Weird One!

[Dave Bell]

This problem I just ran into was so weird... it blew me away... I was milling around the garage last night, happy that the idle was working so much better.... Thought I'd like to take a look at the brakes...

Jack up the car, spin off the lug bolts on the right front wheel.... everything seems normal.... go to pull the wheel off and ..... NOTHING!... it won't budge!... what?!?.... We have had lots of rain down here in LA over the past month and the new rotors look a little rusty now, but could the rust have locked the wheel to the rotor.... yanking, pulling, banging, prying... lots of effort.... nothing works!.... Try lowering the car on the wheel without the lug bolts... no movement!!... put back on the wheel and wait for tonite.

Stop at the hardware store tonite, pick up some big bolts, nuts and metal plate. Come home and weld together a makeshift pulling mechanism that I can insert into the holes on the 4 spoke Fuchs... Twist, twist, twist of the bolt and off comes the wheel finally... but not without alot of trouble!

Sure enough, some how the rust that had formed on the rotor had lodged or locked itself to the wheel and frozen it to the rotor!.... out comes the angle grinder and wire brush to clean it up... and them some POR15 to seal it up.... The left front wheel /rotor needed the same treatment to extract and repair.... good thing I noticed this before I had a flat somewhere....

Totally weird!!!!.... I had the wheels on and off many times since I got new rotors and normally they just drop off with the last lug bolt....but after the recent heavy rains.... Murphy came to visit.... I have heard that 914's have trouble with rust, but this one really took me by surprise.

If anyone finds their Fuchs rust/welded to their rotors.... I have a tool to loan you.

- Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave Bell (edited 04-21-2000).]