Rusty Hubs

[Animal]

Twitter has the clean up part right, but use NeverSeeze on the lugs and nuts. It is available at most any auto parts store. Better to do this job now than in the dark at 20 below on the side of the road.

[Steve Bakken]

If you have trouble getting them off, and have access to a torch, use a small tip (to control the heat and flame) and heat up the nut, but not the stud. The nut will expand and should crack loose. Then turn it out a little at a time. When it gets tight, turn it back in, re-lube and turn it out a little more.

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Steve @ Bakken's Boat Shop www.bakkensboatshop.com

[Paul Waldowski]

Steve,

Great advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Paul
[email protected]
Marcum
Otter Outdoors

[Greg Clusiau]

Hi all, I just picked up my snowmobile out of storage and noticed how super-rusty the hubs and lug nuts/studs are looking. I'm afraid if I ever have a flat tire, I'll never get the wheel off! Anyone have any advice and/or tips for cleaning them up?

Thanks..........Greg C.

[Twitter]

Greg,
I assume you're talking about your trailer wheels. I suggest you spray the heck out of them with some liquid wrench and let it soak for 10 or 15 minutes to get them busted loose now with a good strong lug wrench. Once off, clean them up with more liquid wrench or get new lug nuts even. Liquid wrench and a toothbrush or fine wire brush will clean up the stud bolts. Spray it all with WD-40 before re-assembling. If the hub itself is rusty and making the rim hard to get off....beat the rim off the hub and use a rat-tail file to clean up the wheel, then put some grease on the inside of the rim where it contacts the hub.

Good luck !
Twitter

[This message has been edited by Twitter (edited 11-20-2003).]

[Mueske]

Animal,

When that happend to me ten years ago I didn't see anybody pass me as I was lying on the ground, wrestling with the wheel. I didn't see my wife leave the Jimmy with the heater set on high either. FYI I soon took action in order to prevent spending the extra time in the super cold fresh air. It won't take me long to change the next flat.

Kevin

[panfishhunter]

GOOD SUGGESTIONS..

Some heads up though. wd-40 actually mixes with water so if you use it in a outdoor application it will make matters worse, neversease or standard wheel grease is your best bet. As far as using a torch, on the farm here where we run into this alot, we have found here as of lately that if you heat the nut read hot then pour cold water on it, it will actually come off alot easier (sounds strange till you try it).

If your hubs look like this, what does the underside of the trailor look like? if it is a steel trailor might want to consider painting it to keep some of the rust from spreading.

just a few more ideas to think about.

[Captain Ken]

I just bought a steel trailer which has surface rust all over the frame underneath. Looks like the guy probably picked up road salt and then just let 'er sit.

Any suggestions on a good rehab plan for the frame? I was thinking about knocking the loose stuff off and then hitting it with rustoleum primer and then rustoleum paint.

Any hints are much appreciated.

Thanks

Captain Ken

[Steve Bakken]

Rust is just like cancer. The only way to stop it is to remove it. Have the trailer sandblasted down to bare metal, and then have it painted with a good phospheric acid-etch primer and a 2 part epoxy or urethane paint. Sometimes at the shop we even put a colorized rubber anti skid coating on them to prevent further rock chips.

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Steve @ Bakken's Boat Shop www.bakkensboatshop.com

[IFallsRon]

I learned the lesson twice:

I bought a beater to drive to work. The tires were pretty worn but I was trying to milk a few more weeks out of them. Had a flat out on the freeway. Got the car up on the jack, lugs off and the wheel wouldn't budge. Had a long walk and wait to get AAA to come help. I always spray the hubs and lugs to prevent that from happening again.

Also, after I'd put a couple years on a new truck, I noticed a bad spot on a rear tire while getting ready for a long trip. Decided it would be a good idea to temporairly change to the spare. The lugs had siezed up and I couldn't budge them. Tried the corner gas station and they sent me to a place that fixed semi tires. It was all they could do with the jumbo air-driver to break the lugs. I spray them up, too.

[Nutty Fisherman]

If you have a steel trailer, and have all the rust off take it to a place where they do spray on bed liners, it works great.

[Steve Bakken]

If you go this route, though, before they apply the bedliner, make sure they paint the bare metal with a phospheric-acid primer and then seal it with a good epoxy sealer first. That stuff was not designed to have any chemical adhesion to bare metal.

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Steve @ Bakken's Boat Shop www.bakkensboatshop.com