Whats up yall,
Trying to put some pads on my Dakota (3rd gen.) The wheel has never been taken off I assume. Not sure if they come stock with loctite on the hub threads, or possibly a rubber grommet inside wheel where the studs go through.

Either way, have all lugnuts off and tried banging with rubber mallet, kicking the wheel, and can't get it to budge off. Anyone go through this? Any help's appreciated.

 

Welcome to DF and the illustrious 3rd gen Dakota section. I will offer my advice: You can try to GENTLY set the truck on the ground with the lug nuts off. Sometimes the weight of the truck is enough to pop it loose. I urge you to use EXTREME caution though as to not damage/break the wheel studs. If all else fails, get a bigger hammer. I'm sure the others will chime in soon enough.

 

Maybe squirt a little penetrating oil like PB Blaster around the center of the hub.

Personally, I've never had one that I couldn't break loose with a good donkey kick.

 

I wacked the $%^& out of mine with a sledge, just hit the bottom side wall of the tire, it will pop

 

Mine were stuck on there pretty damn good when I first changed my wheels. Even after a few months, they would get stuck again when switching winter to summer wheels again. A mallet would eventually get the job done. Now I put some grease on behind the wheel so it doesn't happen again. I'm about to swap them again, the summer wheels are super shined up, just waiting for a nice weather stretch.

 

Put some anti seize compound on the back of the wheels when you finally get them off.

 

I had the same issue, pound harder or try some of the other's advice. I haven't had the issue since the first time and I did not use grease or antiseize...

 

Chiming in with the rest of the BFH guys (Big _ Hammer).

Put a 2x4 across the bottom third of the rim, get the biggest hammer you have, hit it as hard as you can. Have someone catch the bugger as it flies off!

 

Some good penetrating oil will be a big help, but don't expect instant results, it may take several applications over a day or two to penetrate far enough to make the wheels easier to remove. As already mentioned, use grease or anti-seize compound when putting them back on. I like anti-seize, it lasts better in that environment (moisture, braking heat, etc.)

 

Had this same issue with my '06 when trying to remove passenger rear tire.

Kicked the hell out of the thing till I noticed it was moving ever so slightly. Then sat down and gave it a big hug as I wiggled it free.

Another questionable design fail. Rim truly doesn't need to fit the hub that tightly. If I had access to a lathe, I'd turn a few thousandths out of the center of the darn things and be done with this issue forever.