While disassembling my S1.5, I was having a hard time getting three of the wheels to come loose. Let me say I put the car in storage right after buying it, and it hadn't moved in twelve years. One wheel (right front) came off nice and easy, and the grease was still wet. The other three didn't budge no matter what trick I tried. Believe me, I tried them all!!!

I took them off with the hubs and all attached. After taking off everything I could strip from them, I took them to a buddy's shop to use his press. Two of the wheels came off fairly easy, and I found the grease had dried up like glue. Don't know why, but it did. The last wheel was the joy!

A 30 TON PRESS, maxed out, and the hub didn't move. You can see from the pictures, the wheel was not designed for that kind of pressure. By the time I got to using the press, I had already made the decision to trash the wheels if needed. All I really wanted was the hub carriers, because I am converting the car to 5-lug. However selling the wheels was definitely a thought.

I ended up going to my last resort, which was cutting off the wheel and hub. The amazing thing was, the wheel STILL didn't come off the hub! After beating it with everything up to a sledge hammer, the hub carrier came out of the bearings before I was able to get the wheel hub off the splined hub. A closer inspection showed the wheel and hub were rusted together, and it looked like there was no grease at all in there.

Looking back at it, I may have been able to press the hub carrier off the hub shaft through the back of the carrier, but that still wouldn't have saved the wheel or splined hub from destruction. Live and learn.

Note to self before buying a car with splined hubs: Have the owner remove the wheels before you buy it!

 

I bet it was the left rear--which means your LSD is in need of repair also--best of luck!

 

I plan on rebuilding the IRS anyways, but I'm missing the correlation between a wheel stuck to a hub and an LSD in need of repair?

 

Was it the left rear?

 

Left meaning driver side, yes.

 

Thought so---in my 50 years of playing with these cars a Left rear wheel that is truly stuck was a result of the LSD not working properly (or not at all) and the drive force was always transferred to the LH wheel. It is my belief this causes extreme wear and fusing of the wheel and hub. I do have the 't' shirt!

BTW LH or RH is always determined by the drivers seat looking forward.

 

Holy crap, now that is a stuck wheel. Damn I've been looking for 5 lug hubs myself, you lucky ba….

 

HEAT might have done it, since you were not concerned about the wheel an oxy-acetylene brazing tip and heating the steel hub would have likely done it.