daft question: Mercedes Sprinter wheel removal

[Night Train]

And when you put it back on, you'll have the opportunity to put some grease on the bolts and the mating faces to stop it happening again.

NO! Don't grease the bolts. The bolts need to be dry. If they are greased then you can easily over tighten them and damage the bolts or the threads. Also the bolts rely on the friction of the threads caused by the tension on them to stay tight.

A little copper or aluminium grease on the centre locating hole between the wheela dn hub will be all you will need.

 

[bonj2]

you've definitely jacked it up?

 

[Aint Skeered]

Beat the crap out of it. Lump of wood against the rim and give it some with a sledge hammer. It might take a few hefty blows, but it will come eventually.
WD40 will not do anything, I work on sprinters quite a bit, and believe me, this is the best method.

 

[Crackle]

Beat the crap out of it. Lump of wood against the rim and give it some with a sledge hammer. It might take a few hefty blows, but it will come eventually.
WD40 will not do anything, I work on sprinters quite a bit, and believe me, this is the best method.

Where the damn things gone flat is on a gravely path. I've put the bottle jack on some wood and slate but I don't have any axle stands so I don't want to stick myself under the van to smack the wheel. That said, I shall try and rig something up today, bearing in mind it's a camper conversion, so weighs about three ton unloaded. Not something you want to fall on top of you.

I've tried gently rocking it with nuts loosened, so today I shall try and prize the mated surface apart through the holes in the outer rim, hoping the ovenight WD40 has done some work. Plus some rocking and careful thumping.

I won't be putting any grease on the bolts, Torque settings are for dry bolts but I will clean the mating surfaces and while I'm at, I think I'll take the other wheels off. The thought of a puncture in a dodgy spot with van full of kids, wife and dog and me not being able to get the wheel off does not thrill me. If it was Mrs Crackle and kids by herself, I think I would advise her to call the AA, it's not like changing a car wheel.

Thank you Bonj Yes it is jacked up.

 

[Crackle]

Yeee Haaaaah! Off.

Full marks to aint skeered and good marks to Sheddy. I think Sheddy's technique would have worked if I'd rolled it more but I didn't want to ruin the tyre for the sake of a faulty valve.

Anyway, lying face down under the van and twelting a lump of wood held against the outer rim with a 2lb lump hammer eventually shifted it.

And to think: I only went out to take the 4 bike carrier off and put the two bike on

 

[4F]

Yeee Haaaaah! Off.

Full marks to aint skeered and good marks to Sheddy. I think Sheddy's technique would have worked if I'd rolled it more but I didn't want to ruin the tyre for the sake of a faulty valve.

Anyway, lying face down under the van and twelting a lump of wood held against the outer rim with a 2lb lump hammer eventually shifted it.

And to think: I only went out to take the 4 bike carrier off and put the two bike on

You were under the van which was only supported by a bottle jack hammering outwards You seriously need some axle stands !

 

[Crackle]

You were under the van which was only supported by a bottle jack hammering outwards You seriously need some axle stands !

No, no. Even I'm not that foolish. I'd rigged the spare and some wood under the diff and then lowered the van slightly so it was taking some weight, hence more stable.

You're right though, I need some axle stands.

 

[4F]

No, no. Even I'm not that foolish. I'd rigged the spare and some wood under the diff and then lowered the van slightly so it was taking some weight, hence more stable.

You're right though, I need some axle stands.

Phew . I am sure you would not be suprised at the amount of people who do go under the car supported just by a jack

 

[Crackle]

Phew . I am sure you would not be suprised at the amount of people who do go under the car supported just by a jack

I know. A school friends dad, a mechanic himself, was killed when an unchocked car fell off the jack onto him. My uncle was only saved by his brute strength and the fact someone was passing.

No, I'm definitely a belt and braces person. I'd not only chocked it but lay under it pre-lift to see how much space I'd have if it fell off. I'd have got out but probably with a bruised back where the suspension bounced when it came down.

 

[Aint Skeered]

Yeee Haaaaah! Off.

Full marks to aint skeered and good marks to Sheddy. I think Sheddy's technique would have worked if I'd rolled it more but I didn't want to ruin the tyre for the sake of a faulty valve.

Anyway, lying face down under the van and twelting a lump of wood held against the outer rim with a 2lb lump hammer eventually shifted it.

And to think: I only went out to take the 4 bike carrier off and put the two bike on

f*ck me, You're a nutter Crackle. I meant hit it from the outside of the rim,
thus breaking the bond between the hub and the rim.
Anyway glad it came off, but next time from the outside ok

 

[Aperitif]

f*ck me, You're a nutter Crackle. I meant hit it from the outside of the rim,
thus breaking the bond between the hub and the rim.
Anyway glad it came off, but next time from the outside ok

Yes - I was thinking that a bit too

 

[Crackle]

Nah! I aint skeered Took the bit between my 'teef and went for it

Besides, I spent all day yesterday twelting it from the outside; it laughed at me. Needs must, it had become personal, there was no way the AA was getting involved. It was me or the wheel



Think I might go and change that bike carrier now. A DIY day, as I've just dog escape-proofed the gate.

Might go to the beach later with the kids and go for a swim. Did it yesterday, bloody freezin'. Thank Gawd for wetsuits.

 

[Twenty Inch]

NO! Don't grease the bolts. The bolts need to be dry. If they are greased then you can easily over tighten them and damage the bolts or the threads. Also the bolts rely on the friction of the threads caused by the tension on them to stay tight.

A little copper or aluminium grease on the centre locating hole between the wheela dn hub will be all you will need.

What are your wheelbolts made out of? Papier-maché? I've never damaged them or had them undo yet, and they are a LOT easier to get off - the difference is quite noticeable when working on other people's cars.

 

[Night Train]

I won't be putting any grease on the bolts, Torque settings are for dry bolts but I will clean the mating surfaces

This is true.

If the bolts are lubricated then they will over tighten as there will be less torque required to turn them. I did it when I was learning to be a mechanic working on trucks. I got a blob of grease on a wheel stud and just wiped it round with my finger and put the nut on. When my boss torqued all the nuts one of them wouldn't 'click' and just kept turning so he took it off, or tried to. The threads stripped due to the grease making them slip over each other as the torque was applied. The replacement stud and nut came out of my pay as did the time to change it.

 

[Twenty Inch]

This is true.

If the bolts are lubricated then they will over tighten as there will be less torque required to turn them. I did it when I was learning to be a mechanic working on trucks. I got a blob of grease on a wheel stud and just wiped it round with my finger and put the nut on. When my boss torqued all the nuts one of them wouldn't 'click' and just kept turning so he took it off, or tried to. The threads stripped due to the grease making them slip over each other as the torque was applied. The replacement stud and nut came out of my pay as did the time to change it.

I bow to superior experience, but with some misgivings about how SWMBO will change a wheel at the side of the road on a dark and windy night.