside. 4 17mm iirc and 1 security one that should be in the boot

billy

mmmm

you might have a problem there mate, does it drive ok?

are the rims damaged?

even if they have never been off in its life it shouldnt be that hard

billy

Put the wheel nuts back on so that they are one or two turn loose from the wheel then carefully (because your on the jack) place a block of wood against the tyre on the inside rim and give it firm clout with a hammer rotate the wheel and repeat until the wheel is loose.

The problem will be corrosion of the alloy on the steel centre. Clean the alloy bore and steel centre with emery cloth and smear a light coating of copper ease grease on the two surfaces before refitting the wheels.

I usually take my wheels off once a year and do this because if you get a puncture in the middle of nowhere it's a hell of job to get the wheels off.

even on Wolf landrovers I have never had that much trouble gettin the rims off and they are ragged Xcountry and alsorts.

that is wierd to have that.

all the best mate

billy

Put the wheel nuts back on so that they are one or two turn loose from the wheel then carefully (because your on the jack) place a block of wood against the tyre on the inside rim and give it firm clout with a hammer rotate the wheel and repeat until the wheel is loose.

The problem will be corrosion of the alloy on the steel centre. Clean the alloy bore and steel centre with emery cloth and smear a light coating of copper ease grease on the two surfaces before refitting the wheels.

I usually take my wheels off once a year and do this because if you get a puncture in the middle of nowhere it's a hell of job to get the wheels off.

The other way is put the bolts back in as above, let the jack down and get it clear, and give the wheel a good hard shove sideways, and failing that, drive the car VERY SLOWLY a foot or two forwards and backwards. That works without having to belt the wheels and has never failed for me.

Then continue as above (i.e: Copperease).

And if trying as above fails finger tighten the nuts and dry steer it from left to right on tarmac,it's probably a mix of brake dust and rust from the hub, IMHO the bond that is formed between the hub and the wheel has scientists baffled

could be if the wheels have been refurbed a build up of powder coat had the same problem after mine got done.

Had the very same problem with the Outlaws Polo SE that had been dealer serviced and so never had the wheels removed in two years. I slackened the wheel bolts off a little and drove the car up the road and back a short distance. Braked quite hard a couple of times and even after that the wheel was still quite difficult to get off, but it did come off.

And if trying as above fails finger tighten the nuts and dry steer it from left to right on tarmac,it's probably a mix of brake dust and rust from the hub, IMHO the bond that is formed between the hub and the wheel has scientists baffled

It's galvanic corrosion mostly.

i always thought it was because of the diffrent heat properties of the two metals having diffrent expansion rates and contractions so the wheel literally stuck it's self to the hub!!!

i always thought it was because of the diffrent heat properties of the two metals having diffrent expansion rates and contractions so the wheel literally stuck it's self to the hub!!!

That probably doesn't help, but once you get the wheel off you can see the corrosion. It's best to wire brush it off and then copperease the seating surface.

Aftermarket wheels stick less as they usually have a plastic adaptor to adapt the centre bore to the hub.

It will be the reaction between the two metals that is causing the problem. In valve assemblies I used to be involved with, we used to Teflon coat or nickel flash certain surfaces to prevent them reacting with other steels.

Edited 18 June, 200917 yr by moley

Thanks for the replys guys. "Special tool...", silly me!!!

I blame it on a stressful day at work, SWMBO nagging & kids crying as soon as I got home!!!

There is a lot of rust there so have blasted it with WD40 & will try again tomorrow but some very useful advice from you guys .

One of mine was like that, bolts put on with an air tool and not taken off for years.

Fortunately I am massive so I crawled under the car (it was on the stands) and kicked it off.

Now all covered in copper grease.

The blessings of alloys with gaps big enough to service the brakes through.

Always insist the dealer removes and copper slips the wheels at every service.

Got home today, removed the last wheel nut and the wheel just dropped off on its own .

The rear wheel had plenty of grease on it but the front wheel had none. Put new copper grease on the front hub & all is well. Will look nice when I wash it tomorrow, weather permitting...

My wheels always stick. Piece of wood and a lump hammer, job done.

In all seriousness if you looking at unbolting a driveshaft to remove a wheel then I would sugest taking your car somewhere to have them swapped.

You talents obviously lie elsewhere.

yeah i agree lol :rofl:

Thanks for the vote of confidence Lummox! Like I said earlier, nagging from SWIMBO forced me to run to my car with a clouded head. All done now, car looks mint after a wash & some TLC.