Seized front wheels on hub/rotor?

[ben-man]

Hey all you Brilliant VXers...

Got my CV boot package from mecatech on Friday so, after reading tom4bren's write-up, I decided to tear into the project (pardon the pun) of replacing my ripped front CV boots today.
Trouble is I'm stuck, literally, before I started. I jacked the VX up, got the lugs off with the impact and lo and behold the rims are seized onto the rotors. And I mean seized good. tried a sledge hammer (with a block of wood over the rim to protect that beautiful peeling chrome) and after several whacks, realized they ain't coming off. I soaked the whole joint with deep creep and am currently allowing that to work it's way in (read: drinking beer) but has anyone else had this happen? And, if so, are there any creative solutions out there to get the wheels off without damaging them or the steering components?
I'm guessing a light coating of anti-seize or some type of grease on the hub/wheel joint when I put the wheels back would prevent this from happening again.

Thanks in advance for any help, Ben

[Y33TREKker]

That can be fairly common with any vehicle at times. Even a light surface coating of rust and/or road grime on the hub and/or wheel can cause the situation you're dealing with.

To get more leverage, rather than pounding on the wheel itself, you can also just give the top, bottom, or sides of the tire that's on the rim a few good kicks from either the outside or the inside (just make sure the VX is stable and solid on the jack stands or whatever you're using), and that might be enough to at least break the bond that's currently holding everything together. The farther out from center you get when hitting the wheel/tire combo, the more force will be applied to the center area that's binding.

Once you get everything apart, a light coating of anti-seize, oil, or grease should help prevent the same thing from happening in the future...hopefully.

[tom4bren]

I think that the OEM rims fit fairly tightly around the hub (actually more than they should). Our rims are designed to be lug centric rather than hub centric so they should actually have better clearance.

All that means though is that you should also apply your penetrating oil liberally around the hub, not just around the lugs. Sounds like you alread have that covered though (pun intended).

It may be worth a stop in to a local tire place and get their opinion on removal. I'm sure they have tricks up their sleeve that I'm unaware of.

[VXorado]

Our rims are designed to be hub centric rather than hub centric so they should actually have better clearance.

What? Little early to be drinking there Tom.

[tom4bren]

ROFL - fixeded

Here, lemme help you out

[ben-man]

Thanks for all suggestions guys.
I finally did get the wheels off. I pondered the problem, researched it thoroughly and then just got fed up and pounded the ***** out of them... and they finally broke free. What eventually worked in the end was jacking up just one side of the vx, putting a jack stand under the frame and using a short 2X4 and a baby sledge and pounding away on the inside lip of the wheel from the underside of truck. Turning the wheel 90 degrees every 2-3 strikes as I went. There might be more efficient or quicker ways of getting the wheels off, but nothing's quite as cathartic as wailing away on a stubborn S.O.B. with a 5lb hammer. Plus, the sacrificial 2X4 prevents any damage.
It's funny, I always seem to forget that no matter how well designed or engineered a car/truck is... sometimes you just gotta use blunt force to get the job done.

[ben-man]

Hey Tom,

So now that Christmas is all done with, I'm back under the VX today and using your mecatech writeup. I have the passenger-side inner CV pulled, disassembled and cleaned and I have the boot cut off the outer CV. How did you clean you outer CV joints while still attached to the hub? Is there an easy way to pull that joint apart as well? I've already sprayed it with 1 1/2 cans of brake cleaner and it seems ok but since this was the CV with the torn boot, I'd feel better if I could pull it completely apart and clean it like I did with the inner CV. Just want to make sure It's Completely grit free before I slide the new boots on.

[tom4bren]

Ben,

I just cleaned mine whilst the bearing was still in the race. I was fairly confident that I'd cleaned it out really well. I used an air gun after to make sure I blew out all of the brake cleaner & then smooshed grease into the joint really well prior to re-assembly.

Tom

[PK]

Hey Tom, did you use a full smoosh of grease, or only half??

PK

[thrashercharged]

wailing away on a stubborn S.O.B. with a 5lb hammer. Plus, the sacrificial 2X4 prevents any damage.

A few years ago I had this problem and wondered how the tire stores here in the Midwest (where road salt really speeds up dissimilar metals corrosion) handle this - they use a really large & heavy (felt like at least 15 lbs) plastic coated sledge hammer and they swing it at the rim directly - no 2x4 in between.

I've found through personal experience that banging on the tire does no good - the tire absorbs too much of the impact. I've also found that a 5 lb sledge isn't enough - you need more mass - I use a 12-15 lb sledge and I hit the rim directly. I've found putting a 2x4 in between absorbs too much energy.

If you use enough mass, you don't need as much velocity (and it's hard to swing a heavy sledge underneath the car parallel to the ground about 6" off the ground anyway, so you can't generate much velocity). If the rim breaks free (and it always has for me) it doesn't damage the rim at all since none of the energy is absorbed by the rim.

[circmand]

This should do the trick