How to Break Your Corroded Wheels Free

The day had finally come. I put off a small snowstorm or two because I hadn’t made time to swap on the new wheels. So, a steamy 60°F December Sunday rolled around and it was time to get to work.

I set aside an easy hour to jack up and swap all four wheels but of course, I underestimate everything.

It turns out, when you haven’t removed your wheels in years, the rim metal tends to corrode and fuse to the steel mates of your car. I had never had an issue with this before, but I hope if you are in my shoes, you can find this.

Let’s Dig In

I jacked up the first corner of my car. I removed the nuts and started pulling on the wheel. There was not even the slightest of wabbles.

I ended up calling my dad pretty quickly because I thought the middle of the wheel needed to be loosened somehow like as an anti-theft provision, but that was not the case.

My dad had experienced the same thing before, and he said just pull like hell. Kick, hammer, try anything to break that corrosion loose.

After probably an hour of trying this on a wheel or two to no avail, I decided to consult the internet. On YouTube I found a video of some sort of car mechanic backing up to the wheel and kicking backwards on the edge of the tire and having the parking brake off so it can spin was important. I tried this for another hour at least. To no avail.

Finally, I consulted the right place on the internet: Reddit. I found a thread of people experiencing the same thing as me. I had already attempted WD-40, but little did I know that’s not considered a penetrating oil, it is just “water displacing” or “WD.”

On Reddit, I found advice that for the front two wheels, you can loosen the nuts and drive slowly like an “S,” wiggling the wheels back and forth, in drive and reverse, and just like that, I heard both wheels break free within a minute or five. The sound of freedom!!

That method sadly did nothing for the rear wheels. Onto the next solution.

Wise Advice

I found a truck driver giving advice to take your spare, or in my case, any of the 4 spares around me, and roll the wheel at the edge of the wheel. It looks kind of like this:

And just like that, 3 TRIES LATER, you can see the wheel wiggling freely. You can also hear the moment it breaks free. My new favorite sound.

I was completely happy with how I finally pulled this off. However, I did have a couple colleagues question these methods.

I could see how driving on the loose wheels could be risky even if it is just a few feet. The tire method, however, I think is completely legit. As long as you’re not completely missing the tire, there are no risks.

After some discussion although, we decided on using actual penetrating oil is the most absolute correct way to go. Personally, I will stick with the tire method. I had a nice hill that helped it gain some momentum, so I would recommend that if at all possible.