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Mounted wrong size wheels - they’re now permanently stuck to the car. Disaster [resolved]
- Thread starter martyb126
- Start date
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
n2fooz
Member
At this point my money is on galling between the aluminum wheel and the hub. If I'm correct, good luck. 
Funny you should say that! This is exactly what I did this evening in a large empty parking lot with one wheel. I tried slowly moving the car with the lugs loose many times, but that didn’t work, so I stepped it up. Rapidly swerving back and forth going up to 30mph and corners going ~20. Even ran over some pot holes for good measure.
Nothing.
I feel like I may have a bit more wiggle in the one wheel I’ve been focusing on, but that makes me think there may be something built up around the hub that is catching somewhere.
This is about the point where I throw in the towel. I have a couple shops willing to take a shot after the holiday, but I’m pretty confident at this point that the wheels will come off by cutting/drilling/breaking them off with hopefully limited damage to the hub and car. Still trying to decide if I should try this myself or find someone willing (easier said than done).
Hi @martyb126
Sasha here - this thread is interesting, and you basically have pressed the wheel on with the lug nuts, and now need a press stronger than that to get it off. A pry bar won't do anything compared to a lug nut at 130lb-ft.
I'm sorry for not fully reading this thread, but Jesse told me about it and I wanted to make a suggestion for you.
Please try the following:
You'll need to get the car on jack stands, and you'll need a hydraulic floor jack and some 2x6's and a 4x4 or 6x6
Also, since the jack will be on its side it will stop working at some point when it ingests air, so you may need to bleed the jack at some point.
Good luck, I think this method might work for you!
Sasha here - this thread is interesting, and you basically have pressed the wheel on with the lug nuts, and now need a press stronger than that to get it off. A pry bar won't do anything compared to a lug nut at 130lb-ft.
I'm sorry for not fully reading this thread, but Jesse told me about it and I wanted to make a suggestion for you.
Please try the following:
You'll need to get the car on jack stands, and you'll need a hydraulic floor jack and some 2x6's and a 4x4 or 6x6
- Jack the front of the car up and put it on jack stands, or use a hoist etc.
- loosen the lug-nuts exactly 3 turns from being seated on the wheel
- Put a 6x6 board against each tire, with one hydraulic jack on its side against the board, and the 4x4 or 6x6 post cut to length against a 2x6 on the other side tire.
- Give the jack a few pumps to take up the slack in the suspension and tires, and when you feel some resistance check the lug nuts, if the wheel moves you'll know by seeing a gap between the wheel and the rotor at the bottom, or by checking how many turns the lug nut takes to seat on the wheel again.
- Once the wheel moves, release the jack and turn both wheels and repeat the process.
- Do this back and forth to evenly pull the wheels off, loosening the lug nuts slightly as you go.
- Put the front down, put the rear on stands and repeat for the rear
Also, since the jack will be on its side it will stop working at some point when it ingests air, so you may need to bleed the jack at some point.
Good luck, I think this method might work for you!
Occhis
Member
Gauss Guzzler
Safety Score = 42
You're so Canadian
Just as the dually truck guys. This is common practice.
OP needs a bigger hammer. I have used this hammer to remove stuck wheels before. Hasn't let me down.
Occhis
Member
If all that fails try removing the hub/rotor/caliper/wheel as a unit and take it to a shop that has like a 50 ton press.
Don’t forget axle, haven’t seen a 32mm socket fit inside the bore of most wheels. Quite possibly other suspension components, assuming you wouldn’t be able to undo their knuckle side mounting bolts/nuts.
Make this (fix) someone else’s problem. Shops would be better equipped to handle this disassembly fun.
Occhis
Member
Where’s your sense of adventure? Sounds like OP does some wrenching or he wouldn’t be messing with it al all. Access to the hub bolts might be tight with the wheel on, but otherwise seems totally doable.
I assume that was in jest. The adventure sounds fun, but adding extra steps only to end up at a point where it needs to be reassembled to reach a shop that will have to do the same (and potentially more) work ... seems redundant. I'm 100% rooting for the OP to get his car back to how it was prior to these wheels.
Hub bolts won't be the issue. The issue will be the 32mm nut that holds the axle through the wheel bearing&spindle, which is likely obscured by the wheel that's stuck on each corner. Depending on the size of the wheels, the (front) lower control arm balljoint nuts might be an issue to undo.
I have no horse in this race, curious to see what the wheel and hub look like, but no stake in this game. However, I want to buy the impact wrench that (potentially) put a wheel with a smaller hub bore on a larger bearing and got it to seat, but that's because I enjoy having a silly tool collection.
At this point, I would sit on a stool by the tire with a hacksaw and angle grinder, cut off the tire and just separate the rim into two halves. Pry them apart and see what caused it to stick. You're not reusing them anyway. Least damage to the rest of the car. Maybe easier to cut the spokes first, I think that was suggested before.
If there's a good reason that this is stupid or dangerous, then don't do it. WDIK
If there's a good reason that this is stupid or dangerous, then don't do it. WDIK
This is my likely next step. I'm at a standstill due to the holiday, but will enjoy the mental break from this damn car for a week. I am scheduled for a shop to give it a shot towards the end of the month, but if that doesn't work, someone will likely be cutting at least 1 wheel off. My two hesitations are:
- Damaging the hub or car
- Once a wheel comes off there will be something else uncovered that needs to be repaired by someone else that limits the ability to put the new wheel on and the car is stuck in my garage with 3 wheels
I also like Sasha's idea, but at this point would require me the purchase of jack stands and a bottle jack. I also have placed a significant amount of force on the wheels with the gear puller and BFH and didn't get much movement, so I'm worried this technique will just bend something that shouldn't be bent. If I had a way to apply even force around the whole wheel, I think it may work, but short of designing some U-shaped or H-shaped contraption to disperse the pressure, I can't think of a way.
I’m another “just here to root for you” lurker but had a thought.
What about a lally column? Get the car up on jack stands on one side or another, position the column horizontally between wheels and keep tightening it to push the wheels apart from each other? Something like this: Amazon.com
It’s a thought. No idea if there’s clearance underneath the vehicle, but maybe?
This has to be the most fascinating thread on TMC in a very long time.
Good luck!!
What about a lally column? Get the car up on jack stands on one side or another, position the column horizontally between wheels and keep tightening it to push the wheels apart from each other? Something like this: Amazon.com
It’s a thought. No idea if there’s clearance underneath the vehicle, but maybe?
This has to be the most fascinating thread on TMC in a very long time.
Good luck!!
@martyb126 - Just an FYI, but the hubs on the Model 3 are cheap and easy to replace. Like $100 per side and under 1 hour of labor. This includes the bearings and everything. So I wouldn't worry about that too much.
Occhis
Member
The cap that covers the axle nut is easily removed. It’s just clipped into the wheel. The ball joints do not need to be disconnected to remove the hub from the wheel carrier once the 4 hub/wheel bearing bolts are removed from the back side of the wheel carrier. Remove axle nut, caliper mounting bolts, hub bolts and brake line. Loosen the axle spline from the hub and the whole assembly comes separated from the wheel carrier.
As you can see in the attached link, the axle nut is removed while the wheel is on the ground. Torque value on that nut is 245NM!
As you can see in the attached link, the axle nut is removed while the wheel is on the ground. Torque value on that nut is 245NM!
A 32mm socket does fit through the EV01 center hole, so, undoing the axle nut should be very doable.
