Bling Centre Caps

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High-Lo

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 7, 2004
Messages
1,798
Location
Kent
Car
2013 X166 Mercedes GL350, Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, Porsche 968 Cabriolet
Awaiting delivery of a set of Bling centre caps (with chrome star) that I won on eBay from Dieselman. Just wondering if there is any way of removing the old centre caps without removing the wheel. I suppose I could try and prise them off with a screwdriver but I don't want to risk damaging the alloy.

Also don't want to take each wheel off to get the old caps off so I may have to trash the old caps by piercing a hole in the centre and pulling them out that way.

On my Porsche the centre caps have two small holes already on either side of the crest thus making it easy to remove.

Any thoughts? :confused:

Stevie
 
Don't be lazy !! :p Take your wheels off, It will be a good opportunity for you to check that your wheels ain't seized on or your bolts aren't seized !!
Then you can clean the back of your wheels :D and apply some copper grease to your bolts . No nasty surprises then if you ever get a puncture out on the road somewhere :crazy:
 
Agree with Aletank ... removing and replacing the wheels is a great fun exercise (easier with a trolley jack :)), and good practice for when you get that inevitable puncture (Please lets not start the "I call the AA, do you ?", thread!)

S.

**EDIT** If you really can't be bothered taking the wheels off, a small rubber tipped screwdriver just might do the job - but be careful - very careful, that you don't damage the rims in the process.
 
They were R2D2's old ones that I got a couple of weeks ago! I trust that all the safety/clean checks have already been performed :)

Yes I am just being lazy I'm afraid . . .

I take it the answer is no then? :rolleyes:
 
Do what I did, spend ages trying to prise them out without damaging them - get fed up - get screwdriver - stab screwdriver through old cal - remove - replace with new shiney one.

I never did have too much patience! :rolleyes:
 
Gizmo750 said:
Do what I did, spend ages trying to prise them out without damaging them - get fed up - get screwdriver - stab screwdriver through old cal - remove - replace with new shiney one.

I never did have too much patience! :rolleyes:

LOL !

I've still got my * undamaged * plain ones .... thought I'd keep them as spares ... mind you, we have just determined that they are a bit difficult to lose, short of taking the wheel off, or stabbing them with a screwdriver and destroying them !!

S.
 
Gizmo750 said:
Do what I did, spend ages trying to prise them out without damaging them - get fed up - get screwdriver - stab screwdriver through old cal - remove - replace with new shiney one.

I never did have too much patience! :rolleyes:

Thanks Gizmo - That is what I'll probably do :)
 
I also agree 100% with Aletank, when I changed my centre caps over I wanted to take the lazy route and drill a hole and pull the old caps out. In the end I talked myself into taking the wheels off one by one in order to take the old centre caps out without trashing them.....

It was then that I found out that my rear alloys has siezed themselves onto the hubs :crazy: It took serious efforts with 2x4 and a rubber mallet to get the rear wheels off, what should have been 30mins to an hour took me approx 4 hours to do. I'm glad I found that little gem out on a sunny afternoon in the safety of my driveway and not as it inevitably is on the hard shoulder of a busy motorway at night when it's hissing down with rain.

S.
 
High Lo clean the centre caps and dry them then get a large lump of blu tak and stick on the centre. Then Pull!
 
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R2D2 said:
High Lo clean the centre caps and dry them then get a large lump of blu tak and stick on the centre. Then Pull!

Hi R2D2 - Are you serious? I'll try anything :D

Maybe I should have had your caps instead . . . :)
 
Use suction cups and pull really hard. My friend has done it before, but it won't work on the '3-D' centre caps
 
High-Lo said:
Hi R2D2 - Are you serious? I'll try anything :D

Tell us when you have got them out!

"
Maybe I should have had your caps instead . . . :)"


No I think they look just fine where they are Thanks! :p
 
On my Porsche the centre caps have two small holes already on either side of the crest thus making it easy to remove.

You've just answered your own question ;)

Drill 2 small holes 'thus making it easier to remove' :bannana:
 
FFS, it takes less than 5 minutes per wheel to take it off, carefully remove the old center cap and fit the new ones! ;)

If you are really lazy then don't bother cleaning the inside of the wheel (I personally would if it was off!).

I reckon by the time that you get a drill, hammer screwdriver etc etc, you could probably do it properly anyway.

After all, think how your wheels would look with nice shiney center caps if they have damage on them! :(

Plus, as has been mentioned, you have the oppertunity of checking that the wheels are not siezed on the hubs!

Good Luck,

Cheers,

Will
 
Steve_Perry said:
It was then that I found out that my rear alloys has siezed themselves onto the hubs :crazy: It took serious efforts with 2x4 and a rubber mallet to get the rear wheels off, what should have been 30mins to an hour took me approx 4 hours to do. I'm glad I found that little gem out on a sunny afternoon in the safety of my driveway and not as it inevitably is on the hard shoulder of a busy motorway at night when it's hissing down with rain.

S.

The quick way to remove siezed wheels is to jack the car up, unbolt the wheel and kick the bottom of the rim HARD.

I'm also sure that if you loosened the wheel bolts and drove the car around a corner you would soon hear the knock-knock of a loose wheel.

Hi-low. Remove the wheels as this gives you a good chance to inspect the tyres and rotate them around the car.

You should be Bling very soon.
 
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Dieselman said:
You should be Bling very soon.

Thanks Dieselman looking forward to it :D
 
Dieselman said:
The quick way to remove siezed wheels is to jack the car up, unbolt the wheel and kick the bottom of the rim HARD.
Did that, I had the car up on two trolley jacks and kicking the wheels with all the bolts removed didn't budge them an inch. I had to crawl under the car and beat seven bells out them from behind before they eventually broke free. The wheels were bonded to hub, no amount of kicking helped. On my alloys theres a very small lip on the inner surface that fits over the outer circumference of the hub, it was as this interface that the wheels had stuck on solidly.

Dieselman said:
I'm also sure that if you loosened the wheel bolts and drove the car around a corner you would soon hear the knock-knock of a loose wheel.
:crazy: I'll take your word on that one. :)

S.
 
A better alternative to the suggestion above, if all else fails, is to jack the car up, loosen/remove the wheel bolts and slowly let the car down and allow the weight of the car to do the work for you. As soon as it budges, raise the car again and remove the wheel! Once the wheel is off, clean the mating faces, and apply some copper grease to prevent it occurring again. It has worked for me in the past! :)

Cheers,

Will
 
Will said:
A better alternative to the suggestion above, if all else fails, is to jack the car up, loosen/remove the wheel bolts and slowly let the car down and allow the weight of the car to do the work for you. As soon as it budges, raise the car again and remove the wheel! Once the wheel is off, clean the mating faces, and apply some copper grease to prevent it occurring again. It has worked for me in the past! :)

Cheers,

Will
Tried that too, that didn't work either at least it didn't for me. The wheels and the hub don't just contact at the flat face only (if that makes sense) there is a very small lip along the inner surface of the alloy wheel (well it's on my stock 16" sport alloys) that slips over the outer circumference of the hub effectively holding the wheel in place on the hub. When the wheels are free it's not a problem but if they bind on at that interface then even with the wheel bolts removed the wheel still locks onto the hub. Imagine beer glasses sticking to one another if you try to separate them when they are stacked together.

I agree with you on the copper grease though, the wheels have never stuck on since :D

S.
 
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