My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
wrench managed to loosen them but unfortunately I cannot say the same for
the aluminum wheels. They are on so tight that I cannot budge them. Any
suggestions as to how to loosen them for removal would be appreciated.
Don
Joseph Zupko - 28 Oct 2005 04:10 GMT
What I do is get a long pipe for leverage with the original lug wrench. Or
take it bake who ever put the tires on and tell them to loosen them.
> My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
> Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Don
Dave in Columbus - 28 Oct 2005 06:41 GMT
>My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
>Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
>Don
A couple of things you can try:
Beat on the back of the tire with a hammer at several places. Stay off of
the rim with the hammer blows.
Reinstall the lug nuts about five or six turns and then drive the car a
short distance while turning the steering wheel left and right.
Take the car to a tire shop and let them worry about it.
good luck

Signature
Dave in Columbus
Mr.X - 14 Nov 2005 00:10 GMT
>>My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
>>Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
>good luck
beat on the rubber tire part with a sledge 5+ pounds or if on the
road , I have uses the spare , swing the spare into the rubber,
corosion etc gets back there and freezes everything together. also
the losen the nuts and drive back and forth 10 feet works too
sdlomi2 - 28 Oct 2005 06:46 GMT
> My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
> Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Don
You might replace the lug nuts, drive it hard enough for the wheels to
heat up, and rush back to the *removal station*. The difference in heat
transfer between the (steel) hubs and (aluminum) wheels should expand one
material faster and allow removal. HTH, s
N8N - 28 Oct 2005 10:47 GMT
> My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
> Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Don
Put the lugs back on then loosen one turn each. Drive around the
block, make sure you brake hard and take a sharp turn at least once.
Wheels should be loose by the time you get back in the garage.
good luck
nate
Al Bundy - 28 Oct 2005 12:59 GMT
> > My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
> > Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> nate
He won't have to go far beyond his parking spot. It's the wheel turning
that will pull the wheel loose. Back up and turn the wheel back and
forth and he will hear the pop of it coming loose.
HLS@nospam.nix - 28 Oct 2005 13:46 GMT
> He won't have to go far beyond his parking spot. It's the wheel turning
> that will pull the wheel loose. Back up and turn the wheel back and
> forth and he will hear the pop of it coming loose.
Ive usually been able to get that type of wheel off just by wobbling
it by hand, but they can be really tight at times. A squirt of penetrating
oil on the studs and the wheel center may also help. A rubber mallet can
help loosen them without having to worry about damaging the wheels.
Mike Romain - 28 Oct 2005 17:56 GMT
I would recommend putting a lot of good penetrating oil into each stud
space and any other place that will allow it to get behind the rim. You
might need to do this many times over a couple days to get it to soak
through.
I live in the rust belt and see aluminum rims that have fused to the
hubs so that both get destroyed when it finally comes off with 2 shop
guys running at it from the back side with a railroad tie battering
ram.
When putting them back on I recommend a lot of antiseize compound on the
back side of the rim to help for next time.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
> My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
> Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Don
Brian - 28 Oct 2005 18:07 GMT
What I do use use a long - about 6' - prybar and judiciously apply leverage.
You can break a wheel if you make a mistake. What I have seen pro's use is
a large orange soft-blow hammer - 4' long handle and about an 8 pound head,
or the aforementioned pry bar. In a pinch, I have kicked, beaten upon etc,
and I have loosened the lugs and driven about slamming on the brakes. In
one case, I just gave up and took it to a tire dealer, where he did all of
the above but with more vigour than I was comfortable with.
Brian
> My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
> Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Don
Louis M. Brown - 29 Oct 2005 01:46 GMT
>My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires rotated.
>Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200 pounds on the lug
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
>Don
Cheater bar, dude. Get a empty pipe, put it at the end of the tool
you're using to loosen the lug nuts, and just use good 'ol leverage.
Failing that, go get someone with an air wrench.
HTH.
-LMB
o2pz5y402@sneakemail.com - 29 Oct 2005 04:32 GMT
i've nevr tried the drive with loose lugs idea.but i will next
time.i've always employed the afore mentioned "buford" method.
shiden_kai - 29 Oct 2005 18:33 GMT
> My wife has a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am which needs to have the tires
> rotated. Thwe wheel lugs were torqued on pretty tight but my 200
> pounds on the lug wrench managed to loosen them but unfortunately I
> cannot say the same for the aluminum wheels. They are on so tight
> that I cannot budge them. Any suggestions as to how to loosen them
> for removal would be appreciated.
We run into this all the time with the aluminum wheels. So far, I've
never had any problem getting them off. Use a long, large pry bar, and
you pry between the wheel and the rotor or drum...or the whatever happens
to be close to the rim of the wheel (from the back side) that is solid.
It will pop right off. Do not attempt to hammer on the wheel itself unless
you use some sort of rubber or plastic deadblow hammer.
Ian