Need Help Changing a flat on an 03

It's called rust dude, grab a rubber mallet or something that won't damage the wheel and bang on the inside of the wheel so it will give.

or just kick it really hard. always happens.

Don't go banging on the wheel to get it off. The reason it is wedged is because someone used an air wrench to put on the bolts and over torqued the lug nuts. (And people wonder why they get bent rotors and have bearing problems.)

Go to Sears and get a gear puller. One of these:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=00946905000

Use it to pull the wheel off. Put the hooks in the holes in the steel wheel. When you put the wheel back on use a torque wrench to properly tighten the lug nuts.

baldmountain said:

Don't go banging on the wheel to get it off. The reason it is wedged is because someone used an air wrench to put on the bolts and over torqued the lug nuts. (And people wonder why they get bent rotors and have bearing problems.)

Go to Sears and get a gear puller. One of these:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=00946905000

Use it to pull the wheel off. Put the hooks in the holes in the steel wheel. When you put the wheel back on use a torque wrench to properly tighten the lug nuts.

Click to expand...

there is no need to go get a gear puller to pull one wheel off that is probally rusted on and or over torqued on, using a rubber mallet or kicking the corner of the tire is perfectly fine and will not hurt anything (as long as the car stays on the jack )

The gear puller works better. I had a wheel so stuck on that whacking it with a 5 lb sledge wouldn't get it loose. The puller got the wheel off and did less damage than the sledge hammer.

I also used the puller to rescue a young cutie with a stuck on flat wheel so it was a $30 well spent.

Bah, a rubber mallet will do just fine.
overtorquing lug nuts wont result in bent rotors or broken bearings. Lug nuts are only on the hub flange.

With regards to jacking your car (not your real issue), go to walmart, kmart or sears and grab yourself a $25 two ton floor jack and leave it in your trunk.

It's a lifesaver!!

There seems to be two modes of thought about working on suspensions. One is to use a tool, the other is to whack it with a hammer. I have a LONG history of destroying things and having to buy new parts to replace items that have suffered "percussive" maintenance. So I tend to use a tool in places where a hammer might be OK in someone else's hands.

A good example is someone suggested using a rubber mallet to loosen brake drums or maybe rotors. Both have a couple threaded holes that you can thread bolts into to slide the rotor/drum off rather than smacking it with a rubber mallet.

+1 on the floor jack suggestion. Although I'd opt for a decent one if you are spending any time under the car. Good jack stands too.

Grown some balls and save your money, pull on that B-otch till it comes off!

a rubber mallet is softer than the metal, so it wont damage it. Alot of brake drums lack the two holes for bolts.

a rubber mallet is softer than the metal, so it wont damage it. Alot of brake drums lack the two holes for bolts.

a rubber mallet is softer than the metal, so it wont damage it. Alot of brake drums lack the two holes for bolts.

I used a 2 ft pry bar to get my rims off. The drum gave me a good place to get leverage.

The rear wheel on a 03 is drum not disc..

I read that you can put the wheel back on but leave the lugs just hand tightened and give it gas for about 10 feet and hit the brake hard then do the same in reverse...this is suppose to break it loose easily...

Some have said it worked..I have never tried it so take it for what its worth!

~Radd

so did you get the rim off?

Put a chain around the tire and the other end of the chain attached to another cars bumper or trailer ball.<<< NOT Then have someone step on the gas and pull. Dude just use the rubber mallet and smack it loose. Just make sure the tire is off the ground.

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thanks everyone for the replies. We tried the rubber mallet thing and it didn't work, then my dad jerked on the damn tire until the car was wobbling all over the place on the jack (dumbass).
In the end, my dad just bought some fix-a-flat and drove it to the tire-change place.

Maybe you could help me with another issue. I own a 96 Tracker and I am having a squeaking issue, that is directly related to the heater being on (no squeaking when its off) and how hard I press the gas (louder when I gas it hard than when it idles). My mechanic wants me to spend $350 dollars changing all the belts, and while my mechanic does great work, I feel like he is either wrong on his diagnosis or is giving me the shaft.

hailxkill said:

In the end, my dad just bought some fix-a-flat and drove it to the tire-change place.

Click to expand...

I told ya'. $30 at Sears for a gear puller. Works every time. And you'll have it when you are stuck in the middle of no where with a flat and one of the other wheels won't come off. I leave mine in the trunk with a wrench that will turn it.