Removing a car wheel

[Wowbagger]

Discovered a flat nearside front tyre. Have car jacked up and wheelnuts are removed, but wheel doesn't want to budge. Having RTFM, it seems the wheel should budge. I'm reluctant to wobble it around too much because the car is wobbling on the jack.

Bright ideas please!

[JonBuoy]

Put wheelnuts back on finger tight, lower jack, drive a bit.

[mcshroom]

<engineer mode>Hit it with a hammer</engineer mode>

[Basil]

Put wheelnuts back on finger tight, lower jack, drive a bit.

Yes

[Wobbly John]

Put wheelnuts back on finger tight, lower jack, drive a bit.

And when you feel it freeing off, you can take one wheel nut off each of the other wheels to replace those that have fallen off the stuck one while you have been driving.

Don't ask how I know this. 

It was actually a mate's car, and it was a proper motor engineer who forgot to tighten the wheel nuts up. The wheel nearly came off on the way home as we cornered at 50mph along a river bank. 

[Wowbagger]

Thanks. The "finger tight" trick worked a treat.

I have a busy day tomorrow and not having the car would have meant using the train/bike and not going to one of my schools. The forum has just saved me £45! 

Oh, and we tried hitting it with a mallet, but it just wasn't up to the job.

[Jaded]

Put wheelnuts back on finger tight, lower jack, drive a bit.

And when you feel it freeing off, you can take one wheel nut off each of the other wheels to replace those that have fallen off the stuck one while you have been driving.

Don't ask how I know this. 

It was actually a mate's car, and it was a proper motor engineer who forgot to tighten the wheel nuts up. The wheel nearly came off on the way home as we cornered at 50mph along a river bank. 

BTGTTS - except the wheel did come off.

Driving a friend's car from Pollock Halls to Valleyfield Street. Some pillock was flashing me as I turned into the street,  but I managed to park up OK, except one wheel fell off as I did. Luckily there was a garage in Valleyfield Street in those days and they lent me a roller jack thing. 

The friend had had a flat on the way to Edinburgh and put the spare on. Not well enough.

[PaulF]

Oh, and we tried hitting it with a mallet, but it just wasn't up to the job.

Think you're forgetting the first (or is it second?) rule of engineering: "If at first you don't succeed find a bigger hammer."

[Wobbly John]

Engineering is: Knowing where to hit things, and how hard. 

[Ningishzidda]

The difference between an Engineer and a professional sportsman is, a professional sportsman make something very difficult look easy.

[Jakob]

Oh, and we tried hitting it with a mallet, but it just wasn't up to the job.

Think you're forgetting the first (or is it second?) rule of engineering: "If at first you don't succeed find a bigger hammer."

When I was an apprentice, the rule was "Don't force it, use a bigger hammer'.

[Ningishzidda]

Oh, and we tried hitting it with a mallet, but it just wasn't up to the job.

Think you're forgetting the first (or is it second?) rule of engineering: "If at first you don't succeed find a bigger hammer."

When I was an apprentice, the rule was "Don't force it, use a bigger hammer'.

When I was an apprentice, the rule was "Don't force it, use a Brummegem screwdriver'.

[Basil]

When I was an apprentice, the rule was "Don't force it, use a Brummegem screwdriver'.

I've always used the expression "Birmingham Screwdriver" as well. 
Is that just a local expression, or is it more widespread?

[marcusjb]

When I was an apprentice, the rule was "Don't force it, use a Brummegem screwdriver'.

I've always used the expression "Birmingham Screwdriver" as well. 
Is that just a local expression, or is it more widespread?

I've always known it as a Manchester Screwdriver. Though I was born in Manchester, my professional life started on the other side of the Pennines and the expression was reasonably commonly used.

[Jaded]

It's Birmingham, definitely. 

[Wobbly John]

American screwdriver here in East Angular - there were a lot of USAF bases here in WW2.

[zigzag]

a good kick or two to the top part of the rim worked every time

[mark]

Discovered a flat nearside front tyre. Have car jacked up and wheelnuts are removed, but wheel doesn't want to budge. Having RTFM, it seems the wheel should budge. I'm reluctant to wobble it around too much because the car is wobbling on the jack.

Bright ideas please!

I deal with this every fall when I take off the 4 season tires (mounted on alloy rims) and put on snow/winter tires (mounted on steel rims). Removing the lug nuts and lowering the car until the weight of the car is on the wheel is usually enough to pop the wheel loose. I suppose if the wheel stayed on the car long enough in a damper climate than mine a little more force would be called for. And yes, sometimes a British Screwdriver is called for.

[Charlotte]

a good kick or two to the top part of the rim worked every time

And what about for removing car wheels?

[rafletcher]

<engineer mode>Hit it with a hammer</engineer mode>

This is spot on. The wheel obviously goes on to a spigot on this car, and there's some products of corrosion between the wheel and the spigot.

[zigzag]

a good kick or two to the top part of the rim worked every time

And what about for removing car wheels?

the wheel loosens up! (i could probably dig out a set of photos of how to change a wheel, demonstrated by my mrs..)

[zigzag]

there you go - girlpower! (sorry for the poor quality photos)

[rogerzilla]

Alloy wheels normally stick to hubs.  Steel ones don't.  Copper grease on the mating face helps slightly, but the alloys usually still stick a bit.  Five bolt hubs are worse IME because the clamping force is even higher.

[hbunnet]

I had exactly this problem today when  changing from summer alloy wheels to steel winter wheels .  My puny attempts at giving the wheels a dunt, failed yesterday.

Thanks to this thread I tried the finger tight studs method plus drive around the block and this worked after a  second puny dunt.

Thanks all.

[Efrogwr]

I've failed using the zigzag Girlpower Method; I weigh 100kg! I got Mrs E to hold the wheelbrace while I hit it with a seven pound hammer. Then the wheel (fortunately a proper one, made of steel) needed a nudge with the same hammer. I'm used to monkey meta alloy wheels sticking, but a stuck steel wheel was a new one to me.