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What good would that do? They aren't holding the wheel on.Drill out the wheel studs.
Ya that’s my thought about the pry bar. I could maybe squeeze one in there, but the amount of force I’ve applied with BFH and the gear puller is almost certainly more than the small pry bar. I also don’t want to damage the hat.Man, this is some tough love. It'll probably be a legendary thread...
It's probably possible, but the width is like 2mm tops, 4 with a wiggle. If a BFH did not do it, the pry bar that thin will just snap. It's worth a try if OP has a supply of cheap pry bars. Try to get a 2-3 on opposite sides.
One more Q: when the wheel wiggles, does is do it around the same fixed axis or can it be wiggled around different axes?
I have two sets of these wheels and the metal is pretty soft (and the lug holes are very tight around 14mm studs). If it deformed somehow at the hub mounting surface, like you say you think it did, then it's probably wedged on the wheel studs. I wondering if some thin string saw can get to those studs through the 2-3 mm opening and cut them off.
For cutting aluminum with my table saw, I use the following lube (it's a huge tube that you cut into directly, then you can apply the exposed side to the saw blade just pushing it against the running saw).DO NOT USE A GRINDING WHEEL OF ANY KIND ON ALUMINUM. I REPEAT. DO NOT USE A GRINDING WHEEL ON ALUMINUM.
Aluminum will micro-melt onto the wheel and clog it. Continued use will heat it up. Loss of effectiveness will tend to lead to applying more pressure, leading to more heat. As this cycle continues, the wheel may explode from overheating.
If you want to cut it, use a saw blade or a cutting wheel made for aluminum and run it at a slower speed as high speeds can also melt the Aluminum clogging the teeth. A handheld bandsaw would probably be best, but that would be hard to apply to a wheel. A sabersaw or big saw at lower speeds with the right blade may work. Most don't have very good speed control though.
If you are trying to use an angle grinding tool with a cutting wheel (I wouldn't) hold the tool with 2 hands. I know 2 people who nearly cut off their thumbs with an angle grinder (They know each other and the second person didn't learn from there other). Definitely do not put your other hand on the part you are cutting.
I would say studs being deformed can be a very real possibility. Were you able to determine where the wheel is actually stuck on? I'm just thinking through the issue. The issue is the wheels you have did not account for the lip on the performance hubs. That lip should make it so the wheels would not be fully flush with the face of the hub. If that is the case, the load is then put on the studs (instead of via friction with the face of the hub). I can see that deforming the studs.Ya that’s my thought about the pry bar. I could maybe squeeze one in there, but the amount of force I’ve applied with BFH and the gear puller is almost certainly more than the small pry bar. I also don’t want to damage the hat.
It can wiggle on all axes. I hadn’t thought about the studs being deformed. It’s certainly possible, but I’ve threaded the lugs and off numerous times and haven’t faced any resistance, so my gut says the studs are in tact. Cutting them off would be great, but I don’t know that I’d have enough room to maneuver with my hands inside the wheel to get through all of them. I haven’t spent much time on the other 3 wheels, but I think their wiggle room is even less than te ~2mm I have on the one wheel I’ve been working on.
That's not exactly true. They aren't *not* holding the wheel on.What good would that do? They aren't holding the wheel on.
or one of the positionable head gearwrench style telescoping prybars.I was thinking if he could get an old fashioned j-shaped crowbar in there and hammer the “j” part with a hammer it could work. Go around the wheel in 3 or 4 different places gradually working it.
I've dealt with a lot of stuck wheels and never encountered one that I couldn't remove by hitting the inside of the wheel with a big sledgehammer and rotating the wheel in-between hits to "walk" it off the hub. You could try using ratchet straps and have them pull on the wheel itself while you go through that smashing process so that it doesn't just pivot in place.
This won't be a quick fix, but I think the logical solution without causing more damage is to remove the hubs with the car on a lift.
Unfortunately, the rotor and caliper will come too, but at least this gives you an opportunity to disassemble everything off the car and minimize damage.
Do you have a friend with a lift? Or maybe rent a garage not too far with one (and tools) for a week or two?This may be my next request if I can find a shop willing to do it.
Yeah, a ridge on the rim from the 70mm-wide hub step pressing pretty hard on it. And likely a corresponding groove in the spindle too.It almost seems like a ridge was formed between the hub centers that is locking it in but I can't think of a mechanism for such a thing to occur.
In the spindle? I think you might be conflating parts.Yeah, a ridge on the rim from the 70mm-wide hub step pressing pretty hard on it. And likely a corresponding groove in the spindle too.
What is a spindle pipe?Another option short of removing everything would be to undo the axle nut, push the axle inside, and cut off the spindle "pipe" from the inside with some dremel-type tool. It's pretty thick though.
The protruding part of the spindle does not carry any load with a properly mounted rim centered by lugs. Neither does the Performance step lip.The forces needed to deform that (non P fitment) wheel over a P’s ridge, would have to be insane when you think this wheel was designed to drive around on a 4k lb+ vehicle without fracturing / deforming to the stresses of this country’s roads.