OK...
So I decided to be good and rotate my tires today, 14 months and 21,000 miles is a bit long but better late than never. Front drivers side comes off fine, spare on... to the rear passenger side.

I cannot get that tire to come off?? Lug nuts off fine but it just seems glued on?? Drivers rear too. I ended up swapping the front tires side to side. They were a little stuck on, but a little persuasion popped them off. Rears won't budge.

Am I missing something? It's just 10 lugs holding them on... I tried e-brake off. I even eased it off the jack and put full weight on it without the lugs. Now I'm wondering what I'd do if I got a rear flat! Gotta figure this out.

 

Welcome to salt. Give them a spray with PB Blaster. Let it sit for a bit, and then go to whackin. I have good luck by sitting down and giving the wheel a good kick with both feet. Still won't be easy, but they will come loose.

Clean everything up with crocus cloth and put another coat of PB on, makes it easier next time.

Ed

 

Who carries that blaster stuff?
Any concerns about getting it on the brakes?

I was pretty sure the wheel had just seized up and stuck - the fronts were sticky but they came off and the back looked gunked. Some sort of penetrating solvent sound smart. I was thinking some way of vibrating it might break it loose too. Well... I'm too annoyed to try any more today. Next weekend.

THANKS for the quick answer. I thought I was going nuts. I've changed tires for years and never had this problem.

 

Give the tire a good smack or two with a BFH!!!!

 

Just about any name brand parts store or some Walmart's carry PB Blaster. Next to a pair of vise grips and a roll of duct tape, it's the best tool in the tool box.

If you get any on the brakes, while you have the wheel off, use brake cleaner to get it off. Never had a problem doing it that way.

Don't feel too bad about the wheel. Replaced a broken axle for the neighbor on his Ford 600. Took most of an entire evening to get the duals off that thing. Ended up using a 4x4 on the rim and hitting it with a 16 pd sledge hammer LOTS of times.

Ed

 

Yes sir, a 16lb BFH!!! That will work most every time!!!!!

 

I whacked it a few times with a 10 #er and got a 2x6 between it and the leaf spring.
With 3 wheels on the ground I guess it's pretty stable, but I didn't really feel comfy getting right in there with the tire and pulling hard with it on a bottle jack.

Hit it with solvent next weekend, I like that idea.

 

While your at the parts store grab yourself some antisieze when you buy the blaster. clean up the hub where the wheel makes contact and apply a light coat to all four wheels. Doe this every time you rotate. You thank yourself when you get a flat on some back road or go to rotate them next time.

 

Here's an old trick that I learned at a tire store that I worked at when I was 18. And have been using for 25 years now. Break all the lugnuts free and back them off 4 to 6 turns. Throw the lug wrench in the truck and go for a rind! A short one!
Ok what you need to do is find a straight section of road that has like NO traffic on it. All it takes is like 10/15 MPH and then you do a wag the tail, whip the wheel left and right like you are trying to get the rear to fish tail. When you feel the rear end go loose (or hear it!) stop and tighten the lugs so as not to damage the rim's. I started doing this after knocking a 16.5 rim out of true from taking a sledge to it for 10 minutes. I know I know it sounds crazy, but boy does it work great!

Ken K

 

Kenny... that idea occured to me, actually. I just wasn't sure how loose to make the lugs.
I didn't want to get it too loose and wreck the rim.

 

I had to put my whole axle up in the air (both tires), get 'em spinning good and lock up the brakes, do it a couple of times and the inertia should do the trick.

 

If you have aluminum rims, the problem is most likely electralysis. I use PEPSI. Put it in a spray bottle, a get it all over where the wheels touch the hub and drum. Let it sit for about 10 mins., or so. Grab a sldge, and give it a good whack or 2.

Sounds crazy, but it works. There is enough acid in the pop, to soften that crap up.

 

Take your bottle jack and place the base of it up against the shock mount and the head of it on the rim. Works like a dream and save time and possible damage from driving with loose lugs.

 

Had a 1/2 ton same problem,tried the BFH and the blaster notta. The neighbor heard the choice words comming from the garage and gave me the sugg. to loosen the luggs and drive around the block SLOW! After bout an hour that was the only other choice it worked!

 

...oh so it's the aluminum and the steel doing chemical things together?
I hated chemistry... Now that bottle jack idea... I like mechanics.

Next weekend, soak it with something (pepsi, PB Blaster, wd40?) whack it a little, then try the bottle jack against the shock mount. I also like the idea of coating it with something to stop this in case of a roadside flat. I'm just concerned about whatever I use migrating onto the disk brakes...

thanks all for the advice and help! w/o this board I would have gone to sleep thinking I had gotten too inept to change a tire! (well... I guess I am that inept - at least now I understand what happened)