Wheel stuck on the X5

[Crowz]

I turned off the dsc and did some niiice power slides and I did manage to cause the lug bolts to get tight. At that point I was figuring I was home free.

Wrong.

It turned the wheel aka got it off center of the lugs is why the bolts got tight. Its still flush against the hub.

So the common bonding the wheels do all the time should be broke free at least but I still haven't got the wheel off any

Will keep hammering on it for a bit now and see what gives, me or it.

[Crowz]

Ok I just called a friend and ordered up a football player. When he gets here maybe he can hammer it off

Cause my sitting at a computer all the time self sure can't.

[RFaber]

I have had this happen a few times, (i too have access to heavy machinery and show considerable restraint in NOT using it! lol)
I have found that if i remove the lug bolts, jack up the wheel i want to remove, brace and block the truck with jackstands / stacks of lumber / logs etc. then with the wheel approx .5-1 inch off the ground, i lay a 4x4 post (8 ft long) against the back side of the wheel, making contact with the tire. Then Ill walk over to the other side of the truck and with my 16lb sledge hammer, beat the end of the post, like it owes me money! a few good whacks , rotate the tire 90 degrees, then do it again. rarely does it take more than a few good whacks. once you get it off, you'd be smart to dust/sand off the corrosion on the hub face, and the wheel and when you reinstall the wheel, use a bit of anti seize on the hub flange. good luck!

[oldskewel]

Good luck, and keep us posted Crowz. Have you considered a reality show based on experiences with your x5 and your driveway? I'd get cable just to watch that.

P.S. Just my humble opinion, but I'd say that if you've broken it free (when the lug bolts got tight from the sweet power slides), then I'd stop the hammering and go for more of a jacking/pulling smooth force. Hoping to avoid damage. But that's just me, and there is NO WAY I'd ever get my own show, in fact, I hardly ever use dynamite as a power tool.

P.P.S. Are there any sweet jump ramps around there?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYdps2cQkic

[amancuso]

That's crazy! Let us know what finally does it.

[Crowz]

Just got back inside.

Two football players, porta power aka jaws of life and sledge hammers vs bmw.

BMW won.....

Never got the wheel off. I even had the tire pressed in 2 inches more than the outer rim (luckily it didn't explosively break the bead) with the porta power. Nothing.

The wheel will turn 1 mm right and left tops but will not come off the hub at all. It wont wiggle or wobble it just turns that much. It seems like its hitting something on the hub turning wise. This is with the lug bolts fully removed. So I guess there is an embossment on the hub itself. Thought it was completely smooth but I guess not.

Anyways besides that minor bit of turn which I accomplished with the power stopping slamming on the brakes I accomplished NOTHING.

Only option left is buy a new wheel and then destroy the old one to get it off at this point.

I don't see anything else I can do.

[davintosh]

Looks like you've got a stubborn one. I'd start liberally applying some kind of penetrating oil (Liquid Wrench is my fave, but PB Blaster is another good one) to the center of the wheel over the next 24-48 hours, then have at it again. The fact that you can rotate the wheel a little bit is a sign that the penetrant will work its way in between the hub and wheel, and hopefully dissolve some of the corrosion that's holding them together.

I've always had decent success with the driving with loose lug bolts method, but I sure like RFaber's sledgehammer idea; might have to give that a shot next time!

[Crowz]

Umm its not corrosion. I flayed the hub end when I was trying to hammer the cv axle out. I had to dremel it down some to get the wheel even to start and I used the lug bolts to force the wheel on. I created my own problem by doing this. There isn't any corrosion to remove. Its nice and clean just mushroomed up so much I cant get the wheel back off.

[Crowz]

So far this tool looks like my best bet.

https://www.harborfreight.com/automo...ler-66657.html

I imagine it will destroy the wheel but unless someone has a suggestion I think I'm going to buy this thing and try it.

[andrewwynn]

https://m.harborfreight.com/3-jaw-pi...ller-4876.html

This is the idea of what I've been describing. There is a little ridge inside the center of the wheel where this tool can grab.

You should be able to see the mushroomed end of the hub. Might it be possible to get a tool in to cut off that mushroomed hub, hopeful on a drill so a motor can be used?

What style wheels do you have?

I just realized another way or two you can use to get this sucker off:

Especially if you are replacing rotors:

If you put the largest T nut you can find into a piece of plywood and put that between the spokes and a long bolt that will press on the rotor. Make 3 of the jigs and tighten those bolts until it pops off. You can put a couple T nuts in each board to increase the force. Hopefully you can find a 1/2" T nut. If you have 5 spoke wheels like me, I would put two jigs with 1 T nut on one side of the wheel and one jig with 2 T nuts on the other side so there is a balance of force.

You can generate at least 2-3000# of force this way. Spray some pb blaster or liquid wrench into the hub as well. You can make one jig for each spoke to apply even pressure and avoid damage to the rim. Hopefully you already are planning to replace the rotor as this method will damage the router

Grease the bolts through the T nuts! Count the turns eg: 1 full turn of bolt going clockwise. Keep a couple lugs loose to catch the wheel lest it knock you across the room when it finally pops off.

The key ingredient to this solution is you are not putting force on the bearing.

Last ditch effort (destructive to rim):

1) confirm you can turn the wheel with lugs out

2) line up lugs with hub

3) tap a larger size thread into the wheel say 16mm thread (fine pitch)

4) turn wheel half way between lug holes.

5) taper the ends of the new 16mm bolts (important step)

6) use at least 3 bolts and slowly take turns turning them in.

7) stand aside as this method no lug bolt to catch the wheel when it pops off.

Technically if you can find just the right size tap, it won't even make the lug holes bigger and will be non destructive to the wheel!

I can try to estimate the ideal size tap based on 14mm lug bolt.

My thread reference app shows 0.6693" loose fit for 14mm bolt so that should be very close to the size of the hole in the wheel. 0.63 normal fit.

So I was off a bit on the bolt size needed but an M18-1.0 fine pitch is matched to a 0.6693" hole for tap.

You would want to use a bottom tap since you will only have 2-3 mm room to work with past the bottom of the hole.

Aluminum rim will make for relatively easy tap. As mentioned you wouldn't really be enlarging the hole much I think you may have enough left the lug bolts will still hold and the wheel would survive.

This method could easily apply more than the weight of the x5 on the wheel. It will come off without a doubt. Taper the bolts! Mushroom the bolt you won't get it out! (Don't ask how I know this!)