BMW's wheel nuts get tighter and tighter when the car is driven. What you can do is occasionally loosen the nuts but it is time consuming. I keep a long metal pipe which I connect to my wrench which makes it easier or I can even step on it. The standard wrench is too short so it makes it more difficult to undo the nuts.
If you are really stuck in the middle of nowhere and ablsolutely need to change the wheel then you can do the following but only if you are confident.
1 Move the car (push or drive) slowly until the nut that cannot be removed is in the lower half of it;s rotation.
2. Place the standard BMW L shaped wrench on the nut such that the handle very close to the ground.
3. Then very very carefully DRIVE the car forward of rearward so that the rotation of the wheel will cause thewrench to turn the nut.
A lot of times when the wheel is replaced by mechanic who uses a pneumatic drive to fasten the wheel nuts, they end up being too tight to undo.
If you are really stuck in the middle of nowhere and ablsolutely need to change the wheel then you can do the following but only if you are confident.
1 Move the car (push or drive) slowly until the nut that cannot be removed is in the lower half of it;s rotation.
2. Place the standard BMW L shaped wrench on the nut such that the handle very close to the ground.
3. Then very very carefully DRIVE the car forward of rearward so that the rotation of the wheel will cause thewrench to turn the nut.
A lot of times when the wheel is replaced by mechanic who uses a pneumatic drive to fasten the wheel nuts, they end up being too tight to undo.
I ALWAYS tell the tyre guys to tighten the wheels using the cross brace spanner and NEVER the pneumatic guns coz no matter what they tell you,the torque on the gun is always set to "over tighten" setting!
My last effort to open my wheels on the E90 was at about 30k km, 20 months old car. It was the very first time the wheels are open for rotation purposes, DIY...
I find opening the bolt is easy, not THAT tight, after market tyre shop never sentuh the wheel before. Its SC service all the time.
Btw, I was using a cross wrench. Its was size 17 bolts x 5 bolts each wheel x 4 wheels, all in 20 bolts!! Plus getting the wheels off the car after removing the bolt is another story all together!! The central hub was rusted and seize the rim tightly. I had to resort to use a rubber hammer to knock the wheels off. Plus placing the heavy 17" RFT wheels back, after the whole episode, I strongly suggest those with heart condition, please seek doctor's advice before undertake the physically stressing challenge!!
.........., after the whole episode, I strongly suggest those with heart condition, please seek doctor's advice before undertake the physically stressing challenge!!
Well, it is not really crazy Jarance. In my own defence, the method is used to turn the wheel nut/bolt about 1/4 of a turn thus "breaking" the excessive torque. The car only has to move several inches. The wheels would hardly come off. The operaotr has to first lift the car with a car jack and undo the nuts/bolts the rest of the way before the wheel would come off.
Well, it is not really crazy Jarance. In my own defence, the method is used to turn the wheel nut/bolt about 1/4 of a turn thus "breaking" the excessive torque. The car only has to move several inches. The wheels would hardly come off. The operaotr has to first lift the car with a car jack and undo the nuts/bolts the rest of the way before the wheel would come off.
I tried to repeat it on my current E30 and found to my dismay the standard wrench for the wheel nuts is not long enough for such a technique! I guess it has bigger rims then my proton saga which I drove in the 90's. Jarance, i do not mind demonstrating it to you but I shall stop here for safety sake. Like I said initially, it is not something I would recommend to someone who is inexperienced. I did it because I had flat tire on a trunk road in the middle of the night.my advice to everyone else . . . Call AAM.
A real effort to turn the nut, some time seems impossible, i use a cross wrench. At one time, after manage to loosen the nuts and changed the tire, i tighten the nut too hard and broke one of the nut, have to drive the car like snail to the workshop to take out the broken nut. The mechanic F.. me, said he never encounter this during his 30 years of work, i believe the one i broke must be from china.