Wheel sticking to the brake hat

[RogerRoger88]

I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of those, "oh yeah, I'm an idiot" moments but here goes. I have the 17" Halibrands with the 12.88" Wilwood brakes. I have put the wheels/tires on a few times and torqued the lug nuts. When I go to remove the wheel, it is stuck to the brake hat. It takes a few hard whacks with a mallet to get them off. What am I doing wrong? Here is a pic of my brake setup just in case I have messed something up.

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[gbranham]

Can't imagine you're doing anything wrong. There's only one way to mount the wheel to the lugs. Maybe clean the mating surfaces with some rubbing alcohol or acetone?

[Jim Doak]

Perhaps the centerbore of the wheel has a slight interference fit with the wheel bearing/hub? Maybe some very light sanding of the centerbore will fix the problem.

Can't think what else would cause the problem unless the wheel studs aren't perfectly parallel and are causing one or more of the studs to catch on the wheel(s).

[RogerRoger88]

It's almost like the wheels are suctioned to the hat, and it's all 4 of them.

[AC Bill]

You shouldn't have to fight them.
My first thought is the wheels, likely all from the same batch produced, had the centers machined incorrectly by just a smudge. It wouldn't take much to cause them to become jammed on after being tightened onto the hub.
The wheels may also be flexing slightly as the lug nuts are torqued up, which may jam the wheel centers onto the hub, and they aren't springing back when the lug nuts are removed..
Regardless, the first thing I would do is run a Dremel, or drill sanding drum carefully around the circumference of the wheel center to remove a slight bit of material. Test to see if they slip off Ok, if not sand some more. You shouldn't have to fight them.

[gbranham]

Do they go on easy? If so, the lugs probably aren't interfering.

[RogerRoger88]

They go on easy. They will come off easy if I only put the lugs on finger tight. But as soon as I torque the lugs down, the wheels get stuck. I just did it again on the front passenger. Even when I get a little space between the wheel and the hat, it is still tough to remove. It's like the wheel is getting suctioned on the hub.

[gbranham]

Maybe lightly sand the back of the wheel where it mates to the rotor hat, or a light lubricant on that surface? None of this should be necessary, but here we are. Hah.

[RogerRoger88]

I added some white lithium grease on the wheel where it contacts hat and hub. While it did take less whacks, it was still a pain to remove. I don't get it. That's why I'm wondering if i have something wrong with the brakes or the hub. Again, it's all 4.

[gbranham]

Show us the back side of the wheel. Is it a press fit on the hub (the center of the rotor hat with the dust cap)?

[RogerRoger88]

Here's the inside of the wheel.

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[rich grsc]

Look like you left the plastic hub spacer it the wheel.

[Papa]

I think Rich is on to something. Did you have the wheels powder coated? It looks like there is a ring in the hub that may have been put in to keep the PC from building up in the hub.

[RogerRoger88]

I did have the wheels powder coated. I just looked at them, and I don't believe there is a plastic ring in the hub area. I think in the pic I posted, you're seeing where some of the powder coat has scraped off in the hub from taking it off the car.

[Papa]

The extra couple of mills of material where the wheel hub sits on the axle hubs may be what is causing your issue. I'd try to clean the powder coating off where the wheel is trying to seat on the hubs and see if that solves the problem.

[JMD]

Could be the extra little bit of powdercoating residue on the center ring is causing it to fit too tightly. I would suggest (as others have) sanding where it's showing wear around the center ring...it's already showing you were it's being worn away. I bet it would eventually get better after taking them on and off a number of times, but do yourself a favor now and clearance it just the smallest amount now. Should take care of it.

[Aleinsteingenius]

This was a common problem with the alloy wheels on Jaguars. We used to loosen the lugs slightly then drive the car slowly zig zagging to loosen them up. Then they would come right off.

[CraigS]

Also use a wire brush very strongly on the hub area where it fits into the wheel. I'd rather work the steel hub vs the aluminum wheel. Of course you may need to do a little on both.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Remove the powder coating from the I.D. of the rim.

Jeff

[rich grsc]

Yep, no PC inside of the wheel hub. Who ever did the PC on your wheels should have know, and taped off that area

[emac]

Looks like you found the problem. PC is tough thick stuff. I had a frame PC and missed blocking off a few threaded holes. I had to run a tap through them. Same with some suspension parts. i would take a wire wheel to the inside of the wheel.

[PMD24]

Here's a trick I learned from an old timer in a power plant that I worked in as a young engineer. Get some bright colored lipstick and apply a very thin coat on one of the mating parts (in this case the hub or hat, and the holes or studs). Smooth it out to a very thin coating with your finger, carefully assemble the parts, remove, and visually look for the interference points.

On my build I discovered that one of my FFR rotors wasn't sitting flat on the hub. I didn't use the lipstick technique but discovered it by doing a quick check on the hub and rotor diameters, using calipers. When I did that I found that the rotor hole was out of round. A little touchup with a dremel and it sat flat on the hub.

Also, check the hat to see if there is a chamfer on the back side of the hub hole. I don't know about the Wilwoods, but there typically is a chamfer there to allow for clearance on the hub where there is typically a small inside radius.

[RogerRoger88]

I spent some time yesterday removing the powder coat from the inside of the wheel hub for all 4 wheels. Reinstalled all 4 and was able to remove each with no issues.

Thanks everyone for your responses and advice! Now I can move on to preparing for engine installation.