How to avoid/remove rust from wheel bolts
- Thread starter Edinburgh
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A cheap and effective rust remover ive found is citric acid - B and Q sell it in granular form. When restoring my old lawnmower i tried all sorts of fancy potions but ultimately citric acid did the trick just as well and much cheaper. And i can use it to descale my espresso machine! Then a spray of good old hammerite. Served me well anyway. Ive found the "smooth" hammerite is more matt so i generally use the hammered as it seems more resistant to gunk.
Replace them or get the plastic covers.
Had black plastic covers on the CLS , never had to concern myself with the rust re-appearing or paint getting damaged.
Here are some 17mm ones , cheaper than a can of Hammarite.
K
Had black plastic covers on the CLS , never had to concern myself with the rust re-appearing or paint getting damaged.
Here are some 17mm ones , cheaper than a can of Hammarite.
K
Petrol Pete
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
I have looked for the plastic covers but have not found the correct shade of silver/grey to match my wheels . Anyone who has please post a link .
m80
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I wire brush threads and heads.
I use a piece of cardboard and push the threads through leaving the heads exposed.
I spray with Hammarite, or caliper paint is ok.
You can do this with 3 bolts removed from each wheel, as long as the vehicle isn't needed. But you wouldn't go far with wheels removed anyway.
I use a piece of cardboard and push the threads through leaving the heads exposed.
I spray with Hammarite, or caliper paint is ok.
You can do this with 3 bolts removed from each wheel, as long as the vehicle isn't needed. But you wouldn't go far with wheels removed anyway.
OneForTheRoad
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Buy a set of black ones.
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Ive got some of those i used to use on the Alfa - the only issue i found was that the little key was too snug a fit in the well, so i had to use long nosed pliers. I keep meaning to put them back on tbh.
Chrishazle
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I put a set of these on the SLK over a year ago, still fine. These are for the S204 (M14) although they also sell M12 for the SLK,W203's etc and do sets of 16 if you have lockers.
Will the covers fit on those bolts
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It doesn’t fit on Mercedes gle 250 w166
Petrol Pete
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Will the paint stay in place when I torque them ?...
The simple answer is no . I Have machine wire brushed back to bare metal and used various coatings , but none seem strong enough not to get damaged during tightening . They look great for a while then the rust starts to appear where the socket has damaged the paint.
The simple answer is no . I Have machine wire brushed back to bare metal and used various coatings , but none seem strong enough not to get damaged during tightening . They look great for a while then the rust starts to appear where the socket has damaged the paint.
Mercedes used to do bolts with the end of the head made from stainless steel - I have them on my SL. Example on the right, with a standard bolt on the left:
On a wheel:
Sadly discontinued.
Chrishazle
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Find out the exact spec of the bolts you need and check that seller's Ebay shop. Those bolts you currently have look strange, the shape of the head compared to "normal" bolts, are you sure they're MB originals not aftermarket replacements??
Good place to start :
Mercedes GLE Class Alloys (W166) - Alloy Wheels Direct. Look at the accessories for each wheel to find the bolt pack, then click on the bolt pack to see the bolt spec.
Quick look shows M14x1.5, 45mm, 14mm radius.
Good place to start :
Mercedes GLE Class Alloys (W166) - Alloy Wheels Direct. Look at the accessories for each wheel to find the bolt pack, then click on the bolt pack to see the bolt spec.
Quick look shows M14x1.5, 45mm, 14mm radius.
Last edited:
Yes they are strange looks like flowers
Don’t know they are Genuine or fakes
They are Mercedes factory fit on the later models, they certainly have been on my last 2 cars anyway, though they're usually chromed and reasonable quality.
Make sense as w166 only done 12500 miles from new
