Wheels are stuck on my car.... help!

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 10:28 AM

Doh!

Went to the track the other day and decided that my 4th-gen Camaro wheels I bought that I'm gonna put on my 91 (with spacers) had better tread on them, so I decided to swap my rear wheels for the traction.

So I bolt them up, no prob. I start driving and the car feels very wobbly, and my uncle in the car behind me tells me my rear wheels are wobbling. Ack, so I pull over at the gas station. Lugnuts are not tight at all. I figure I just didn't tighten it enough, I don't have a torque wrench so I didn't want to overdo it. So I tighten them a little more. Seems better but still have a problem. So I pull over again. Lugnuts are obviously loosened. What the crap? So we tighten them on REAL good with brute force. I make it to the track but it still doesn't feel right. So I decide to try tightening them again once more. The driver's side seemed pretty tight, so I didn't mess with it. The passenger side however, was fairly loose again.

Well, I try tightening it once more, and I about fall over and whack my head on the ground, because the lugnut stud broke clean off. Awesome. So I decide to take my car out of the staging lanes and not run. I go to remove the wheels and put my old ones back on since something obviously wasn't right, and as I'm taking another lugnut off, THAT stud breaks also! Well crap! We jack the car up to swap the wheels, but at this point we know we're gonna have to trailer it home. But get this, the wheels are stuck around the center hubs! I can't get the suckers off!

Now, this confuses me because I thought that Camaro and Firebird wheels are completely interchangable. The only thing I can think of is that I accidentally put the front wheels on the back of my car, but I thought that they wouldn't fit, not that they'd get stuck around the center knob. I'm confused and now I'm going to have to go home and try to pry the wheels off of my car without doing further damage to my car or the wheels.

Anybody have some insight as to what happened here? Also, how much do you think it's going to cost to repair my little problem? I have a cruise to go to next Sunday....

mr_camaro96z28 · 03-29-2004, 10:34 AM

The studs probably broke because the wheels were wobbling on them but as for being stuck I don't understand how they would stick and would have to see a pic if you can get one posted. I've owneda 92 and now own a 96 and I can't think how the wheels would stick in the center. Need pic.

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 10:59 AM

I won't be able to get a pic until I get home from work, but I'm not really sure what the pic would tell you. The wheel looks completely normal, I just can't remove it. The hub is the only thing that it could really get stuck on and still turn.

a very small sliver of the wheel where the hub was kinda "shaved off" as well, as if the knob too big and the hole was too small (gotta hate when that happens...

)

Injuneer · 03-29-2004, 11:13 AM

COMMON PROBLEM!!

The rear hubs on the early 4th Gens are 0.03" larger in diameter than the fronts. They corrected this problem in 97 and later models. If you are trying to put a set of late 4th Gen wheels on an early 4th Gen, you need to sand or grind down the inside diameter of the holes in the rear wheels.

NEVER try to force a wheel on by over-tightening the lugs. You should have noticed when mounting the wheels that they were not fitting correctly. The fact that the hole in the wheel was too small for the hub made them fit on crooked, producing the "wobble" and causing the lugs to loosen. I can't believe you didn't notice this when putting the wheels on the car.

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 11:19 AM

THANK YOU! Finally an answer!! I had no idea that this was the case.

Injuneer, the wheels did not appear to be crooked or not fit when I was putting them on the car. I am also surprised I did not notice a problem at first. I think what it was is that I just didn't put the lugnuts on too far (but it still was "tight" because of the diameter problem), and then when I drove it, it "wobbled on" some more, but not realizing that's what happened, I tightened it more, and repeat two or three times. I thought something was wrong with my lugnuts or the wheel, not realizing the diameter was the issue.

THANKS!

Injuneer · 03-29-2004, 11:28 AM

When you put the wheels on, "feel" how they slide over the hub. Make sure the mounting surface of the wheel is flush with the axle flange, with no pressure required to put it there. I guess I'm obsessive, but after I put the wheels on, and I'm satisfied that they are flush, I tighten them in 2 or 3 steps with a torque wrench. I really don't want to find out I didn't tighten them correctly when I'm going through the traps at 128mph.

And I hope the guy next to me was just as careful

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 11:30 AM

Another question, I actually bought these wheels for my 91, am I going to have the same issue? Will I need to grind the wheels to fit them on the thirdgen?

Brent94Z · 03-29-2004, 11:30 AM

The wheels should "bottom out" when putting them on with NO LUG nuts on. What I mean by that is you should feel a definitive hitting of metal on metal. If it feels "mushy" and you have to pound it on with your hand, that is no good

So, in the future, you can avoid this by making sure you can feel the wheel hit firmly and be seated. You should also be able to tell because if you let go of the wheel once it is tight (with no lug nuts on) the bottom will usually tip out a bit. If the wheel "sticks" in place even after you let go of it, that could mean you are going to have the same problem again because the wheel is very tight on the hub... maybe too tight so as to not allow it to be fully mounted up in place!

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Injuneer
When you put the wheels on, "feel" how they slide over the hub. Make sure the mounting surface of the wheel is flush with the axle flange, with no pressure required to put it there. I guess I'm obsessive, but after I put the wheels on, and I'm satisfied that they are flush, I tighten them in 2 or 3 steps with a torque wrench. I really don't want to find out I didn't tighten them correctly when I'm going through the traps at 128mph.

And I hope the guy next to me was just as careful

lol yes, understand... I'm typically very cautious about stuff like this but I guess I was in a hurry.

My next expenditure is going to be a torque wrench. I should have one anyway.

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brent94Z
The wheels should "bottom out" when putting them on with NO LUG nuts on. What I mean by that is you should feel a definitive hitting of metal on metal. If it feels "mushy" and you have to pound it on with your hand, that is no good So, in the future, you can avoid this by making sure you can feel the wheel hit firmly and be seated. You should also be able to tell because if you let go of the wheel once it is tight (with no lug nuts on) the bottom will usually tip out a bit. If the wheel "sticks" in place even after you let go of it, that could mean you are going to have the same problem again because the wheel is very tight on the hub... maybe too tight so as to not allow it to be fully mounted up in place!

Yeah, I think that there was the problem, I didn't really take the time to "check", I just kind of hurriedly bolted the wheels up without really pushing/pulling on them or checking them. Live and learn...

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 12:00 PM

And another question. I understand that replacing the wheel studs are a little more complex when one has traction control.

What all am I going to have to do?

Edit: here's more info on my car:

95 Formula
A4
2.73 gears
ABS
TCS

FyreLance · 03-29-2004, 04:45 PM

Bump... more feedback appreciated... I'm currently out in the garage attempting to coax my wheels off....

gillbot · 03-29-2004, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FyreLance
And another question. I understand that replacing the wheel studs are a little more complex when one has traction control. What all am I going to have to do?

Edit: here's more info on my car:

95 Formula
A4
2.73 gears
ABS
TCS

It's not much different but you do have to pull the axles I believe. Time to order ARP hardended wheel studs.

FyreLance · 03-30-2004, 08:14 AM

Looks like the next thing I am going to try is securing it on jackstands and whatnot, and buying a 2x4 and big mallet and pound the snot out of it until it comes off...

ROADRAGE · 03-30-2004, 08:49 AM

kick the bottom of the tire real hard when you get it ib the air. it will come off.

You are going to have to pull yhe axle and have the ring pressed off yo replace the stud. Do all the studs at once, most likely, they are all damaged.