Swopped the winter tyres and winter alloys for the summers last week and got quite a fright when the wheels appeared to be stuck fast to the hubs - expletives might have been exchanged heavenwards , sorry! Never had this before (the sticking not the expletives ), and it took some hefty hand punches to alternative sides of each tyre wall to loosen them which I was very wary of as I was using the standard jack. Without wanting to open the proverbial can, I'd be interested in further ideas about the use of grease on the hubs or not.

Also, all my other cars had wheel nuts instead of wheel bolts which made relocating the wheels back onto the hubs much easier. With the present setup I find I'm forced to sidle-up to the hub while holding the wheel plus tyre up to, and flush with, the hub in one hand, while having a wheel bolt (held in a socket plus extension, as my meaty little fingers find the alloy bolt recesses too deep to ensure a decent purchase and quick initial finger tightening) ready in the other hand. All-in-all a bit of a chew, even if I got faster with the inevitable practise and can save on gym fees for that evening. Any tips on how to do this procedure better/quicker/safer (other than resorting to paying someone else to do it ) would also be much welcomed.

No problems with the locking wheel nut and 120 nm torquing though (well not yet anyway).

Ooopnorth:

You may find a guide pin useful, http://www.ebay.com/itm/M14x1-5-stainless-steel-lug-bolt-guide-VW-Audi-Porsche-/230524137567?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item35ac4f305f

I line up the wheel bolt holes with the hub by eye. Then I lift the wheel onto the hub and put a foot against the wheel at the bottom to stop it falling off. I the rotate the wheel until I see the bolt holes and the use the aforementioned socket & extension to do up one bolt finger tight. Never had any problems.

I haven't had a car with studs for a very long time. I have forgotten the last car that had them.

A TapaTalk enabled phone was used to write this...

My mate told me 120Nm was pretty much the torque you generally tighten to if using a two handed wrench thing (4 sizes one) and do up just by hand, not jumping on a handle. Sure enough, I have tested this and at least for me, the final "NNNN" tightening by hand was more or less 120Nm. I still use the wrench for checking of course.

Ooopnorth:

You may find a guide pin useful, http://www.ebay.com/...=item35ac4f305f

Can anyone confirm that the required size for a Yeti is M14x1.5 as there is some confusion on UK ebay sites.

M14x1.5 is the correct dimension for your yeti

Thanks a lot.

Ooopnorth:

You may find a guide pin useful, http://www.ebay.com/...=item35ac4f305f

Thanks 175GDY .

I took my wheels off last October to clean them and apply some wheel seal and again the other day to do the same so as they've been on my car a similar time this might help:

I smeared the face of the hub that marries up with the wheel with a very thin layer of copper grease as it doesn't run when the wheel gets hot from use of the brakes(loads available on ebay, though I think you can also get it from either tesco or asda), then torqued the bolts to 120Nm, but I didn't put and grease on the bolt threads. When I took my wheels off the other day they came off without any problem. I've also bought an alignment tool as per below, but haven't used it yet

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330915694908?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_3130wt_1328

I have covered the tool with electrical tape to prevent it chipping any laquer off the alloy rim from the end of the thread all the way along the shaft, just past the end of it then smothed it over so when I put the rim on I won't get metal to metal contact. I used the same principle as rockhopper when I put them back on which works well, but 18" neptunes with 245/40 tyres arn't exactly light which is why I bougth the tool for next time!

A smidgin (tech term!) of coppaslip on the tip of bolt threads stops 'em seizing into the hubs with the winter salt spray penetration. But NOT on the conical face that mates onto the wheel itself, nor the full length of the thread. Those have to remain dry for the torque / friction to work properly, as said above. As always with coppaslip / copper grease around brakes - a little can be good - too much is BAD!

This.

Similarly, a fine smear on the hub / wheel spigot reduces the dissimilar metal corrosion (especially for alloys*) that leads to the wheel seizing stuck to the hub. (It's fine punching it with your foot from the far side to unseize it when the car's on a dry workshop floor and securely on axle stands (or even better rally-style stands positively located into the sills), but you don't want to be doing that on a motorway hard shoulder, at night, in the rain, with car on nowt but the basic emergency jack!!). As a BMW driver, I'm sure I've read somewhere about it being recommended for the wheel's mating face too, but would take that advisedly for the reasons suggested above.

That's what I always do. If you do encounter a stuck wheel, the thing to do is put the bolts back, slightly loose, and drive the car very gently a foot or two.

My trusty old torque wrench doesn't do Nm as its nearly as old as me! (A present from a grateful former girl friend for fixing her car regularly (she had a mini as well as a 1954 Riley RM!). The gf moved on many, many moons ago, but I got to keep the torque wrench! Wouldn't know where I'd be without it? My Haynes dust cover reckons 120Nm equates to approx. 90 lbs ft. (sounds about right for an alloy wheel & steel bolts?) As per the OP and several others - the important thing is not to OVER tighten them!

That sounds about right to me.

I took my wheels off last October to clean them and apply some wheel seal and again the other day to do the same so as they've been on my car a similar time this might help:

I smeared the face of the hub that marries up with the wheel with a very thin layer of copper grease as it doesn't run when the wheel gets hot from use of the brakes(loads available on ebay, though I think you can also get it from either tesco or asda), then torqued the bolts to 120Nm, but I didn't put and grease on the bolt threads. When I took my wheels off the other day they came off without any problem. I've also bought an alignment tool as per below, but haven't used it yet

http://www.ebay.co.u...#ht_3130wt_1328

I have covered the tool with electrical tape to prevent it chipping any laquer off the alloy rim from the end of the thread all the way along the shaft, just past the end of it then smothed it over so when I put the rim on I won't get metal to metal contact. I used the same principle as rockhopper when I put them back on which works well, but 18" neptunes with 245/40 tyres arn't exactly light which is why I bougth the tool for next time!

You might be better using heat shrink sleeving as electrical tape has a habit of unreeling and going very sticky.

Fred

You might be better using heat shrink sleeving as electrical tape has a habit of unreeling and going very sticky.

Fred

Thanks Fred, you're probably right, though I already had the electrical tape so I'll give it a go 1st but if anyone has got to go out and buy some the heat shrink would probably be the better option- I'm hoping mine should be ok as the rim will be dry when I take it off, but I'll look to get some heatshrink if the tape option ends up being carp!

Any ideas where I could get some from if the tape doesn't work?

cheers

Ade

You might be better using heat shrink sleeving as electrical tape has a habit of unreeling and going very sticky.

Fred

Hadn't thought of that and had been aware of the abrasive nature of the knurled grippy part of the item. I can see that you can get 12.7mm from Ebay. for a little over two pounds...is that the sort of size that would be OK?

I am thinking of leaving the winters on all year round next year, it's been snowing today.

It's May for goodness sake :think:

Thanks Fred, you're probably right, though I already had the electrical tape so I'll give it a go 1st but if anyone has got to go out and buy some the heat shrink would probably be the better option- I'm hoping mine should be ok as the rim will be dry when I take it off, but I'll look to get some heatshrink if the tape option ends up being carp!

Any ideas where I could get some from if the tape doesn't work?

cheers

Ade

http://www.maplin.co.uk/heat-shrinkable-sleeving-301

Fred

http://www.maplin.co...le-sleeving-301

Fred

You didn't say whether the 12.7mm size (as queried in my post above) would be the right size...... ?

You didn't say whether the 12.7mm size (as queried in my post above) would be the right size...... ?

I think it may do the trick but it will need stretching to make it fit over the tool.

14mm thread and 12.7 heat shrink. Not too far to stretch it.

I've done this by cutting the shrink to length and inserting two screwdrivers, one from each end, and pulling them apart.

It works on a 3 inch length.