# Advice Needed for a "Wheels Off" Clean



## mfernott (Apr 21, 2014)

Hi Guys

I want to take my wheels off and clean them properly, one at a time, just looking for a few tips on the process (not so much the cleaning, but the actual removal of wheels and how you set up?)

I only have the little jack that comes with the car, is it safe to leave the car up on that for an extended period while I clean the wheels?

Is it best to work one at a time? How do you go about ensuring you don't damage it on a surface? For example to get to the "back" side of the wheel and properly clean it, surely you need to put the wheel face down on something?

And in terms of getting the wheels on and off, is there anything I need to be careful of? I'm not mechanically minded at all, I've never even needed to change my own wheel in a puncture situation as I've been lucky!

:newbie:


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

you need a trolley jack and axle stands idealy 

lay the wheel down on a old towel or something ..just common sense


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

Safety first as said axle stands and to make life easier a trolley jack,I like to torque the bolts up afterwards.A rim mat is also a handy piece of kit to have.


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## mfernott (Apr 21, 2014)

Cheers guys will look into the axle stands etc!


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## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

I've not bought a trolley jack yet but having researched will likely go with one of these (unless people warn me off!).

I'm not affiliated to, work for this company or endorsing etc just who I found and seem reasonable in terms of spec and price!

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/tjl2jsr-low-entry-trolley-jack-axle-stands


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## ryans2 (Apr 8, 2014)

Also when you tighten the bolts up do it corner to corner, them buy a torque wrench to make sure your wheels are correctly tightened, or just tighten them up really tight then take it to a garage and ask for your wheels to be torqued they'll charge a fiver or something it's a 2 min job.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

if youve never had a wheel off ...maybe its best if you can get someone local to pop round when you do it

while its not hard , theres alot of things under the car you can damage /dent by poor jacking and you need to be sure its re fitted well


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## neilmcl (Mar 26, 2010)

If getting a trolley jack, depending on your car, it may be worth getting a dedicated jacking pad (there's loads on ebay) to avoid any damage to your jacking points.


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## mfernott (Apr 21, 2014)

steveo3002 said:


> if youve never had a wheel off ...maybe its best if you can get someone local to pop round when you do it
> 
> while its not hard , theres alot of things under the car you can damage /dent by poor jacking and you need to be sure its re fitted well


Yeah, bit nervous about that to be honest.

I might see if there's anyone in my area on here that would be willing to help me do it one day, in exchange for some beer


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## Clean ocd (Mar 29, 2014)

Axel stands buddy  never just trust a trolley jack talking from experience , could even use jack you have in boot of car and just buy axel stands do 1 wheel at a time and safer this way aswell and could do your arches of car aswell when wheel is off so doing 2 things at once  good luck anyway buddy


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## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Clean ocd said:


> Axel stands buddy  never just trust a trolley jack talking from experience , could even use jack you have in boot of car and just buy axel stands do 1 wheel at a time and safer this way aswell and could do your arches of car aswell when wheel is off so doing 2 things at once  good luck anyway buddy


Totally agree, if budget means either jack or stands buy the stands every time.

That link I sent should be for a jack and stand combo :thumb:


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## Rich M (Apr 23, 2014)

If you have a spare wheel you could always swap this with the one your cleaning so the car is not left on the jack


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## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

Rich M said:


> If you have a spare wheel you could always swap this with the one your cleaning so the car is not left on the jack


and then when thats out you can clean up the spare wheel well and wheel, the job list is endless:thumb:


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

When the wheel is off I put mine on an old wooden pallet with a rubber mat over it. Rim doesn't get scratched and you can clean it properly and all the chemicals etc can be rinsed off the rim and drain through the pallet.:thumb:


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## mfernott (Apr 21, 2014)

Thanks all for the tips and advice!


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## TonyH38 (Apr 7, 2013)

Where a outs are you based as I'm sure some one near by will show you. I am based in Kent if that is any where near you.


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## staffordian (May 2, 2012)

Another thing to bear in mind, loosen the wheel nuts slightly before starting to jack up the car.

It's possible to have the car fall off a jack if you struggle with over-tight wheel nuts once it's up on the jack.


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## mfernott (Apr 21, 2014)

Tony I'm in Bristol but thanks anyway! Sure i can find a helpful guy near me though!

Ian many thanks for the tip!


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## blackS2000 (Aug 4, 2010)

I have that trolley jack in the link and although it works it is kin heavy and it does slowly let the car down so you must use an axle stand .


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## TonyH38 (Apr 7, 2013)

mfernott said:


> Tony I'm in Bristol but thanks anyway! Sure i can find a helpful guy near me though!
> 
> Ian many thanks for the tip!


O.K. Hope you get on o k just take your time and be careful.


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## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

mfernott said:


> Tony I'm in Bristol but thanks anyway! Sure i can find a helpful guy near me though!
> 
> Ian many thanks for the tip!


:wave:

I'm in bath


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## Smeeagain27 (Jan 12, 2012)

suspal said:


> Safety first as said axle stands and to make life easier a trolley jack,I like to torque the bolts up afterwards.A rim mat is also a handy piece of kit to have.


A rim mat sounds good but a quick Google search only shows one bespoke rim mat - or did you mean a general mat for rims ?The one I saw was here http://www.planetpolish.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=54


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## K.M (Dec 19, 2013)

Smeeagain27 said:


> A rim mat sounds good but a quick Google search only shows one bespoke rim mat - or did you mean a general mat for rims ?The one I saw was here http://www.planetpolish.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=54


Yea that'd work. Personally I was a little adverse to spending £24 + P&P on a rim mat when it isn't something I'd be doing weekly so I went to Wilko and got one of these (http://www.wilko.com/doormats/wilko...or mat&VBMTC=36c56c3b9a840424310b2afc9df715ee) You can then buy a couple of pipe stoppers from Screwfix / DIY store to raise the rim off the mat so it isn't sitting in product / dirt you've just cleaned off.

The mat might not be the robust in the world but at £3 you can just keep replacing it when needed. I haven't had any issues with mine though...


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

^^^Similar to the mat I put over my wooden pallet. Put the rim on the mat - works great and prevents damage.:thumb:


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