Remove Wheel Stuck to Rotor

You take out all the lug-nuts with ease and proceed trying to remove the wheel from the rotor however it’s not budging. The reason being because the wheel is basically “rust welded” to the rotors from days, months, or even years of being hit with nature’s fury.

Each case may be different so I will show you a couple ways to free the wheel from the rotor starting from the least aggressive to most.

***BEFORE STARTING TRYING ANY OF THESE METHODS MAKE SURE THE CAR IS SAFELY SUPPORTED WITH JACK STANDS HAVE THE JACK AS SECONDARY SUPPORT!***

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LEVEL 1:Just Hands and Feet

Gear up with some work gloves and work boots and start giving the wheel a few firm taps on opposite sides of the wheel consecutively.

Let out a little bit of frustration but don’t go berserk and start tackling the wheel.

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Level 2: Rubber Hammer

If level one doesn’t do anything, then it’s time to add more force. Get yourself a rubber or nylon hammer and start hitting on opposite sides (Top, Bottom, Left, Right) of the wheel. The greater impact from the hammer should typically be able to separate the wheel from the rotor.

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Level 5: Time to Get Serious

To produce more impact a sledge hammer would do the trick, however the point is not to destroy the wheels.

So to soften the impact use a wood stud piece against the wheel and start firmly tapping around the wheel just like in “level 2” with the hammer.

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Level 10: No more Mr. Nice Guy

**If you are about to proceed in this level be very cautious and safe. Proceed at your own risk.

While the wheel is still in the air reinstall 3 lug-nuts in a diagonal position (for a 5 lug wheel and 2 for a 4 lug wheel) but only hand thread it very lightly making sure NOT to tighten it down, you need the wheel to be able to move a little bit.

1. Then, remove the jack stand, and slowly lower the vehicle down.

2. Have the jack only lightly touching the vehicle for support.

3. Once the weight of the vehicle is on the wheel, you should hear the wheel being broken free.

-If not, try this next step….. (Only for the front wheels)

-Turn on the vehicle and slowly move the wheel from side to side. You should definitely hear the wheel being set free from the rust weld.

-Now turn off the engine, jack it up, remove the lug nuts, and there you have it your wheel should be free to be removed.

**To prevent your wheel getting stuck in the future, I would recommend putting a thin coat of anti-seize on the area where the wheel meets the rotor hub.