Taking off Wheels for Your Details

One of the biggest things that i struggle with while detailing is when the brakes of a car are really close to the wheel barrels. It makes it very difficult to get complete clean from front to back. I had a question for all of those that detail regularly, or like myself, just on the side for extra income...do you have a floor jack and take the wheels off in order to clean/seal them perfectly? If so, what jack and torque wrench do you have and why do you think it is beneficial for you? If not, please explain why you think it is a bad idea.

Here are my reservations:

The jack would actually scratch up the bottom lip of the body

I strip the threads while putting the wheels back on.

The car actually falling off the jack. (Wow, then what?)

Getting the wrong "tightness" when putting them back on..

As you can see i have thought through some of the things that could happen, but i feel that offering this service would be a great addition to my detailing..i could even advertise tire rotation...of course there would be a decent upcharge...please let me know your thoughts

 

Clean the part of the wheel around the caliper and then roll the car ahead.

 

Thats what i have been doing, thanks for your reply..this is what you do?

 

I don't do this professionally but I always take the wheels off to clean them. I did although install tires for 5 years while in college.

You can buy guides that list all the different wheel torque specs and lift points on cars. I would just tighten them to 80 lbs for small cars, 100 lbs for the majority of cars, and 150 lbs for the really large trucks and dually's. The wheel torque spec is listed in the owners manual and also the basic lift points.

I would be more worried about breaking a stud when taking off a nut that sticks coming off. Lugnuts usually jam because of metal shavings on the stud or lugnut threads, so i usually wipe them off. A new stud and nut is only a few dollars at the auto store and 95% of the time really easy to replace. I think the shop i worked at charge $25 dollars in labor to replace a stud.. but I cant remember.

Always use wheel chocks, and always use a jack stand incase the jack leaks. I would also carry another jack just incase.. maybe a bottlejack or something.

 

i think it's a good idea and a not so good idea at the same time. by offering it to said client it shows you're really going to do a complete and perfect detail and that you want to do the best job possible. on the other hand there could be problems later on, as you stated stripping a lug, scratching the bottom of the car, not using the right amount of torque etc.

 

It's something that I would personally worry about. I would go over it with the customer first, see if he/she feels comforable with it.

Do you have insurance? If so, no worries. But if you do, might want to have them sign a waiver or something. If that car drops off the jack, YOWZERZZ! Or if you put the wheel on incorrectly, and they have an accident later on, you could be sued.

 

:agree:
This is the safest bet, and also less time consuming. I don't take wheels off for safety of myself, the client, or the car.

Only my own vehicle.

 

my feeling is this, if you have managed to clean wheel just fine all along than why change your method now?

 

I use Craftsman Low Profile jacks and jack stands. I also use the Digitork torque wrench by Craftsman as well. As long as you are competent, careful and have done it a few times, you should be ok. Just be sure you protect yourself.

 

Just looking for other methods, i feel it would offer customers an option that most detailers wont do...but i think i will probably fall into that category haha

 

I would be concerned about the liability. For example I have an Audi allroad that needs to be put in "Jack Mode" before being lifted. There is a possibility of screwing up the suspension if it is not in that mode. It just seems there are so many factors in jacking up a car, removing and reinstalling wheels, being careful of scratches, knowing the exact torque settings for the car (knowing not trusting the owner to know). I cannot imagine that many insurance agents or whoever bonds you would be thrilled without raising your premiums.

 

The only pure benefit I see in doing a wheels off detail is being able to properly seal the wheels inside and out (I would go 3 coats of Rejex) but thats about it. Even at that many wheels have large enough gaps between the spokes for proper sealing.

Its all personal preference. Do as you please fella's:thumb:

 

The only reason I'd take the wheels off is for a complete restoration where you need to see it close up and you were to apply sealant and all that. For a regular wash, too risky. Does detailing insurance cover this?

 

Claying then sealing the wheels inside and out is what got the wheels turnin..i actually thought about 3 coats of DG 105

 

If I am doing what I consider a full detail I take off the wheels. If it's just a wash/lsp I don't.
When doing a car for someone I talk about taking off the wheels and won't if they have any reservations. I charge a bit more if I take them off.
I just haven't found the combination of brushes etc that cleans everything to my satisfaction without taking them off and putting one or more coats of sealant on the insides without taking them off just doesn't work for me. I have found that it is worth the time taking off the wheels. Subsequent washings of the wheels is much easier for the times when I don't take them off because of a good coat of sealant on the insides. I find this particularly true of brakedust.
This is just my opinion so that and a nickel still won't buy you a cup of coffee. I use a normal hydrolic jack. All car and trucks have designated jack points and if you are carefull there is no reason to scratch the lower rocker panel. If I saw that there was a chance, I just wouldn't do it. I do it with my Z4 and it's pretty low and there is no problem.
I use a jack stand under an appropriate point to prevent a problem if the jack fails or looses pressure. Chalk the wheels for added safety.
I don't use an air wrench to remove or replace the lug nuts. I do have a 4 foot pipe that I slip over the handle of my ratchet to make loosening the lug nuts easy and use a slow easy turn so as not to damage anything.
Again, replacing the lug nuts shouldn't be risky as far as stripping or cross threading is concerned. You can run into problems using an air gun if you haven't sufficiently started the nut by hand first. I hand tighten the nuts with my ratchet and then tighten with a torque wrench. Once the car is lowered to the ground you can re-check with a torque wrench.
Most car/truck manuals give you the torque setting for the wheels or at least the majority of the ones I've done. Sometimes you may have to search a little to find it. Worst case scenario is you call the service dept of the make you need to know about. The tire dealers just use a torque setting somewhere between 80 and 100 when they do wheels. It is also a little alarming to me how many wheels I've removed that the lug nuts weren't properly tightened.
I also like to use my compressor to blow dust and or moisture out of the lug nuts. It also can't/won't hurt to use a little bit of anti-seize on the threads before replacing them.
Again, this is just my opinion but I don't think you should get into too much trouble but if someone isn't comfortable doing this then leave well enough alone. Removing them is my preference.
Cheers folks, G

 

How do you properly torque the wheel to the right specs? That's my biggest concern, removing/jacking seems pretty easy if you use common sense.

 

With a torque wrench, there also torque sticks dealers and tire stores use.

 

Lately I've been detailing my friend's cars for shows that my team goes to and I clean their wheels and wheels coilovers and fender liners cause the judges take that into consider for clean cars. Here's my tools

Low Profile Jack from Craftsman
Jack Stands from Craftsman
Breaker bar from Harbor freight
Cordless Impact gun
Anti-seize lub (after cleaning the studs I apply)
and the most important tool protective sleeving lugnut sockets

 

Color coded and covered. Nice. Is that shrink wrap or did they come that way? And where did you get them?

 

Also another thought, you have to think of the damage you could do to the lug nuts. On my Lincoln LS, the lug nuts friggin suck and strip easily. Just another reason to avoid this.