Why is it so difficult to remove the wheels from a 2007 Ford Focus?
I worked on a 2007 Ford Focus yesterday. It was fitted with alloy wheels. To undo the wheel nuts required a three-foot extension to the T-bar. To then remove the wheels required several heavy blows from a large rubber hammer to the inside edge of the rims. There is no way any of the wheels could have been removed at the roadside with the tool kit provided. I appreciate I can make removing the wheels an annual event but perhaps a design change is called for?
The tightness is due to the wrong setting being used on an impact wrench. But the way to remove alloys that have fused to the hubs is to slacken the nuts/bolts slightly and use the weight of the car to snap them off. Far safer than undoing all the nuts then hit the wheels with a hammer that might take the car off the jack. Before replacing the wheels, smear Copperease grease between the two surfaces. It works as a sacrificial anode preventing the alloy of the wheel and the iron of the hum from fusing together.
Answered by Honest John on
