Moss Motors, Ltd

i have a 53 td with wire wheels which have not been removed in probably 20 years. needless to say they are stuck. any ideas?

curt,

Penetrating oil, a mallet, and endless patience. Even with these, we have actually had situations where we had to burn them off with a torch. I know it sounds awful, and I'd try like crazy before resorting to such rash measures, but when they are rusted in place it's likely both the wheel and the hub are ruined anyway. If you suspect they are not actually rusted in place, try more gentle heating in case the problem is solidified grease. Anybody else?

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

Since TDs didn't come with wires originally is there any possibilty that these are bolt ons? Probably not, most were converted using MGA hubs. Here's a trick I've seen used, find a large empty parking lot and take a jack and friend along. Loosen the knock off on one wheel a couple of turns and then drive the car in a circle at slow speed turning away from the side with the loosend wheel. Many times the side force and rotation will cause the wheel to slip out on the splines. That's what the friend is for, to visually check before the wheel comes totally off. When the wheel pops loose, jack up the car, remove the wheel and apply anti-sieze grease to the splines and reinstall, move on to another wheel. Time consuming, but a lot easier and cheaper than beating the hubs up with a mallet.

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'73 Midget (V6)
'59 MGA (I6) under construction
'73 Lotus Europa
'52 MG TD kit car body project.
'98 Jag XK8

"There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness"

I wasn't suggesting beating the hubs themselves with anything. With the wheel raised off the floor, one spins the wheel and uses the mallet on the tire's inner sidewall. This causes a good deal of vibration and outward rocking force, as the hammer blows contact different points while the wheel rotates. The best mallet to use is what is known as a tire hammer. It has a steel head on one side and a rubber covered head on the other. That, if you can find one, is the side to use. Good luck. I must say that I do not advise driving the car with the knock-off loosened at any speed at all. It's the wheels we want to remove, not the fenders.

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

The "driving in circles" trick does work.  To be safe, it's a good idea to tie the spinner to the spokes so it cannot unthread itself.  Loosening it half way is more than enough to allow the wheel to pop loose.  Heat and penetrating oil can also do the trick as Bill advises.  Once removed, you may want to lightly wire brush the splines to remove loose rust or foreign particles.  Then lube them with grease, anti-seize, whatever you have handy.  Nothing too light or it will end up running out of the hub and all over your wheels as you drive!

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I have a strange situation. Last year, I had to replace the wire wheels and hubs on my 1950 MGTD. After 1 000 miles I checked the wheels by raising each wheel in turn and checked things over. However, the one back wheel will not come off the hub. I took it to my local garage and they beat it, drove it around with the spinner off, put on a wheel puller -- nothing worked. I am now reduced to cutting the wheel off with a torch! It seems as though the splines have interlocked somehow. Before I take this drastic step, has anybody ever had this problem and got any advice for me? .

Thanks

Rab

With the spinner off, try heating the wire wheel hub up with a torch then spray PC Blaster between the wheel hub and the axle hub and then follow the advice of Motorbill about hammering on the well inflated tire.

Thank you. I shall try your advice and see if I can save my wheel. It is strange in that this is a new wheel and hub. I shall let you know how it goes.

Nothing worked. In the end I ordered a new wheel and hub from Moss and then cut off the stuck wheel with a cutting torch. This was an expensive fix but at least the car is now mobile again!!

Sorry to hear that nothing worked! Does it look like the wheel spun on the hub? The splines on both the wheel & the hub are likely to look stripped.