Removing rear wheel

Wig

2003 Corsa fitted with a wheel from a mitsubishi
The wheel is the right size, 4 stud holes 100mm spaced and central hub diameter hole same size. The problem is, the vauxhall wheels have a short hub flange sticks outwards about 6mm, and the mitsubishi wheel has a long hub flange about 12mm sticking outwards. So the mitsubishi wheel covers the central hub completely whereas the vauxhall wheels when fitted you can still see part of the hub (drum). Which means the mitsubishi wheel flange is stuck fast onto the hub/drum due to the extra contact area *and* no room for any sideways movement when hit with a hammer.

I have driven around with wheelbolts loose, I have smacked it with a sledge hammer -using a wood drift so as not to cause damage, many times it didn't budge in the slightest. There is still reasonable tread on this wheel and it is still turning freely and not buckled by the hitting, so its ok for now.

The drums, being 10 years old, have flaking rust all over the outside. and would not be a big deal to get new drums. I was thinking I should get new drums when I had the passenger side rear wheel off, then I ran into trouble trying to remove the driver side rear wheel.

So I'm thinking, I will have to remove the hub-nut-cover undo the hub nut, slacken handbrake and flick the adjuster with a screwdriver through the rear backplate, and the wheel & drum should come off as 1 unit, then I can replace with new drums & vauxhall wheel.

Thinking about it a bit more, however, when I have it off as single unit I could then drift the drum out from the wheel from above and this should be quite easy.. so maybe no need for new drums - yet....infact this sounds so easy that I will maybe have a go tomorrow.

Does this sound ok to you? Any flaws in my logic?

facade

Not to me, get new hub nuts, they have a habit of coming undone if reused.

If it wont come off with slack wheelbolts and snatching the handbrake on, it probably wont come off though, unless you warm it up.

When you get it off, clean it up and apply an aluminium anti-seize compound to the flange and hub ring.

flang

Also try spaying some WD40 through the nut holes and tapping centre on the wheel at each nut hole. Ive had problems before getting wheels off and after spending hours hitting the corner of the wheels this worked for me.

gilbert_and_sullivan

The only Mitsi wheels i can find in 4 x100pcd fitment have a centre bore of 56.1mm, early Colt or Carisma?

Corsa whilst indeed sharing the 4 x 100 pcd have a centre bore of 56.6mm.

Other Mitsi wheels such as Lancer whilst having larger bores than the Corsa have 4 x 114mm pcd.

Either way completely unsuitable, but you are already finding that out.

Wig

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

The only Mitsi wheels i can find in 4 x100pcd fitment have a centre bore of 56.1mm, early Colt or Carisma?

Corsa whilst indeed sharing the 4 x 100 pcd have a centre bore of 56.6mm.

And with a bit of scouring using a power drill fitted with an abrasive tool I was able to make the 0.5mm (0.25mm) go away, and it fitted cleanly. I wouldn't say that those dimensions made it "completely unsuitable".....because at the time of fitting they were exactly the same dimensions.

What makes it completely unsuitable, which I didn't realise at the time, was the flange is about 12mm long which does not allow for any play that the vauxhall wheels give with their 6mm flange. Even the vauxhall wheels stick to the hubs but the shorter flanges allow them to be knocked off.

I'll get it off today

magpiecottage

A somebody else has said, heat might work. The idea is that the metal on the wheel will warm up (and expand) at a different rate to the metal on the hub, forcing them to part just enough that a good wallop will get it off.

facade

Modern wheels locate on the hub ring, and secure with the bolts. You should always use an anti-seize on the hub ring.

Filing the bore to get them on a larger ring may allow enough movement that they won't run true. You may get away with it, you might end up with an out of balance wheel (actually one that is oscillating up & down).

ukmike

Get a 6 foot long piece of wood,old floor board/fence post etc,& from the other side underneath,keep hitting the wheel on opposite corners.

forgotmyname

If it was a rare car with unobtainable wheels then worth doing a bit of work. But there must be tons of proper wheels out there for an older Corsa?

facade

Blue tip wrench is slang from a far away land.

You mean a gas-axe

Probably damage the paint.

I'd start with the original idea of remove the hub nut and snatch the hub off, then drive the hub ring downwards through the centre hole.

Then maybe a couple of hot air guns to warm it up and expand the alloy off the ring.

portly1

What the ......Who the ......would fit a wheel like that??

If that is what has been done to a wheel, I dread to think what other bodge up jobs have been done to the rest of the car.