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How do I remove a rear wheel?

4K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  Twenny 
#1 ·
Hi All,
I'm trying to change out a rear wheel on my m135 due to a puncture. I have replaced wheels on other cars before but am having issues with this one. I have been searching the forums howtos, tyres/wheels and search section to no avail.

Once I have the car parked with handbrake on as normal, chucks around one of the wheels, a jack raising the car and all nuts including the lock nut are removed the wheel refuses to budge. I have seen some people talk on youtube about taking the handbrake off, some discuss putting the car in first gear before starting, I have even seen discussion somewhere about having to remove elements of the breaks. Is any of that necessary? Is there anything else I need to do to get the wheel off?

The only possibility I came across was a discussion on these forums about wheels sometimes freezing to the hubs and having to kick them or hit them with a hammer to free them. Is this all thats happened?

Any help appreciated
thanks
 
#6 ·
Twenny said:
Or put nuts back in but loose and drop jack and it should crack the seal.
This shifts even the stuck-est wheel.

No need to remove parts of the brakes, and the above is far safer than running the axle :eek2:
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I wanted to check as some of the procedures on the m135 are a bit more convoluted than simpler cars (like trying to move the windscreen wipers). Sounds like wheel changing is the same as any other car. I'll try the nudging with my foot and failing that the lowering with loosened nuts.
Thanks for the mention of the correct torque Ezzra, looks like I'm taking a walk to local screwfix (nearest tool store to home) again to get a torque wrench. Had to go and buy jack/wheel brace/pump(the valve connector on my previous pump shattered when I applied the lock lever) having realised these arent included in the tools in the boot compartment like with my previous car.
 
#10 ·
Update : Thanks to everyones advice I have success. I went through the whole process again, tried loosening the nuts and lowering the jack but it didnt free the siezed wheel. However a few good blows from a rubber mallet from behind popped the wheel right off. Used the copper grease and a torque wrench as advised and the motor is road worthy once more.

Thanks all.
 
#13 ·
Hi Twenny,
I didnt put any grease on the bolts but I did put a very light smear (I put a squirt on my finger and then wiped around the area) on the bit you indicate and on the surface area between the holes on the face. Darn, I guess I have to go and take the wheel back off again? I thought the face was where it was seizing.
 
#14 ·
:( Wheel off, clean both wheel and mounting face with some meths/white spirit/whatever.

Some people think the wheel drives off the 5 bolts, but this isn't the case. The bolts are just there to generate the 'sandwich' axial clamp load, it's actually a friction drive between the two faces, which is why you mustn't reduce the friction with lubricants. Grease will serious stress the bolts with shear loads every time you hit the brakes.

 
#15 ·
It's the spiggot that often corrodes onto the alloy wheel, causing the problems. I wouldn't put it in the bolts as the 140nm is a "dry" figure to torque the bolts. If you've only put a smear on the 'face' of the hub, personally I wouldn't worry. The face acts as a clutch to transmit drive to the wheels, the bolts merely apply the torque for the face to the back of the wheel. The shearing threshold of the bolts is engineered with a big margin for safety, do as long as it's just a smear of copper grease I wouldn't worry. :)
 
#16 ·
Ezzra said:
It's the spiggot that often corrodes onto the alloy wheel, causing the problems. I wouldn't put it in the bolts as the 140nm is a "dry" figure to torque the bolts. The face acts as a clutch to transmit drive to the wheels, the bolts merely apply the torque for the face to the back of the wheel.
Agree entirely.

Ezzra said:
The shearing threshold of the bolts is engineered with a big margin for safety, do as long as it's just a smear of copper grease I wouldn't worry. :)
Why would a smear be acceptable? I'd be ****ting my undercrackers, definitely not best practice - which is all we recommend on here.

Once the 'clutch face' is lubricated, the friction is gone and you're back to loading the bolts, which isn't their job. What do you calculate the FoS to be?
 
#17 ·
marco_polo said:
Ezzra said:
It's the spiggot that often corrodes onto the alloy wheel, causing the problems. I wouldn't put it in the bolts as the 140nm is a "dry" figure to torque the bolts. The face acts as a clutch to transmit drive to the wheels, the bolts merely apply the torque for the face to the back of the wheel.
Agree entirely.

Ezzra said:
The shearing threshold of the bolts is engineered with a big margin for safety, do as long as it's just a smear of copper grease I wouldn't worry. :)
Why would a smear be acceptable? I'd be ****ting my undercrackers, definitely not best practice - which is all we recommend on here.

Once the 'clutch face' is lubricated, the friction is gone and you're back to loading the bolts, which isn't their job. What do you calculate the FoS to be?
I'm on my ninth new BMW, always done the same, never had a wheel stick, never had a bolt shear. On more than one occasion had mechanics recommend as a way of stopping the wheels corrode to the hub. I would only use the lightest application on my hubs, and not right across the face.

The FoS would have the allow for wheel nuts under torqued, such would apply a greater shearing pressure than we are discussing here :)
 
#18 ·
Thanks very much for the safety catch guys. I hadnt realised the contact was made by friction and as marco_polo says I was under the misaprehension that it was all down to the bolts.

I have just been out, taken the wheel off and using a clean rag removed all grease from anywhere and then with my finger applied the tiniest amount just to the spigot as indicated in twenny's picture.

On the upside I'm getting much faster at changing a wheel. Now if only the m135 could fit a spare I wouldnt need to call out the RAC for a 200+ mile recovery when I get a puncture :)
 
#19 ·
Ha happy days Gebbly.

3 years ago my mate put copper grease between my hub and new 12mm spacers.

Let's just say the guy that fitted my new alloys who had to remove these spacers was not best pleased to say the least.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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