I have an 03 3500 4x4 and rotate the tires every 7500 miles. Went to rotate them over the weekend and found the front wheels rusted/frozen on. All of the lugnuts came off easily but the rim will not budge.

Any ideas on how to get them loose? I've tried a little heat and some hammering but that hasn't worked. Even tried putting the weight of the truck on one side. Didn't do a thing.

In stall two lugnuts loosely with the truck in the air strike the sidewall of the tire both inside and out. When you do get them off clean the hub and rim (wire wheel works nice) and put some grease on the hub should save you from another battle next time.

The rims get frozen to the hubs because their hub piloted and freeze up at the center's.
Try hitting the tires on the outside with a bigger hammer :) or in extreme cases I've heard guys loosen the lug nut's some and drive down the street a little till it breaks loose.
And the grease is a good idea or some anti-seize works good too.

Good Luck

I just popped off the rears on mine with a big iron pipe. Wedged it between the wheel and the leaf spring and gave it a quick pull. I don't know how it will work on the front though..

I had thought about trying the loose lugnuts driving down the street but wanted to see if anyone else had tried that first (and not destroyed anything!). Once it stops raining around here, I'll give that a try.

Thanks for the info guys.

ya know my old man always said if all else fails get a bigger hammer. if you do loosen the lugnuts be careful you dont oval the holes gettign home. dont take much with all that weight. easiest woul be put it in 4low and turn pop those wheels right off. or if ya got a port-a-power go wheel to wheel and beat on the rim it will pop.

Do not drive on loose lugs they could break when you go to retorq them or when you're on the highway doin' 80mph bad bad bad idea!!!!!

Id just hit the tire itself w/a small hammer, i bet it wont take much...
We got alot of old trucks on our farm, and find myself changing tires on some that havent been off in yrs...get out the 3ft sledge, hit the rim 2-3times and will slide right off..
I wouldnt even consider driving it w/loose lugnuts...It wont take much and your stud holes will be nicely egged out, if they dont break on ya...

You have to use a little common sense about the loose lug nut's.
First off just loosen them a little so if the rim breaks loose it won't wobble around, and second don't get on the highway doing 80 :badidea:
Just going out of your driveway should be enough to break it loose or at most a ride around the block, third if it does break loose then just tighten the lugnuts back up on the side of the road if you want, fourth our rims are hub-centric which means the inside hole of the rim is what centers the rim on the axle not the lugnut's so even if the lug holes were egg shaped the rim would still run true and round because all the lug nuts do is clamp the rim to the axle and hold the rim on, not center it like they used too, that's why there's a big washer on the lugnut to help clamp the rim on.

Where the rim center hole slips over the axle lip is where most of the rust will happen because it's such a tight fit, so don't forget the anti-seize when it goes back together.

DD

Don't ask for advise if you're gonna do foolish things anyway. I know the wheels are hub-centric but if the lugs stretch and are re-torqued they may break at an inopertune time such as when leaving for work, in the parking lot at the mall or when making a sudden lane change on the freeway at 80mph, but hey it all comes down to how much insurance (car or life) you have. my .02

Why has no one thought to use another wheel/tire combo to hit the frozen one with? I just swapped over from my winter wheels/tires to my summer set. Rear wheels stuck to hubs. Grabbed another wheel/tire combo and swung it at stuck set, loosening with one hit. You will never damage offending wheel by hitting it this way, where using a hammer may (will) damage face of rim.

I have been doing it this way for years and have yet to hit one more than twice!

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Bigrazor

Did you ever get the wheel off?