Wheel removal problems?

E

eyup

Member
 East Riding of Yorkshire
Hi guys and gals,

Any of you have problems removing the wheels? Having kept an eye on the dreaded 108 corrosion problem on my car I decided I would get the wheels off and see how the problem was from the inside. I thought maybe a one hour jobs for all four wheels before the footy. How wrong I was! Started on nearside rear. The bugger wouldnt come off. All the usual tricks, gentle shake, followed by tap from rubber mallet, moving onto violent shake, positive whacks from the rubber hammer and still the bugger wouldnt move. Eventually sprayed WD40 into the bolt holes and let it works its magic for a while. Followed this up with some solid kicks (read this after someone else had similar problem on an M5) and finally got the thing off.

I certainly wasnt impressed when I saw this lot:

IMG_2336.jpg

IMG_2339.jpg

IMG_2340.jpg


Cant believe it was so rusted. Has anyone else found the same thing or is mine a bad case or indicitive of something being wrong? Unfortunately due to the time taken to get the first wheel off I didnt get the others off to have a look. Will be soon though. Certainly I am going to grease them all up before they go back on!

PS dont worry about the break disks, the car hasnt been driven since it was washed. Does look awful doesnt it!
 
Looks really bad, doesn't it?

I had similar trouble getting my front wheels off, if your rear ones were that hard then you'll have some job getting the fronts off. Loosen the bolts a bit, then drive backwards and forwards until you hear it free itself, then jack it up and pull the wheel off.
 
Thanks for the tip Mike. Got to find a free weekend to get them off. Have a feeling it may take the full weekend! I would hate to think what it would be like after a few years.
 
Yep you could be right. See what some of the others say, but I'd give the outside face a good clean up/wire brushing and then apply some copper grease so that you have half a chance of getting them off again.

How old is it?
 
eyup said:
Its only a Dec 2006 and done 7000 miles! Grrrh.
Click to expand...

All 4 108's on my car will be replaced next week under New Car Warranty. You should go to ask your local dealer.
 
Yeah that is the way I am heading with it. Just wanted to have a look from the other side to see how bad things are. I wont turn this into another 108 problem but the corrosion is evident enough when you look "through" the wheel so hopefully no problems getting a full set of replacements.

Ksher - please would you let me know whether you get the new revised 108's as discussed in here http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6623 ( i pretty sure you will have already read it) :wink:
 
Wondermike said:
Yep you could be right. See what some of the others say, but I'd give the outside face a good clean up/wire brushing and then apply some copper grease so that you have half a chance of getting them off again.

How old is it?
Click to expand...

Yes this method works a treat just a smear around the diameter face will make removal a lot easier in future. :thumbsup:
 
I wouldn't use copper grease though.

Copper next to ally causes a reaction that will create more oxidisation.

Standard high temp grease would be better.

I nearly always need to use the rubber mallet if it's been a few months since last off.

Regards

Sceptre
 
I must admit I used some normal Castrol grease I had around, I suppose adding copper to the mix cant help
 
I have had some nasty experiences with wheels in the past on all sorts of cars and trucks, and have resorted to just about all of the tips suggested here. I finally got smart and started applying a thin film of a black moly (molybdenum disulfide) grease on the inside pilot diameter of the wheel and haven't had real a problem since. It does not take much, a little goes a long way. It's also a good idea to apply a thin film to the threads on the wheel bolts (or studs).
 
srhutch said:
I must admit I used some normal Castrol grease I had around, I suppose adding copper to the mix cant help
Click to expand...


Yes it can.

It kills trees, and causes speeded up erosion when n touch with other metals.
Quote from Wikipedia

"In contact with other metals
Main article: Galvanic corrosion

Copper should not be in direct mechanical contact with metals of different electropotential (for example, a copper pipe joined to an iron pipe), especially in the presence of moisture, as the completion of an electrical circuit (for instance through the common ground) will cause the juncture to act as an electrochemical cell (like a single cell of a battery). The weak electrical currents themselves are harmless but the electrochemical reaction will cause the conversion of the iron to other compounds, eventually destroying the functionality of the union. This problem is usually solved in plumbing by separating copper pipe from iron pipe with some non-conducting segment (usually plastic or rubber)."

Use Copperslip on the back of your brake pads but nowhere else. Moly slip would be a better choice - Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Mechanics for a description on Molybdenum properties.

Regards

Sceptre
 
Yep... rust is pretty common, especially the rear ones. I had to wrestle mine off when I was swapping over to my summer set. Cleaned it up with some CLR, and then applied anti-seize compound to prevent it from happening in the future.

example pic:
PERMATEX%20133K%20ANTISEIZE.jpg
 
Sceptre said:
srhutch said:
I must admit I used some normal Castrol grease I had around, I suppose adding copper to the mix cant help
Click to expand...


Yes it can.

It kills trees, and causes speeded up erosion when n touch with other metals.
Quote from Wikipedia

"In contact with other metals
Main article: Galvanic corrosion

Copper should not be in direct mechanical contact with metals of different electropotential (for example, a copper pipe joined to an iron pipe), especially in the presence of moisture, as the completion of an electrical circuit (for instance through the common ground) will cause the juncture to act as an electrochemical cell (like a single cell of a battery). The weak electrical currents themselves are harmless but the electrochemical reaction will cause the conversion of the iron to other compounds, eventually destroying the functionality of the union. This problem is usually solved in plumbing by separating copper pipe from iron pipe with some non-conducting segment (usually plastic or rubber)."

Use Copperslip on the back of your brake pads but nowhere else. Moly slip would be a better choice - Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Mechanics for a description on Molybdenum properties.

Regards

Sceptre
Click to expand...

I dont think you read my response correctly :poke: as I said "I suppose adding copper to the mix cant help" :P
 
More corrosion that you'd expect for a 2006 wheel :thumbsdown:

WLH - I don't think wheel mates will have any effect on this problem as the sticking point is the outside edge of the centre 'boss' and inside edge of the locating face on the rim, not the flat bolt mating faces. You can see from OP's post that the faces that wheel mates would sit on are actually very clean. (I'm not knocking wheel mates, just not for this issue)

ay8036 - not really a good idea to grease the bolts unless it specifically states to do so in the manual. Doing so massively increased the effective tightness of th bolts at any given torque. light grease on the mount as you suggest is a great idea.
 
I use the back of an axe with a long log against the wheel and turn the wheel a bit at the time. I bought a set of wheel mates as well which I will put up next time.
 
eyup said:
Ksher - please would you let me know whether you get the new revised 108's as discussed in here http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6623 ( i pretty sure you will have already read it) :wink:
Click to expand...

I have 4 new 108's fitted today. They all have Casting No.8 on the wheels.
IMG_0023.jpg
The top layer of the inner rim is different from the original.
 
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