Help me pick out tools for removing wheels.

I have a Makita cordless impact 1/2" drive. Lifesaver! Plus being cordless it goes in the truck every time we use the boat. I could almost give those NASCAR boys a run for the money changing a flat tire on the boat trailer. HF impact sockets with tape on outside work very well.
 
.And yeah, I hear you on the overtorqued lugs, I once snapped one clean off with a breaker bar (on the Tahoe).

Back in the day, I saw this situation present itself dozens of times. I`d teach my techs to recognize when they had a nut that wasn`t moving and stop immediately. It then become a situation where you had to educate the customer that this problem happened when the nut was being put on and not as it is being taken off. Hopefully it wasn`t your team that had the wheel off last and to be fair, all the customer knows is that there car didn`t have a broken stud when they drove it in. We, like many shops ate plenty of these jobs even though the problem wasn`t our fault. Unfortunately it`s always the poor "next guy" that gets blamed when all he`s trying to do is turn a nut off. The secret was to let the customer decide what they want you to do with a frozen lug nut. Of course they want it fixed but you don`t end up taking a rotor or hub off, having it be your call and replacing a stud at no charge while doing a free brake check or tire rotation. Some studs are quite simple to replace others not so much, you don`t want to eat these unless you have to and no big deal if you`re doing a brake job or suspension work.
 
GearHead_1- I sure take complete repsonsibility for snapping it off, but not for it being overly tight (the local Dealership touched it last). In my defense I`ll say that it was easier to do that I would`ve expected. Not sure if I would`ve let the Dealer handle it anyhow as I didn`t trust them all that much at the time, with reason! They did take care of replacing the stud and nut and managed to do so without chipping the paint I`d so meticulously applied to the drums or somehow damaging the wheel. Had they tried to remove it I bet anything I would`ve had to have the wheel refinished or something.

(They since hired a new Tech whose wife drives a GMT400 SUV nearly identical to mine; no more problems there.)
 
One tool I see "missing" is some type of breaker-bar for removing rusted-on rims from the rotor/drum. I`ve used a brake tool that looks like a round tapered pry bar with a small crescent-shaped hammer head that I could use like a wedge to get between the rim and rotor mounting face and pry it off. Hitting it with a rubber-faced hammer was useless. I also used some type of thread rust solvent (Liquid Wrench) to loosen/dissolve the corrosion to aid in getting rusted-on wheels/rims off of rotors/drums. I then follow with a thin coating of axle/bearing grease applied on the rim mounting surfaces to prevent this from happening in the future. Here in the upper Midwest, this is a common problem because of:
1) Use of salt to melt snow/ice on roads in the winter; and
2) Vehicle owners who may rotate tires/wheels once every three years due to few miles they drive in a year to necessitate tire rotation, OR
3) Vehicle owners who NEVER rotate tires because they choose not to due to ignorance or lack of financial resources.
Many vehicle owners find this out the hard way when they suffer a flat tire for whatever reason at the most inopportune time. (Usually in the winter in sub-zero weather because the owner NEVER checks their tire pressure, which can vary by 1 PSI per every 10°F in ambient temperature. I see this a lot in which tires look like they are about to fall off a rim, and it will when they turn a sharp corner.)

That leads in to another question:
Should you apply oil or thread ant-seize compound to wheel studs??? One way to know is to read the owner`s manual. Most manufacturer`s will say NOT to do this.
I tend to disagree for the reasons mentioned above, BUT I do know that use of either oil or anti-seize compound WILL affect the torque reading of wheel lug nuts when tightened, as most manufacturers take their measurements or calculations based on dry (un-lubricated) studs and lugs nuts because they are new.

I also know that those who have aluminum or alloy wheels are advised to check the lug tightness after about 50-100 miles of driving if the wheels have been removed for whatever reason (new tire installation on an original/tire rotation/ or re-installation of a wheel after a flat tire repair). If you, again, check the owner`s manual , you`ll find information verifying if this needs to be done. I only say this because I found out the hard way on my Subaru Outback with aluminum rims after having the tires rotated and I could feel a vibration in the front end through the steering wheel. Even using the wheel lug wrench that came with the car is an easy way to check it, and tightening by hand and guessing at the torque is better than having lug nuts left loose, as it will cause the rim countersunk edge of the clearance hole that the lug nut mounts against to become egg-shaped or develop stress-cracks around them, because aluminum alloy wheels is a "soft" material, and with this vibration , if allowed to continue for too long, will ruin the rim.
 
Lonnie- I gotta admit that I lube my lugs regardless of what the FSM/etc. says. Simply necessary in my area on the winter-drivers and my experience with those has carried over to the garage queens. I do adjust the torque specs down a bit to avoid over-tightening and after what...40 years of frequent on/off`s I`ve never had any problems at all.

I`ve only had trouble getting a wheel off when doing a new-to-me vehicle (dead-blow hammer instead of prying is how I do it) and I resolve that right away so I don`t have to deal with it again (imagine..wife changing a flat, can`t have issues). But yeah, good point...working on other people`s vehicles would probably make that a frequent issue.

And yeah, the under-inflation issue simply can`t be overstated IMO. Guess why so many modern vehicles roll over so often....the best pressures for my vehicles wear the tires fast and unevenly, but provide good safe handling for the moments where that`s all that matters.
 
I tend to agree with Accumulator. I have been removing wheels for 55 years. I just use a breaker bar and deep well socket. Once the nuts are lose I just remove the socket and spin the nuts off bu hand (and the socket). Same as putting the nuts back on. I don`t use a torque wrench. Not recommending others neglect the TW though. I go around the wheel maybe half a dozen times to get them all equal. Merely my method..not for everyone. I also use two scissor jacks beside each other (for safety). Most jacks that come with vehicles are good for any vehicle.
 
I don`t use a torque wrench. Not recommending others neglect the TW though..

Even after a lifetime of doing this stuff, I still can`t get close enough without the TW, not that I really think that being off a few ft/lbs. oughta be all that critical.
 
Even after a lifetime of doing this stuff, I still can`t get close enough without the TW, not that I really think that being off a few ft/lbs. oughta be all that critical.
Yea..I am not saying I can get an exact torque but anythng between 75 ft pounds and 100+ ft. lbs will be fine. I just try to get all lugs the same by keeping the wrench at the same angle. Like I said..not recommending it for others.
 
adc100- Copy that, hope I didn`t sound all critical. Hey, I`ve known machinists (well...elderly machinists ;) ) who could do stuff with their bare hand that most people can`t do with a micrometer.
 
adc100- Copy that, hope I didn`t sound all critical. Hey, I`ve known machinists (well...elderly machinists ;) ) who could do stuff with their bare hand that most people can`t do with a micrometer.
Naw..not at all. Yes..I was a maintenance supervisor and I have the utmost respect for a good machinist.
 
Back
Top