it's a known fact that the sister has to wear the 'catherine bach / daisy duke' shorts.
so we'll give you a while to fix that situation. ... with pics, of course.

 

propane torch or heat gun on the back side of the rim closest to the center hole

 

Offroad dont forget. Have to keep the guarantee that they will come off.

Anyway. I found out about that kinda thing with my 4runner the first time i went to take off the tires. Just have to hit them around the outside is what i ended up discovering, and they come right off.

I was almost gonna say, wonder if that tire place torqued them too much. That might cause them to stick alot tighter i would think. But that cold theory is probably right.

 

Pfff, as if I would do that....sober


Wow... that sounds safe!!


My method was always to give the tire a roundhouse kick... Chuck Norris style baby!

 

apparently, you do not have Chuck Norris skills.
otherwise, the Universe would no longer exist.

 

they get 'heat welded' to the hubs. sledge and 2x4 works wonders but it takes a lot out of the person wielding the sledge. once you get them off, clean the mating surfaces well then brush on a coat of anti seize on the mating surface of the rim. dont forget to apply some to the inside of the centre hole of the rim as well.

you will also want to at least loosen the lugs and wiggle them to make sure they will come off when necessary maybe every 3-4 weeks. dont leave them too long or they will stick again.

lee

 

I heard Chuck Norris tears dissolve rust as well...

The steel wheels on my old '89 pickup were seized on like that as well. The tires were very worn and the truck barely had 100K on it, so my guess is no on had removed the wheels in 10+ yrs.

Heat, PB blaster and a sledge. Make sure to let the air out of the tire first, as if you're torching the wheel with the tire pressurized, it could very well blow up in your face. I've heard of this happening on mining trucks... if I recall correct, the welder's head and neck parted company.

 

And, to avoid the problem in the future, smear the mating surfaces with a light coat of grease - it's nowhere near as nasty to clean up as anti-seize!

 

i believe the problem is caused my dissimilar metal contact alum on steel

 

thanks ez, it slipped my mind when i was posting my reply. that is, indeed, the culprit.

lee

 

Update:

Still unable to get drivers side wheel off. The temp has warmed up to 37 (or was 37 this morning when I made another attempt, its hot out now), and was still unable to get the wheel off. Pounded it good. So i'm not sure if the whole "dissimilar coeff of thermal expansion" theory checks out.

Any chance the machining on a tacoma alloy is just too tight for a 86-95 pickup hub?? I'm going to purchase a heat gun and blast it tomorrow so hopefully that works.

 

Use the heat gun... Next time smear some grease on the contact surface.

 

i was actually more referring to galvanic corrosion although thermal expansion could play an part as well. i think i would use an high lift jack and some blocks of wood and see if you could get them apart.

 

Happens all the time at work (granted on a much bigger scale). 20 lb sledge wail the tire (not wheel), if that doesnt work get a "Gorrila bar" or the biggest pry bar you have and drive it in between the wheel and hub.

Coat with wd-40 or antiseeze when you go back.

 

had a mercedes that had this problem. i took a cats paw and pounded into the seam inbetween wheel and hub then hit the rim with a sledge and block of wood. came off in one hit on each wheel.

 

You could always loosen the lug nuts and attach a tow strap (not a recovery strap) to the wheel, get another vehicle to gently jerk the wheel off the hub. I would have the other vehicle go any faster than half walking speed.

 

or maybe a winch

but you could probably accomplish the same thing with a come-along...

 

I had the same problem. What I did was loosen the lug nuts half way and drove around the block. It broke the wheels free and they came right off (not when i was driving, lol). But before that i tried everything and none of it worked.

 

thanks for the advice. as for winching and come along- see first post.


i loosened the lugs on my way to work this after noon and just now, coming down a steep hill, I started slaloming hard and i felt it break free. too tired to f with it now but tomorrow morning i think ill be all set.

 

I didn't quite have the balls to say that, but it crossed my mind as something I would try in desperation. I can think of more than a couple things that could go wrong, but the redneck in my just might give it a go.