Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

If you remember the thread of mine where I was telling you about the Oldie Wheels my friend brought over... Well anyway I cant find it anymore, gettin old I guess..well..

Anyway my friend called again and now he found the entire back axle with 2 more wheels on it.. Hubs and all..

So now its back to checking these wheels out and in hopes of finding at least 2 of them to be good enough to repair..

But ok here is what they look like..Now my question is.. how do we get these off the hubs or off in general ? I believe the lugnuts and bolts are
very badly rusted so there is no easy way to get them off.. How can I approach this? Besides with a torch cutter.

So all of a sudden Ive got 4 of them..1 for sure beyond repair in my thought any way..





Classic Finn

If you just want to get the lugnuts off and you have access to a torch, here's what I'd do. Take the torch and heat ONE SIDE of the lugnut red and then immediatley put a socket on it and take it off. By heating one side, it makes the lugnut egg-shaped allowing the tight grip to be let loose. This also works great for knocking ball joints and tierod ends loose on vehicles.

Something else I've done and had good (not great) success with is this. Get some wax (birthday candle, whatever) and heat up the problem nut/bolt just hot enough to melt the wax. Leave it until it's cool and then try and loosen the nut. By melting wax on the threads the liquid will be drawn inside and act as a lubricant when you get the nut/bolt to come loose. Like I said, it works sometimes but not always.

Good luck!!

Jeff

WarPony wrote:If you just want to get the lugnuts off and you have access to a torch, here's what I'd do. Take the torch and heat ONE SIDE of the lugnut red and then immediatley put a socket on it and take it off. By heating one side, it makes the lugnut egg-shaped allowing the tight grip to be let loose. This also works great for knocking ball joints and tierod ends loose on vehicles.

Something else I've done and had good (not great) success with is this. Get some wax (birthday candle, whatever) and heat up the problem nut/bolt just hot enough to melt the wax. Leave it until it's cool and then try and loosen the nut. By melting wax on the threads the liquid will be drawn inside and act as a lubricant when you get the nut/bolt to come loose. Like I said, it works sometimes but not always.

Good luck!!

Jeff

Hi there Jeff and Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Looks like Im back to square one again with these wheels but instead of 2 Ive got 4.. Model A wheels..

The price is right ... No Charge but I have to go and get them off 1st ..

I,ll give it a shot though and I,ll let you know what happens..

Thanks
Classic Finn

I have removed rusted lugnuts by getting a piece of pipe the same size as the nut and pounding the pipe onto the nut and just breaking the stud off. works great for removing locking lugnuts as well. If the nuts are rusted the studs are probably no good anyway.
Aaron

If you try to unscrew them use a good quality 6 point socket. I often heat the whole nut to red, or at least as hot as the surrounding area lets me. then let it cool down a bit.

Don't do this!!!

Man Hurt Using Shotgun to Loosen Lug Nut
Nov 12, 2007SOUTHWORTH, Wash. (AP) — A man trying to loosen a stubborn lug nut blasted the wheel with a 12-gauge shotgun, injuring himself badly in both legs, sheriff's deputies said.

The 66-year-old man had been repairing a Lincoln Continental for two weeks at his home northwest of Southworth, about 10 miles southwest of Seattle, and had gotten all but one of the lug nuts off the right rear wheel by Saturday afternoon, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said.

"He's bound and determined to get that lug nut off," Wilson said.

From about arm's length, the man fired the shotgun at the wheel and was "peppered" in both legs with buckshot and debris, with some injuries as high as his chin, according to a sheriff's office report.

"Nobody else was there and he wasn't intoxicated," Wilson said.

The man was taken to Tacoma General Hospital with injuries Wilson described as severe but not life-threatening.

I heard about this a couple of weeks ago........... I laughed my a$$ off because he was 66, alone and not drunk.

Old enough to know better and his judgement wasn't clouded by alcohol........ that was a man driven to extreme measures.

Jeff

What's worse about this newsclip....I've felt frustrated enough to do this too!!!! Shame...I could have made National headlines!!! And if it had worked????? Maybe a new product for mass marketing..."JuneauDave's Rust-Be-Gone" for frozen bolts!!!! A guy could make millions!!!

Hi Heikki,
Congratulations on getting two more wheels. Hopefully these will be in better shape.

What kinds of solvents that dissolve rust are available in Finland? It might be worth checking into.
I wish I was more of an expert, but what I'm wondering is how the bolts are attached to the hubs & since these hubs fit these wheels would you want to try to reuse the hubs if they were in good enough shape or try to find something new that would work with the old wheels?:thinking:

Fortunately for us the axle, the hubs & the wheels were all in basically good shape once cleaned up.

Just soaking it in oil for some time may help...??? or Dynamite!!!

Heikki....an extra long cheater pipe on a breaker bar. Or you might try a local mechanic with a big impact wrench. Just an idea...Doug

I have used a drimel tool with a cutting wheel and cut two slices in the nut (about 1/4" or about 5mm apart), Then used a hammer and chisel to knock the peice out and spread it open. Be real careful when close to the rim or wheel.
Good luck my friend and stay warm.

On old rusty stuff like this I generally take the easy way out and just burn off the inside head of the lug bolts on the back of the hubs and knock the lugs out with a drift punch and hammer. The advantage is no possible damage to the wheels and you just install new lugbolts and you can use the axle/hubs too if you want to. Plus it is fast!

Heikki,

I'm with Doug on this one, some oil and a big breaker/cheater bar.
Always tighten slightly before trying to loosen...
A little heat used sparingly is okay, too much is really bad!
New lug nuts are available.

The wheel you have pictured will fit a model A, but is 1932-1935.
The hub, if model a, has the lug bolts swedged in.
It takes a pretty good size press to replace them.
After replacement, the hub may be out of round, which can make the drum out of round...if it is a concern.

1928-29 wheels are 21"
1930-31 wheels are 19"
They used a small center cap.

1932 wheels are 18"
1933-34 wheels are 17"
1935 wheels are 16"
All these used the larger center cap (hubcap) such as in your photo.


Rob

Get some PB BLASTER penetration oil....

http://www.pbblaster.com/store/moreinfo ... oduct_ID=1

Soak down parts several time over several days....

Get socket that provide best possible fit ( 6 point) and maybe air impact wrench or breaker bar with cheater....

Smack the head of the lug nut with BIG hammer and punch or drift to "shock it" and get after it with tools,.... Make sure wheel is secure so it can't move for attacking with tools...If it shifts as you are working on it you can loose balance and get hurt.... It's always better to PULL on tools than PUSH. Its easier to maintain composure ( balance) when pulling if something breaks...

This is also a interesting product...

http://www.pbblaster.com/store/moreinfo ... duct_ID=25

Dale