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Tire change tip

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Dark_matter_doesn't, Jul 30, 2011.

  1. Dark_matter_doesn't

    Dark_matter_doesn't Prius Tinkerer

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    A couple of weeks ago, I rescued a "damsel in distress" plus two burly State Patrol officers at the Mukilteo ferry dock. She had a flat rear tire on her Gen II Prius, and the two officers were helping her by changing it, but they couldn't get the tire off after the lug nuts were removed.

    After watching the struggle for a few minutes, I walked over and looked at the wheel center (no center cap) and noted that there seemed to be a pretty tight fit between the hole in the alloy rim and the wheel hub. I had one of the officers push on the opposite side of the car while I kicked the tire a few times. The wheel popped free. There was a fair amount of rust on the hub where the rim made contact that had virtually welded the rim to the hub.

    I just pulled the rear tires off my Gen III and found some rust starting to form on the round ridge on the hub over which the tire rim fits. I used a coarse Scotchbrite abrasive pad to remove the rust from the hub and from the inside of the alloy rim, then I applied a thin film of disk brake wheel bearing grease to both sides before replacing the tire on the hub (disk brake wheel bearing grease won't liquify at high brake temps). This should prevent future problems getting the tires off when changing a tire, like in the middle of the night on the shoulder of a busy freeway (Murphy's Law runs my life).
     
    #1 Dark_matter_doesn't, Jul 30, 2011
    6 people like this.
  2. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    Thanks Dark Matter. I've painted hubs before with a high temp paint to keep the rust from causing problems. I'm going to have to check mine and see if there is any problems.
     
    #2 GSW, Jul 30, 2011
  3. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    My hero. ;) Good tip for sure.
     
    #3 spiderman, Jul 30, 2011
  4. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Never seize works well for this problem! Hal
     
    #4 Hal W, Jul 30, 2011
  5. rebenson

    rebenson Member

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    That should be a good incentive to rotate tires every 5K miles.
     
    #5 rebenson, Jul 30, 2011
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  6. katiesdad7

    katiesdad7 Member

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    You can also loosen the lugs with the tire already on the ground. Drive about 5 feet and it will come loose before you jack it up.
     
    #6 katiesdad7, Aug 3, 2011
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  7. cit1991

    cit1991 New Member

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    I've had this happen on other cars. Just remove or loosen the nuts, and start lowering the jack to put some of the car's weight on the wheel. That has always popped it off.
     
    #7 cit1991, Aug 4, 2011
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    ^D.O. Well, almost always: once I had to put the full weight on the floor, and then bounce the corner a bit, just push down with a bit of sudden down force at that corner of the car.
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Aug 6, 2011
  9. Dark_matter_doesn't

    Dark_matter_doesn't Prius Tinkerer

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    The difference between Toyota and most other cars is the raised circular ridge near the center of the hubs. The wheel fits on this ridge without much clearance. If rust fills up the clearance, and effectively welds the wheel onto the hub, just lowering the vehicle onto that tire won't free it.

    I could imagine that Toyota did this as a safety measure. If the wheel lugs should loosen up, this design helps keep the wheel centered on the hub instead of flopping around.
     
    #9 Dark_matter_doesn't, Aug 6, 2011
  10. duffasaurus

    duffasaurus Senior Member

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    Good point and I wonder if the OP does tire roatation every 5K miles??
     
    #10 duffasaurus, Aug 6, 2011
  11. Dark_matter_doesn't

    Dark_matter_doesn't Prius Tinkerer

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    I do, and for various upgrades I've had the tires off more frequently.
     
    #11 Dark_matter_doesn't, Aug 7, 2011
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I took the back wheels only off last weekend, and both were pretty glued on. Had to do the re-install lug nuts loose and lower the car trick. The cause looks to be corrosion at the center hub to center of rim contact area. I put a bit of moly anti-sieze on the interface, sparingly. I'm thinking if I ladle it on it might migrate into the disc area, with centrifical force.
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Oct 26, 2011
  13. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    more importantly how many miles between rotations for the "damsel in distress" the OP mentioned.

    The OP took care of his car. The damsel didn't. So the question is how much of a difference in care does it take to hit this issue?
     
    #13 dhanson865, Oct 28, 2011
  14. wheelsup

    wheelsup Junior Member

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    This is why they make 36" prybars :)

    But good tip I will have to zip mine off @ 45k to apply some anti-seize. Love that stuff.
     
    #14 wheelsup, Oct 28, 2011
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