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First let me say that I'm really embarrassed I did this...

I was trying to replace my rotors on my Matrix 2009 XR. Rear passenger side. I took off my old rotor and then noticed I didn't have appropriate tool to push piston back in.

I didn't put the old rotor back in and instead put the wheel back on and tightened the bolts.

2 days later, I come back to finish the job. Rim/Tire is stuck to the wheel hub and won't come off.

I used WD40. I hit the tire with a hammer. I tried using leverage to force it out. I used a torch to heat wheel hub center for at least 4 minutes. Nothing worked.

What can I do?

https://imgur.com/a/6ZHnskN

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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Craig Lastman
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1 Answers1

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WD40 is not a penetrating oil. Get some Liquid Wrench, Kroil or PB Blaster, apply some and let it work for awhile.

Hitting the tire is mostly useless, because it absorbs the energy of the blow. A soft face dead blow hammer on the metal wheel rim itself may do the trick, but may bend the rim.

I think the most promising approach may be to get a small hydraulic bottle jack like this:

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[Amazon image, no endorsement intended]

The idea is to find a heavy structural member under the vehicle against which you can prop a suitable entender like a length of 4x4, then position the jack between the inside of the wheel rim and the 4x4. Pump the jack till the wheel pops free.

A few bungees may help by supporting the 4x4 in place so you don't need 4 hands.

If it makes more sense to put the jack against the structural member and the 4x4 against the wheel, feel free to do whatever works best.

For future readers, if the stuck rim is on the front, using the power steering to force the wheel against a propped 4x4 instead of using a jack has been known to work.

An insane friend who shall remain nameless had a stuck rim on the back of his muscle car, so he put the lug nuts back on, loosened them a couple of turns, then drove to a parking lot and proceeded to do donuts until the rim came loose. Not suggesting you do this, but it did work for him.

MTA
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