Removing wheel spacers.........they don't want to come off

HISSIN50 · May 18, 2007

I personally didnt think there'd be an issue with the C-clip. The Clips are under considerable force and leverage while driving. However, I respect True 5.0's opinion and if he feels there's an issue, I might be hesitant.

Is this so stuck that you cant: put your old wheel/tire back on the spacer, hand tighten the lugs (wheel to spacer) and pull or kick the tire (being real careful and all that - don't kick the car off the jackstands) to break this thing loose? The tire would give you lots of leverage.

And if it wasnt clear before, I misunderstood Duncan (Therian) about where he wanted to pry. My posts, when related to his, probably didnt make sense.

Good luck.

True 5.0 · May 18, 2007

HISSIN50 said:
I personally didnt think there'd be an issue with the C-clip. The Clips are under considerable force and leverage while driving. However, I respect True 5.0's opinion and if he feels there's an issue, I might be hesitant.

Is this so stuck that you cant: put your old wheel/tire back on the spacer, hand tighten the lugs (wheel to spacer) and pull or kick the tire (being real careful and all that - don't kick the car off the jackstands) to break this thing loose? The tire would give you lots of leverage.

And if it wasnt clear before, I misunderstood Duncan (Therian) about where he wanted to pry. My posts, when related to his, probably didnt make sense.

Good luck.

FWIW - I'm not saying anything WILL happen. I'm just concerned about what MIGHT happen. Heating the spacer up with a torch will let you pull it off by hand and there won't be any need for hammering or adapters.

87_GT · May 18, 2007

i had a similar problem on my truck, where the wheel had rusted it self to the rotor. i ended up putting the lugs on loosely, then i drove the truck down the driveway slowly, and when i braked, the tire busted free.

Therian · May 18, 2007

HISSIN50 said:
And if it wasnt clear before, I misunderstood Duncan (Therian) about where he wanted to pry. My posts, when related to his, probably didnt make sense.

I too, assumed that prying from the outside would be the easiest way to get them off. All it ends up doing is damaging the spacer though (or at least in my experience). The aluminum is quite fragile and will bend easily upon force.

If doing it again I would follow these steps

1. PB blaster inside, and outside the spacer
2. hit the spacer around with a rubber mallet or a hammer with a towel over it
3. repeat steps 1-2
4. Heat with MAPP or Propane for 30-45 seconds (inside, and outside) being careful not to touch the caliper with the flame
5. Take a large flatheat screwdriver to the inside of the spacer/hub, tapping three times forcefully on each point of the star pattern.

This should work...

94-302-vert · May 18, 2007

soeak it with penetrating oil, remove all inner lugs, bolt wheel on the car and pound away.... if you feel more comfortable put a board against the wheel and either kick it or use a sledge hammer to it off the car (from underneath)... rotate and keep doing this... it'll come off... it has too...

gcomfx.com · May 18, 2007

I sanded my axle quite a bit before putting my spacers on. It was really rough and rusty. Hopefully mine will come off, if I decide to change them. I had thought about removing them when trying the slicks.

Rock777 · May 18, 2007

There are some good ideas in here, that hopefully should work. I am going to try these in a couple minutes. I'll post with what worked.

94v6GT · May 18, 2007

im curious what brand of spacers they are?

Rock777 · May 18, 2007

Well, I tried tapping on the inside with a screwdriver, but got nowhere. I tried mounting the wheel to the spacer and rocking it in in all directions for a while, still wasn't getting anywhere.

So I said screw it, went to Ace Hardware and rented a slide hammer w/ the axle pulling attachment. I bolted it to the spacer, gave it about 5-6 good whacks and VIOLA.....Spacer off!!! Actually it whacked me in the leg hard, it was one hell of a bitter sweet feeling . Other side came off just as easy, Whew!

Thank you guys for all your ideas, I might have been out there now with a grinder or cutting torch otherwise

95riosnake · May 18, 2007

When I removed mine once, I just took the wheel off, took off the lugs off that hold the spacer to the axle, then bolted the wheel back on. I then got on the floor (the car was obviously on jack stands since I had removed the wheels) and kicked the wheel to the outside of the car and it came right off

Easy and no damage to anything. Took all of 15-20 mins.

Removing wheel spacers.........they don't want to come off

HISSIN50

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