Brad Clayton Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I am looking for some input on how you guys remove seized wheels on newer duallies. We have tried everything from sledge hammers to doing figure 8's in the parking lot with the lugs loose to porta powers and air hammers. Nothing seems to work better than any one method, a new guy has resorted to the torch on the '08s with 19.5" rims. This is causing some serious stress on the wheels and wallets. Anyone have a magic bullet out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I know you said you have tried air hammers. But I have a long barrel air hammer that I use with the one inch hammer head. I go around between the studs in a star pattern and the rims come right off. And no damaging the rims or studs. I do the same thing with seized drums and havn't had a propblem yet. I know the other guys in the shop with the cheap air hammers fight and swear as well. Not sure if you are using a cheap or good air hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Like others, we often have bouts of creating new and interesting epithets getting these things off (why is it they will fall off on the road but we can't hardly get them off in the bay?). I haven't tried Dwaynes method ,yet.. but I'n sure there will be an opportunity real soon (mud season is upon us). But I'll vouch for the power of a long stroke air hammer... After years of those dorky short stroke things, I'll never go back. FWIW, mine is a Blue Point (t'was $156 in the coin of our realm) - it wound up as a guest of the SnapOn repair depot not long after I got it... but whatever they did has worked like a charm since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Kaylor Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 there is a puller that works well, but its about 1500 bucks. i have found that keeping cans of spray anti-seize handy works well for going back together keeping them from doing it, but you still have to pull the wheels to do that. big ass air hammer, and a violent tech with a sledge on the backside /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_E Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Check this out: Dually Buddy I haven't bought one yet, but I'm thinking about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I've got the Blue point air hammer as well Jim. Can't complain about it. It has way more jam than anyone elses in the shop. Sometimes the Job may take a bit of rattling, but they always come off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 We have a 9lb dead blow mallot named "emma" we use, for the stubborn ones just loosin the lugs and go off-roading. Never failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 We have a wheel puller. It is basically a frame with a massive threaded rod with a cup on the end. Hook three chains between the wheel and the frame, and crank the screw against the hub with a 1" gun untill it pops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shlep Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 For steel wheels the air hammer always works, for the others I find you have to pour really hot water on them and they almost fall off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I've got a giant mallot that works about 95% of the time. It barely fits in my toolbox. You have to swing it like you mean it though. I like the idea of loosening the lugs and going off-roading. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif I haven't had to use it yet, but we have some portable hydrailic ram that I see others using in the shop. I'll use that next time I get one that won't come off with my mallot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 One of my buddies has a nifty idea that works well. He has taken a large heavy rod (1.5" hydraulic cylinder ram about 5-6' long) and welded a hook to the end of it. He puts it across the end of the axle flange and hooks the hook inside a hand hole opposite the valve stem. With the leverage ratio involved, he can wail some serious leverage into the wheel and break it loose. Much of the time he only needs to grunt this once, but sometimes he needs to spin it 180 degrees and access the other hand hole. This time you gotta watch the valve stem. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif It sounds like an idea to try. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 This idea was way to easy for me to come up with! Sometimes I over think a problem just a smidge. An idea I will try for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I have a long barrel air hammer, Not sure if you are using a cheap or good air hammer. At the shop we have the mother of all air hammers, it's made for cutting concrete block and makes all other air hammers look wimpy. Harbor Freight used to carry them, but I don't see them on their website anymore. Here's a couple of Ebay links: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Pneumatic-Air-Ch...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Chicago-Pneumatic-Ai...1QQcmdZViewItem (make sure you get the long barrelled version like the second one, it's much stronger) These are large, heavy, two handed tools meant to do serious damage. They are great for driving kingpins out cold or breaking loose large parts that are really stuck in place, like wheels. They use a .680 shank, I generally buy the longest tip and cut it blunt for my use. I think a regular air hammer uses a .401 shank tip. I also have a CP 717 with a .498 shank that does serious damage for a one handed tool- much stronger than any Snappy I ever used. http://212.75.80.201/CPIndustrialSite/Default.asp He who dies.......! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin phillips Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 i've got a large snap on dead blow ,one of the biggest they offer, 16lb i think, and a few swings usually brings them off after some pb blaster on the rims where they meet the hub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I also find that sanding off the rust on the hub helps. Ever notice the wheels have a slight bevel, sometimes the rust just jams under that bevel and the wheel continues to fight you after it has been released from it's death grip. I am not suggesting you strip the metal like you want to paint it, just a couple minutes with a piece of emery cloth and wash it off with some Brakleen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I have a great big orange dead blow hammer, 16lb, with a 3 foot handle I got from the Mac man. In other news, I had a busted balljoint press, that I cut the lug off the end with the threads (on the c-clamp bit) so it will go through the hole in the wheel. You then thread the balljoint press screw into the threaded hole in the piece of metal, and roll it down so it's pushing against the inside wheel (usually a steelie anyways) and climb on 'er with the impact. Pulls the wheels off every time. And once you get the outer wheel off, you could put the end of said press screw on the brake pad, or drum, dependant on year. I have found that this works QUITE well, until my tool went missing. The dealer I used to work at paid me .5 to get wheels off for guys. Need another warranty balljoint press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Okay guys I have heard some really good ways of getting those tough buggers off....How about when you put them back on???? What do you do???? Grease,anti-sieze any others???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Antisieze for me. Can't beat that nicle plate antisieze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 The nickel shit costs a lot more than a nickel.... Kopr Kote is great for wheel hubs but that's a matter of taste, I guess... For the little bit we rub on a hub (I'm a poet!!!), cost probably don't mean much, anyway. A consideration.... our local conditions can help us decide what we need and where we need it... For those in snowbound areas... some areas use calcium chloride on the roads. Here in Alberta, we have a ready supply of sodium chloride (common salt). That simple difference can make a lot of difference depending on the wheels, the hubs, the anti-sieze and, perhaps, even the paint used on the wheels. The more experience I get, the less I seem to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 How about when you put them back on???? What do you do???? Grease,anti-sieze any others???? I know the mfr's don't recommend grease, but we've been using it for 30 years without problems. We're in a heavy road salt area, and work on a lot of trucks that haul chlorine and other very corrosive chemicals. A coffee can filled with chassis grease sits on each tech's cart with a solvent brush in it. We paint a coating of grease on the lug studs and wheel hubs, and they rarely give grief coming off again. All lug nuts are burped with a gun, but also hand torqued with a torque wrench to spec. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 We paint a coating of grease on the lug studs and wheel hubs, and they rarely give grief coming off again. All lug nuts are burped with a gun, but also hand torqued with a torque wrench to spec But I have always been taught that lug nuts and studs should NEVER be lubricated and that they should be clean, dry and hand torqued. Wouldn't lubricating the threads cause the studs/nuts to actually be over-torqued risking a failure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Originally Posted By: Bruce Amacker We paint a coating of grease on the lug studs and wheel hubs, and they rarely give grief coming off again. All lug nuts are burped with a gun, but also hand torqued with a torque wrench to spec But I have always been taught that lug nuts and studs should NEVER be lubricated and that they should be clean, dry and hand torqued. Wouldn't lubricating the threads cause the studs/nuts to actually be over-torqued risking a failure? This is all correct, but this is where theory conflicts with reality. There's a salt mine under downtown Cleveland, so the price of salt is very cheap here. Many suburbs have a "wet road" policy in the winter, which means there is to be no snow on the road surface at all. This means an enormous amount of road salt is used here, enough that it is commonly built up several inches deep on the shoulder as a powder at times when it dries out. If you don't grease the wheels, they won't come off next year. It's a choice between two devils- going against what the mfr says, or torching/breaking half of the lugs and wasting a bunch of time (money) removing the wheels every time they come off. I can remember only having one wheel come loose in 30 years, and I'm pretty sure the tech simply forgot to tighten it. (front wheel on a 1 ton GM, cust caught it before damage was done) I am aware that the mfr's all say clean, dry, torqued, but around here they will really rot together. Anti-seize would be better, but I would have gone broke buying it for the amount we'd use. Oddly enough, we saw more loose wheels on trucks we didn't service regularly than the trucks we did service regularly. We did quite a few hubs/wheels on non-regular customers, and I think the rust buildup caused this. We regulary sandblasted the rust off the wheel centers to be sure they seated correctly. I never once ate a loose one, though. I'm just relating my experiences. We've greased tens (maybe hundreds?) of thousands of wheels without a problem and I know others around here that do the same thing. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Bruce, I have to tell you and the rest of the guys here... You are as good in person as well as on line, if anyone needs help you have given more than most will. The amount of knowledge that you share as well as everyone else here is a testament that there are people that care and want to help one another. I am honored to be part of this forum and look forward to the future with all of you guy's. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabfoes87 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Check this out: Dually Buddy quote by Jeff E We have this at our shop but it's tricky to use. It will work on the caliper bracket but if slips onto the rotor, could cause a nasty little indent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Well, we have tried everything under the sun, including the dual wheel buddy which is a total pile of crap btw. Here in Vermont duals just laugh at that thing. But we got this unit from Kiene diesel and I haven't run across a wheel it can't take off. This thing is the cats meow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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