I drive a 2006 silver V50 with alloy rims.
I had a flat tire months ago and once the car was jacked up and the nuts were off I could not get the rim off.
When I took off the central volvo badge, I saw extensive rust between the rim and the center of the axel mount.
It took sprays of WD-40 and wacks from a sledge (with wooden blocks) against the rim to eventually get it off.

Now I want to simply rotate the tires and am finding that ALL my rims are rusted to the wheel mount. Is this a common volvo problem? I live in a place where they do not rust the roads and there is rust no where else on the vehicle...How do I get my rims off? This seems like it could be a major issue if I ever get a flat where I don't have the tools/space to do all this work.

Any help is appreciated.
Ben

 

Hi Ben,
I have had the same issue. I had a heck of a time trying to rotate the tires this past fall. Again, just last week when I was getting new tires. I watched the tire guy while he was working on it to see if it was still a problem - yup. I laughed to myself while he was trying all sorts of methods getting it off (basically mimicing what I had done in my driveway)! I definitely think it's a common problem. Use the same method with the wooden blocks to get the wheels off, then apply some motor oil to the hub. Someone else suggested it and said they don't have the problem anymore.

 

It was a problem on 3 of my Volvos, a Toyota and a Mercedes. On the Toyota a rear wheel was so stuck on so bad it had to be destroyed to get it off. I finally wised up and spray each mounting surface with lithium grease during winter tire rotation.

 

The brake rotor are usually of cast steel and they can rust in a matter of hours if they wanted to.

Next time when you wish to take a wheel off, spray a plenty of PB Blaster onto the hub nut, lug bolt holes& rotor & wheel mating point (be sure to clean the rotors w/brake cleaner or denatured alcohol, if they are to be reused) the night before. Then hit the back of the wheel over some soft material such as a piece of wood as mentioned above or whatever would prevent the wheel from getting damaged from the sledge hammer violence.

Next time when you mount the wheels, I would coat the mating surfaces with anti-seize compound (NEVER get it on the braking surfaces). I would also rotate the tyres at every or every other oil change.

Good luck,


JPN

 

Use PB Blaster over a few days. Spray twice a day. It works wonders.

 

I can always get the wheel off by hitting the tire with about a 5 foot 2x4. Clean the surfaces with a sanding block and lube them as stated above.

 

After the rims are off wire brush really good to clean metal.
Then use a silicon based grease and put it on the hub. Also clean the rim.
Then it will be along time before you have this problem again.
Check the grease everytime you rotate the tires.