Toyota Corolla wheels locked to hub

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  • JimD
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2003
    • 4187
    • Lexington, SC.

    Toyota Corolla wheels locked to hub

    I just got home from changing a flat on my youngest daughters Corolla. It is old with high mileage but has nearly new front tires. One of them was completely flat, so low my hydraulic jack wouldn't go under the car and I had to use the little scissors jack that came with the car. The flat was the passengers side front and I wanted to put the doughnut on the back and move the back tire to the front. When I went to pull the front wheel, however, it wouldn't come off the hub. I had both ends up in the air but had only broken the back loose prior to raising it. So I lowered both ends, left the front lug nuts loose and tried rolling back and forth. The first time that did not break the wheel loose but the second time I went a little further (but still only about 10 feet) and I turned the wheel a little and it came loose. When I went to pull the back wheel, it was stuck on the hub too. I had the front wheel off so I couldn't drive back and forth and needed to get her on the road. So I put the doughnut on the front, made sure it was a little over 60 psi and sent her back to college.

    I've never had a wheel stuck like this before. Usually I yank a little and they come off. Her car has plain steel wheels. It hasn't been but a couple months since the front tires were replaced. Is this more common on Toyotas? Or Corollas? Or have I just been lucky? Currently my two cars and my wife's have aluminum wheels. I thought stuck wheels were more common on alloy wheels. Ideas?
  • LinuxRandal
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2005
    • 4889
    • Independence, MO, USA.
    • bt3100

    #2
    It isn't just Toyota's or a particular car, you've been lucky. Even my Sierra wheels will stick and they are alloy. It is the reason a sledge gets kept at the garage (hope you never see someone who can't get one off, just keep driving on it).
    She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

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    • bigstick509
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2004
      • 1227
      • Macomb, MI, USA.
      • BT3100

      #3
      Way back in the 80's I had this happen twice on a Plymouth Horizon. One and only car that ever did it on me.

      Mike

      "It's not the things you don't know that will hurt you, it's the things you think you know that ain't so." - Mark Twain

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      • trungdok
        Established Member
        • Oct 2012
        • 235
        • MA

        #4
        It's common on all wheels. A good kick usually would loosen them.

        Comment

        • capncarl
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2007
          • 3564
          • Leesburg Georgia USA
          • SawStop CTS

          #5
          I helped a friend get a really stuck one off, the same car that I mentioned in the brake thread that broke in half! Stamped steel rims that just fit the hub are prone to do this. It locks on just like the press on fastners that hold on toy wagon wheels. We had to use a 4x4" fence post like a 10' punch to drive it off from the opposite side of the car with a sledge hammer. I filed out the inside of the rim to prevent it from happening again. This would be a ***** to do on the side of the road with a flat. Another one of those engineering boo-boos we were discussing.
          capncarl

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          • tfischer
            Veteran Member
            • Jul 2003
            • 2343
            • Plymouth (Minneapolis), MN, USA.
            • BT3100

            #6
            Happened to neon my old car. I wear told to loosen the lug nuts slightly, then let the car roll backward and slam on the brake. Worked great.

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            • durango dude
              Senior Member
              • Mar 2011
              • 934
              • a thousand or so feet above insanity
              • 50s vintage Craftsman Contractor Saw

              #7
              sledge hammer works for me.

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              • lrr
                Established Member
                • Apr 2006
                • 380
                • Fort Collins, Colorado
                • Ryobi BT-3100

                #8
                Had it happen on a VW GTI. Mine was so bad I filled the tire with air at my place of work (it was flat) and then headed to the tire store. We didn't have a sledge hammer and nothing else was heavy enough to break them apart.

                Alloy wheels and steel hubs/bolts can slightly corrode over time, and you are kind of fighting a mild "welding" together of the two. I just made sure they were kept clean and lightly oiled after that incident.
                Lee

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                • dbhost
                  Slow and steady
                  • Apr 2008
                  • 9209
                  • League City, Texas
                  • Ryobi BT3100

                  #9
                  Heating, cooling and corrosion do a good job of sticking wheels on hubs. I saw that a LOT working on brakes / front ends back when I did that work... A large rubber mallet usually breaks them free no problem..
                  Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                  Comment

                  • capncarl
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jan 2007
                    • 3564
                    • Leesburg Georgia USA
                    • SawStop CTS

                    #10
                    The problem with sticking wheels that I ran into was not due to corrosion /rust. It was simply the steel wheel was stamped and the center hole was stamped outward and was a near interference fit. I believe these were hub/ disc combinations and probably were after market and were slightly larger OD than factory. Once you got the rim on the hub the shape of the stamped center hole made it dig into the hub and resist being pulled off.
                    capncarl

                    Comment

                    • woodturner
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jun 2008
                      • 2047
                      • Western Pennsylvania
                      • General, Sears 21829, BT3100

                      #11
                      Originally posted by capncarl
                      IStamped steel rims that just fit the hub are prone to do this. It locks on just like the press on fastners that hold on toy wagon wheels.
                      .....
                      Another one of those engineering boo-boos we were discussing.
                      capncarl
                      It's actually not a "boo-boo" but an intentional design (edit: when the rim is a slide fit - in capncarl's example it was an interference fit and probably was an error, that is too tight)

                      With modern materials, better roads, and improved technology, wheel balance has become a greater issue. The lug nuts by necessity have enough tolerance in the fit that the wheel can be mounted slightly off center, causing an out of balance condition. The center hub of the wheel is a precision fit bearing surface designed to "snugly" fit the boss on the axle to precisely center the wheel. To put numbers on it, the center boss can center the wheel to within 0.030", while the lug nuts can only center to within around 0.100" and only when properly installed and tightened in the correct sequence. If the lug nuts are not installed carefully, the centering can be off 0.200" or more.

                      Filing out the rim is therefore not a recommended solution (edit: except in cases like capncarl's example where there is an interference fit - the rim should slide over the hub post easily by hand, it should be a slide fit not an interference fit). What I do is brush antiseize on both the hub and the inside of the rim before mounting, which keeps the precision fit from being damaged and also prevents corrosion.
                      Last edited by woodturner; 02-19-2015, 02:14 PM.
                      --------------------------------------------------
                      Electrical Engineer by day, Woodworker by night

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                      • capncarl
                        Veteran Member
                        • Jan 2007
                        • 3564
                        • Leesburg Georgia USA
                        • SawStop CTS

                        #12
                        I agree with the need for precision fit, but in this case when we were able to get this wheel to come off by using the 4x4 punch we were rolling up curls of metal off the hub like a chisel!. Definitely an exaggerated interference fit. I expect the hub was slightly oversized.
                        capncarl

                        Comment

                        • woodturner
                          Veteran Member
                          • Jun 2008
                          • 2047
                          • Western Pennsylvania
                          • General, Sears 21829, BT3100

                          #13
                          Originally posted by capncarl
                          I agree with the need for precision fit, but in this case when we were able to get this wheel to come off by using the 4x4 punch we were rolling up curls of metal off the hub like a chisel!. Definitely an exaggerated interference fit. I expect the hub was slightly oversized.
                          capncarl
                          Yeah, that sounds way too tight, misunderstood your OP. Sorry about that - edited my post for clarification.
                          Last edited by woodturner; 02-19-2015, 02:14 PM.
                          --------------------------------------------------
                          Electrical Engineer by day, Woodworker by night

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