Scratched my rims taking off the lugs.
 

Yeah yeah flame me for not spending more than ten hours looking for the answer...

I used the f$%$#king spare tire iron and it scratched the rims. Very happy.

Suggestions on a better way to remove lugs when the f$%$#%king dealer used Mr Hulk's Air Gun to cement them to the wheel.

Thank you.

Loooooong deeeeeeeep socket wrench

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a 36" breaker bar and #21 socket. I keep mine in the car under the trunk mat.

Shop Kobalt 1/2-in Breaker Bar at Lowes.com

Grrrrrrr. Haha. Heading to Sears so I can take off the next three. :tiphat:

Thanks guys. Sears...tires...drinks...search the forums for info on how to repair 40th rims. :)

Any good rim service can repair the rim to like new shape.
:tup:

While you are at Sears, pick-up a torque wrench. Lug should be torqued to about 85 ft. lbs. Someone please correct me on that.

while at sears grab a hammer and hit yourself on the head for doing it.im playing bro.damm I hate that feeling,knowing people cant really see it but u know its there

IIRC, it is given as a range of 80-90 ft. lbs in the service manual. Whenever I remove my wheels, I usually do 85 and then re-torque a day or two later to be sure they're all snug.

Haha. I have several. Maybe I will post pictures of them all and get some advice on which one would be appropriate. >.<

Used to keep my breaker bar and socket under the trunk mat too. Now it's just the torque and socket.


OP why are you removing your wheel if you don't have a torque wrench to put it back on properly???

I have springs, spacers, and a camber kit coming on Thursday. Since I have never put a car up on jacks I wanted to do it early so that if I had any issues I could deal with them tomorrow. Last thing I wanted to do was to deal with crap with goodies sitting around! My plan was to get a torque wrench tomorrow in preparation for putting the wheels back on after the mods.

I actually have an 18" wrench but not a 21mm socket. So I used the spare thing. Didn't notice the damage until after I got the wheel off. :/

On a bright note...I got it up on jacks using a forum thread about where to put them!

wrap the side where it makes contact with the wheel with masking tape.

or something like these...

Amazon.com: Astro Pneumatic 78803 1/2-Inch Drive Thin Wall Flip Impact Socket Set with Protective Sleeves 3 PC: Home Improvement


in my cars, i keep a breaker bar with the deep sockets and tape around the side of the sockets.

I had a couple scratches on my gloss black Volk rims from tire install and I hand buffed them out with 3M rubbing compound and a quality micro fiber towel. Literally took out 100 percent of the scratch.. I even put under a LED light to see if there were tiny swirls...

I also hit it with a swirl remover after just to be a perfectionist. If I were you I would try this before you do rim repair. Rim repair will look great BUT I will guarantee the color will not match the rest of your wheels... So either do all to match or none at all. I can speak first hand from a set of 350z track rims I had done.

Hope that helps

Cheap and easy fix. I have never scratched any of wheels on the Z and I have taken them on and off several times using the stock bar. And this is on my powdercoated orange wheels. Wrap about 5 layers of electricians tape around the head of factory bar....
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...psae668a46.jpg

You'll be busy lol...

You need to torque everything back to spec that you take off, not just wheels. You definitely don't want to mess up doing suspension and spacers. Are you prepared?

As prepared as I can be I think thanks to the370z.com! Been watching videos and such. I've done exhaust and brakes before so am comfortable...enough. :icon17:

not sure if im suppose to be impressed you got that off without a scratch, or impressed you dont have tools and still feel okay. :icon17:

This made my night! :icon18:

No I have tools, but kinda hard to tote around a air tank when you get a flat and the 18v Dewalt impact doesn't have enough *** plus I don't want to carry the 12v dewalt charger incase the battery has died while sitting uselessly in car.... I do carry a large rubber mallet behind my seat though. ONce you powder coat the wheels sometimes they can be major PITA to get off without laying under the car and giving a whack or 2. :tiphat:

i usually push the sidewall at 6 o'clock to release from the hub.

Tried that and even resorted to sitting on my arse on the side of the hwy kicking it, ended up having a friend drive me to a close hardware store for a very large rubber mallet. Worked great. And now it stays behind the driver seat.

Maybe if I ever get around to putting coilovers and a cup system, I can plumb in an airline quick release connection and tote around a impact and all the hosing too. I must be behind the curve or something..... Would look great with all the hose sitting in my trunk, but better to have all my tools in case I get a flat huh? Oh here's a great idea since everyone totes all their tools around, plumb a quick disconnect off a t-connector at each corner to save on the footage of hose.... Its all coming together now! But then again I believe the OP was talking about using this same tool to remove his wheels, so I gave him an easy fix if he uses it again.

Tape the end up. /thread

Do you have air tools? The spring swap can be tricky.

when you put the new springs on and compress them, you'll have to secure the top here (i used an adjustable wrench) and use a crescent wrench to tighten the nut down (may need to do this when you disassemble as well)

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1375853276

the other tricky part is making sure the rubber mount aligns perfectly. it moves during reassembly too.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1375853276

good luck

Read up on how to use the torque wrench properly. That is a dangerous tool if you don’t know how to operate it. You will snap the wheel stud like a pretzel stick if not careful.

ive never had it happen that bad on any of my cars over the years.

my suggestion is use some anti-seize on the lip around the hub and back of wheel disc. then you wont have to carry a silly mallet.

Love your color combo! And good call on the tape, i have also found some slim design with extended sockets that work well as the socket wall is thin and extended out enough for a breaker bar to clear the wheel.

I think the issue is actually from a little of the powdercoating being in the hubcentric area of the wheel. When the wheels heat up it remelts the powder and kinda glues itself to the hub. I need to lightly sand it out and it probably wont do that, just haven't gotten around to it. I do use the anti-seize on every nut and bolt I have ever taken off the car though, that way next time I have to remove them they are not such a major PITA to get off. Lugs get the same treatment. I don't care to carry the mallet either, just said meh, it doesn't move at all and cant been seen, so I haven't had the urgency to get on this little project.