O.k, I must be a moron. Is there a trick to getting the front wheels off? They are 2.0 liter Fuchs if that means anything. I have removed the lug bolts and center cap. By the way, is there an easy way to remove center caps that have not been removed for a long time?

How long have they been on? They could be rusted to the hub. I had an old ford truck that did that. One good whack with a big hammer and they were off, but don't recommend that with the Fuchs. Center caps are best removed with the wheel off from the inside.

They have been on for, my guess, 10-15 years. Would spraying a penetrant like PB blaster do any good. They do feel like they're welded to the hub.

maybe squirt some PB Blaster into the bolt holes and hub circle and hope it can creep in and break the corrosion.

i really extreme circumstances i've heard of people removing the hub cover, pinch bolt, and compression nut and pulling the whole hub off the spindle. you might have more options at that point, but we will hope it doesn't come to that point ...

BFH

Whack the inside of the wheel on the tires....use a dead/anti rbound hammer....center caps will come off after the wheel is off. Use the same hammer, reverse it and put the handle inside the center cap from the back....set the end on the center cap, give it a gentle smack with your hand.

I have in the past kicked it a couple times hard and had it come off.

Good luck though, these are always fun.

- Brett Smith

If none of the above works and the car is driveable, try this:
Put the lug bolts back in finger tight and drive the car in slow tight circles.

Good luck. I hope this problem is not indicative of the overall condition of the car.

Brian Boss

Thanks guys, as soon as my daughter wakes up from her nap I'll pound on the wheel. Don't want to wake her up right now, although I'm surprised she slept through the very loud cussing.

If your wheels are stuck on, wait until you try to get the ball joint collar off the bottom of the ball joint. Thats where the fun begins

As a LAST resort, if after you've pounded from the back DONT HIT YOUR RIM for god sakes and had no luck.:
1)get a length of chain, a tire chain, or some other bit of strong non-flexible chain/cable thread it through 1 or some of the spokes.
2)Get another of your wheels, or something heavy like that and attach the other end of the chain to it.
3) THROW the free wheel (or heavy object) as hard as you can away from the stuck wheel.
I've never had this fail, usually yanks the wheel right off, actually use this method to remove drums/rotors with frozen bearings and whatnot..
Good Luck!

Robert O

Robert, my uncle actually used the same method but with a rock to remove a tooth. Brought him to his knees faster than anything I had ever seen. Brains aint big in my family.


Anyway the, big hammer worked like a charm. Also dumped about 3 pounds of dirt from my rocker panel on my head.

Thanks everybody!

level914

You sound like you're going to fit right in around here!

Ok, you got the wheels off. Next remove the rocker panels and get rid of that dirt, but better wait till the daughter is somewhere else. You don't want her to hear dad cuss like that!

Hey, Welcome to the BBS.

youll fit right in....