I saw a mention on here a while ago of a extended wheel nut type thing that you screw in and then hang the wheel on it to support it while you fit the wheel nuts.

Anyone remember it? It was on Ebay I believe.

When swapping the wheels over yesterday it would have helped to hold the wheel in place rather than using your shoulder and both hands and yearning for a third hand to screw the nuts in.

This is a brilliant gizmo. I too have been trying to find it.Thanks for asking

Here you go - fits Yeti!

Here you go - fits Yeti!

That's the one!!!!! :thumbup:

Very much obliged. Thanks. (I take it you've got one MM ???)

If you have access to an older BMW tool kit there's one in there.

wheelpin locator / spark plug box spanner tool ..

I have indeed, Stan - bought for one of my Golfs - most useful!

I have indeed, Stan - bought for one of my Golfs - most useful!

Just went back to the advert and saw his recommendation to get two as it makes fitting easier still. Gullible old me....yup, I've ordered another to go with the first. Won't actually be able to report back as I've done them now - but in 5 or 6 months time I'll know.

(Whispers in hushed tones ......I actually feel a bit smug having got the winter tyres on now....but keep it under your hat - not everyone agrees)

Edited 18 October, 201114 yr by oldstan

Thanks Robin. I have been very daring and only bought one.

I must say that today when I fitted my steel wheels, I didn't have a problem. I used my 2 tonne halfrauds trolley jack and found them very easy to fit, but my drive is level, it was sunny but very windy. Maybe if the conditions were worse then it would have not been so easy. I know I struggled in the past with some car wheels.

Here you go - fits Yeti!

Arrived today!!!!!

Excellent recommendation. Thanks muchly.

What I found when the swapping wheels (without the benefit of the aforementioned) was that the tapered flange upon which the wheel sits, just holds it but you only have to touch the tyre and it's off and you can't, so easily, spin the wheel round to align the holes without it dropping off.... and they do have to align exactly....so I'm sure, for the sake of a few quid, they'll make things easier - given that we're gonna do it twice a year.

Being a mean Scot I only bought one. Managed fine although two would certainly make things easier. :yes:

Got a shock when I took off the original Skoda wheels..........made in Turkey.

All you wheelers and dealers, please remember to put some anti-seize on the center locating hub when you change wheels.

All you wheelers and dealers, please remember to put some anti-seize on the center locating hub when you change wheels.

Indeed. A thin coat of copper grease on mating surfaces was duly applied. Good reminder though.

Being a mean Scot I only bought one. Managed fine although two would certainly make things easier. :yes:

If you were a proper mean scot, you would have bought two M14 x 1.5 x 70mm bolts from your local fixings / fastenings shop, cut the heads off and cut a slot in the end for screwdriver £3.00 job done......

Mine arrive on Friday!!

If you were a proper mean scot, you would have bought two M14 x 1.5 x 70mm bolts from your local fixings / fastenings shop, cut the heads off and cut a slot in the end for screwdriver £3.00 job done......

Mine arrive on Friday!!

Wrong!!

A true Scot (or Cardiganshire man) would have SCROUNGED the relevant bolts, whilst a Scouser would have nicked them!

I'll get my coat.

Indeed. A thin coat of copper grease on mating surfaces was duly applied. Good reminder though.

This always worries me when I read people putting anything on the "mating surfaces" as some pople take this quite literally

All you need is a very thin smear of copper slip on the chamfered centre bore hole:

Seven Pounds Eighty Nine pence, that's a weeks wages when I left school!

Wheel stud

£2.82p for a long one Ebay search "m14 stud", little ones are cheaper £1.73p post free you can have two.

This always worries me when I read people putting anything on the "mating surfaces" as some pople take this quite literally

All you need is a very thin smear of copper slip on the chamfered centre bore hole:

Today I removed all 4 wheels from my brand new Hyundai to fit mudflaps. The surface of the rear drums (facing out, in contact with the wheels) was quite thick red rust, as was the tapered/chamfered flange highlighted in the photo. There's no way I was going to replace the wheels without a coat of Copper Grease on the surface. In a year or so's time I can imagine a sledgehammer being needed to part the wheel from the drum.

Putting any kind of grease/copper slip on the mating faces (where the bolts are) can actually make the wheels work loose as all you are doing is compressing the grease and not bolting the wheels up to the hubs.

A better solution is to clean the hubs from rust and give them a couple of coats of spray paint to help prevent the rust coming back.

...using the center bearing for locating the wheel and a well positioned knee has been enough for me when changing wheels the latest 15 years or so...

Putting any kind of grease/copper slip on the mating faces (where the bolts are) can actually make the wheels work loose as all you are doing is compressing the grease and not bolting the wheels up to the hubs.

A better solution is to clean the hubs from rust and give them a couple of coats of spray paint to help prevent the rust coming back.

Hi Gismo

Sorry but I must disagree. Having been stuck with a puncture in the middle of nowhere and not able to get the wheel off because the two dissimilar metals had (as the mechanic called it) "Grown together". Our car at the time was a Mercedes and the wheel on the Merc. was incredibly hard to remove! The guy even carried a very large copper mallet (not a hammer) with special hide covers to prevent damage to the wheel, and it still took an inordinate amount of effort to get the wheel off!!!

It is apparently a very common occurrence with alloy wheels and the Mercedes mechanic stated that applying a thin smear of copper ease / grease is accepted common practise in the motor trade. I know that when I asked our supplying dealer if they would do it before I picked up our new Yeti. He stated they always make sure it is done on the PDI and each service to obviate this problem.

I believe that the hub mates so closely to the wheel so that it runs perfectly true, and that the bolts are there merely to hold it in that position and prevent it rotating on the hub. So the application of a THIN smear of copper ease has no detrimental effect whatsoever.

Sorry to disagree with you but this reply is sent in the hope it may enlighten those who have not experienced this phenomenon, and avoid them, and you, from having to call out breakdown / rescue services on a cold wet winter moor at night. Stay safe..............Tony

(Could you hear the Hound of The Baskervilles in that last sentence? AWOOOO)

Edited 20 October, 201114 yr by Great Yeti

Wrong!!

A true Scot (or Cardiganshire man) would have SCROUNGED the relevant bolts, whilst a Scouser would have nicked them!

I'll get my coat.

Ah yes the scousers ay ay ay

A ten minute whizz round the interweb shows a virtually 100% consensus in favour of a smear of copper grease on the surfaces I referred to and an equally vocal response from people who've had a puncture (sometimes in the middle of nowhere / pouring rain / etc. etc.....) and not been able to remove the wheel and called for assistance - and the assistance came along with a large mallet to whack the wheel off. That's not to say that they were all right - they could all be wrong. When I speak to the garage next time I'll check with them.

To be honest, I've never had a problem getting wheels off - but then I've rarely had to remove the wheels due to A a lack of punctures and B the garage, not me, take my wheels off during servicing, so I don't get to see what's there and C... over the years, most of the cars I've had were fitted with steel wheels, which I prefer. Nowadays, there's little choice - you almost always have to have alloys. It's really only the fact that I was faced with the rust on such a new car that prompted me to take measures to stop the wheels from sticking.

Re. 15 years of using the knee.....that's fine. It just happened that I DID find it awkward so ventured to do something to make life easier....I can afford £15 for two metal pins that will make the replacement easy for me.

Edited 20 October, 201114 yr by oldstan

Alloy wheels do indeed corrode onto steel hubs due to the two different metals reacting agains one another.

However it is only the centre bore that corrodes and therefore needs the copper slip.

I have yet to find any experienced mechanic who thinks copper slip on the mating FACES is a good idea.

Alloy wheels do indeed corrode onto steel hubs due to the two different metals reacting agains one another.

However it is only the centre bore that corrodes and therefore needs the copper slip.

I have yet to find any experienced mechanic who thinks copper slip on the mating FACES is a good idea.

Well, you'd meet some in both (long established and well respected) garages in my town. I just went to both and both routinely apply a film of copper grease to the surfaces in question to stop the wheels sticking. Hardly a scientific survey...just saying what they've told me this morning.