Detroit style BBS 20X10, this is the one that's clicking....

It's 6am and I've got the car jacked up, wheels chocked, lugs off and spare at the ready..It won't budge. Rubber mallet action, still won't budge. I'm now looking for some secret lug nut under the Growler....Google says to loosen the nuts and drive about 15 ft forward and back. Something in the back of my brain says that allow wheels don't like rolling on loose lug nuts.

So, do I need a bigger hammer or what?

 

Aluminum wheels corrode onto the steel hub. Loosen the lug nuts only a little, sorta light finger tight, and roll and shake the car. Lots easier than a bigger hammer.

 

Was helping a person with a flat and ran into the same situation. This was an SUV and the left rear wheel was the one that was stuck. For whatever reason the person had a steel bar in the back that came in handy, I took the bar threw the wheel and behind the brake hub and applied a little force to the bar on the outside of the wheel. I pulled the bar out and did it again on the next quarter of the wheel and did this until the wheel came loose. Hope this helps!

 

Nate what Gus said is what you need to do. Thread a lug nut on a few turns so the wheel comes loose, not off and falls on its face damaging the wheel. Then clean the coorsion out of the wheel hub and the hub center on the car and apply grease or silicone paste to keep from this happening next time.

 

Thanks guys. One thing bothers me though....the dang wheel was removed by Discount Tire guy a week ago!!! I'll try the pry bar deal this evening.... before the requisite lemonade/tequila toddy.

 

I suggest removing all the wheel bolts and spraying liberally into the holes with Kroil or PB Blaster (nothing less), rotate the wheel until the stuff spreads into the joint well and letting it sit awhile, even overnight. Carefully remove the center cap and spray into the hub flange there as well. Prying on these VERY expensive aluminum wheels ($1000 each min if you can find a good one) with a bar is a no no.. I would then loosely thread the bolts back in and kick the tires with your booted foot until you break them loose. I have never had a wheel resist this treatment and never damaged one either. If I ever saw anyone prying on my Detroit BBS wheel with a bar, I would faint.

 

Had the exact same thing happen with one of the Detroits on the front end of my XK8. Took a fair amount of cursing and a lot of whacks with a large rubber mallet to finally get it off.

 

My Detroits did the same thing. I couldn't hammer them off and didn't want to damage any finish and pry them off with anything metal that I had. I loosened the lug nuts just a little and drove up the road and back. First time it still wasn't loose. I then drove applying brake and power more aggressively. That time they broke loose. Don't loosen too much though -- maybe 1 full turn of the nuts.

 

It took one half bottle of top shelf tequila, a quart of lemonade, a can of PB Blaster, two days and most of my vilest vocabulary but I got it off. The damn thing looks to be designed to be a very tight interference fit and I doubt all the dang lithium paste I smeared back there is going to make any difference next time. Next time is next week when I remove the wheel to send it in for a "ring" job and no doubt some titanium stud replacements. If that doesn't take care of that obnoxious click then I may just blow my entire life savings on some wire wheels and spend my retirement cleaning them.

 

I thought I was the only one who likes tequila and lemonade.

 

congrats!

clean the rotor hub really well, scrub that corrosion off of it. It'll help a little.

 

1 pitcher ice
1/2 cup lime juice
1 pack sugar free pink(breast cancer month) lemonade
1 1/4 cup Silver Tequila
Blend
= 1 Pitcher skinny margaritas yum
having a glass now

 

I knew I liked you for more than your mind!

 

Just as an update, I just talked to BBS about something else and I did find out that BBS has no more drums for the Detroit wheels, so if you bend one, you are going to be fixing the old one or finding another wheel on the used market and hoping it's true. These wheels make me nervous in that they are easy to damage and hard to fix and now cannot be factory rebuilt.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmots

Just as an update, I just talked to BBS about something else and I did find out that BBS has no more drums for the Detroit wheels, so if you bend one, you are going to be fixing the old one or finding another wheel on the used market and hoping it's true. These wheels make me nervous in that they are easy to damage and hard to fix and now cannot be factory rebuilt.

Brutal checked BBS America on this for me about a week ago. They are out of barrels, they do have a few rings and possibly a spider or two and they will accept your wheel in their shop for inspection but....if the wheel is out of round just hair they won't touch it for any reason so you wasted your money sending it to them.

My rear 20X10 is off (thanks Brutal the lithium grease on the hub did the trick) and it's gone out UPS ($100 round trip) to Dick Maury at Coventry West for inspection and replacement of the ring and possibly a few of the titanium bolts. If he finds the wheel to be ruined I think I'll have three for sale so keep your eyes on this thread for an update after Dick gets a chance to look at it.

If the wheel is good then I'm golden at least until as Brutal warned me, "next time".