Help me with rusty steel wheels!

I'm about to make my semi-annual switch-over from summer wheels (which are alloys) to my winter wheels (which are steel) and snow tires.  The fall change over isn't bad, but the spring/summer changeover is a BEAR.  The Great State of Michigan has decided that rather than expect people to properly equip their vehicles for winter weather, it will just dump copious amounts of salt on the roads.  Unfortunately, because the roads tend to be cleared/salted AFTER I need to get to work in the morning, and we have at least a few days per year where it's too cold for salt, reliable transportation requires this "second set" of wheels/tires.  Every spring, the 5 months or so the car has spent soaking in a salt brine means the wheels are rust-fused to the rotors in the front and brake drums in the back.  Last year, I cleaned up the wheel backs and the rotor/drum surfaces with a wire wheel before I installed them.  It helped . . . a little . . . but I still ended up laying on my back on the garage floor kicking the sides of the tires to get them to break loose when it came time to change them out in the spring.  I'd rather not have to do that again next spring.

Any preventative maintenance I can do?  I assume anti-seize is out because it will get into the braking system.  Any sort of a barrier/spacer seems like it might be unsafe.  Impart unto me the wisdom of the great hive!

Fresh paint on the drums/rotor hats?

I always thought that a light coating of antisieze on the wheel mating surface makes a big difference? I've never heard of antiseize contaminating the friction surfaces, although I could see the possibility of it happening if you slather a bunch on.

When I lived in Nebraska, even alloy wheels would corrode to the brake rotors and require a BFH to break the wheel free.

Pop off/rotate your winter wheels once during the winter.

I usually run a bead of anti-seize around the wheel studs and the bearing cap after cleaning the hub and back of the wheel with a wire brush.  I still sometimes encounter wheels that need a tap of a bfh or good kick to break loose.   I have 4 vehicles that get the annual snow tire treatment.. just part of living in the Great White North.

How tight are they around the centering ring? I've taken a Dremel and slightly enlarged center holes beforebecause I had to use the back side of an axe to get the wheels off.

I live in MN and we have the same salt situation. The trick I've learned to remove stuck wheels is to jack up the car until the wheel you're working on has the load taken off it, loosen the lugs (half-turn to full-turn looser than finger-tight), then drop the jack down so the weight of the car is back on that wheel, rock it back and forth a little bit, then jack it back up and the bond between the wheel and rotor/drum will be broken and the wheel can be easily removed.

I've made a mess of the face of a wheel before by being overzealous with antiseize on the rotor/hub index, but there wasn't anything worrying near the friction surface of the rotor.

I also wouldn't lose any sleep over installing a 1/4" aluminum wheel spacer to push the wheel center bore further off the hub spigot. 

I coat the mounting  surface of the wheel with anti seize and never have a issue come spring time wheel switch. 

I too liberally apply my favorite anti seize in copious amounts. 

I LOVE THIS STUFF, from McMaster-Carr as detailed in this thread.  It seems expensive but it's a joy to work with.  One bottle is nearly a lifetime supply but then, because I have so much, I use it on everything. 

Just this week, I used a little on metal to metal license plate bolts. 

I brush on a thin layer of Castrol high temp bearing grease to the hub and around the studs. That's it.

Living in Minnesota, I have encountered the same rust issues holding the wheels to the hubs. After trying some of the above mentioned preventive measures, high temp bearing grease was the answer. I do not require the 4 foot steel bar to loosen the wheels. Ready for winter.

Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) said:

I coat the mounting  surface of the wheel with anti seize and never have a issue come spring time wheel switch. 

I do this too and never had a problem. 

What about the obvious solution of just finding a cheap set of aluminum wheels? Bonus points your car won't look like you're homeless for half the year, and you won't have to worry about the wheels rusting away to nothing.

dps214 said:

What about the obvious solution of just finding a cheap set of aluminum wheels? Bonus points your car won't look like you're homeless for half the year, and you won't have to worry about the wheels rusting away to nothing.

Even aluminum wheels stick on some cars.  Toyotas are particularly bad about it in my experience, and my BMW does it as well in the winter (but a few swift, flat-footed kicks to the tire with my back to the car usually pops the wheels off).  Oddly, my Jeep has never once had a wheel stick to it.  Or a rotor stick to the hub for that matter (which is also common on a lot of vehicles). 

Three things help a lot: a clean mating surface, lots of anti-seize, and painted rotor/drum hubs. My steelies always get zapped by the wire wheel and slathered in anti-seize when they go on, and they never stick.

Aluminum can stick worse than steel ( galvanic reaction accelerated by salt). As others have said you need to lubricate or paint the surfaces before you install.  I have used the permitex  Grey colored antisease for years with out issue.  I have also used the Mobil one synthetic grease (pink colored stuff) and it worked exceptionally well.  A very light coating on the rotor hat will do the trick. Also look at the rims as there usually are bearing points and treat those points as well.