I tried getting my front wheels off last night so that I could remove the front bumper and do some spring cleaning in there. Got the car off the ground, pumped the brakes until they were hard, put a clamp between the brake pedal and steering wheel, locked the steering column, but the wheel would still rotate. How can I keep the wheel from spinning when I try to loosen the nut?

 

Try running the engine for a minute right before you apply the brake, that will fully charge the vacuum assist. Then just push the brake in, you don't need to pump it. After each brake release, you'll likely need to charge it again. Works great for me.

 

Starting the car before pressing the brakes was a step I hadnt tried. I will give that a try, thanks!

 

What's wrong with loosening the nut while car is on the ground?

 

Explicitly called a no-no by Porsche.

 

I get my wife to sit in the car and step on the brakes, she's also my two person brake bleed partner! After 30 years she has the procedure down to a science...

 

Also, be careful not to rock the car off your jack stands. It can take a lot of force to break the centerlocks free if they've been on for awhile.

 

Turning the car off before setting the brake worked great for preventing the wheel from rotating. Unfortunately, I still couldn't get the damn thing off with a 3 foot breaker bar so I'll be heading to Home Depot to get a 6-8 foot metal fence post for some extra leverage.

 

I am following this thread since I will be servicing the centerlock bolts soon. Thanks for clarifying that the car must be in the air at the time of breaking the nut. I have one additional question regarding this - is it alright to engage the parking brake at the time of breaking the nut? Please let me know.

 

I don't think I've ever gotten my front centerlocks off without a torque multiplier or breaking the fronts loose on the ground. I have a 36", 48" and 60" breaker bar, none of them will do it with the car in the air without starting to rock the car back and forth pretty seriously on my quickjack.

 

So with the torque multiplier, you were able to break the nut in the air? If you don't mind sharing, which torque multiplier did you use? I was thinking of using OTC 1:3.3 multiplier. Did you engage the electronic parking brake at the time of breaking the nut? TIA.

 

Look up nutcracker ...

NUTCRACKER - the ultimate tool for your centerlock wheels - NutCracker https://share.google/Z9ZJIkvpbYaJNQ41I

One day one wheel on a friend's GTS would not break free for me. I finally took it to a Porsche factory trained mechanic who had the same problem. He got a 5 foot long piece of gas pipe to sleeve over a breaker bar. He then jumped on the end of the pipe several times before the nut broke free. He did this with the car in the ground and me stomping on the brake pedal. He did not want to jump on the bar with the car lifted.

He said this happens frequently, primarily because the lock doesn't get set properly. The nuts need to be cleaned and serviced from time to time.

Beware that there is a danger of snapping the breaker bar or having things slip that could result in body damage ... both to the car and you.

 

Thank you for your reply. I am in touch with the Nutcracker guys. We are trying to figure out if their tool would work for the centerlock spare (P/N:99136202102). If it works, I am gonna get the Nutcracker.

BTW: do you engage the electronic parking brake whilst braking the centerlock nut. I have seen all sorts of comments on this topic.

Regards,
Deb

 

E-brake helps with rears but is no help on the front. Pumping brake with engine on, shutting down & locking the column, and placing a rod from the steering wheel to pedal is how I do the fronts. When properly lubed and torqued, I’ve found the 36” breaker works 90% of the time. When that’s failed, a 3:1 multiplier has always gotten them free.

Haven’t done it on QJ yet, but despite once taking over 1k torque to break, the car never felt unsteady on stands. I’d definitely do it on the low setting on a quickjack. It should not be a rocking motion but rather a smooth increase in force, lifting the bar up. Worst case you could just jack up the one problem corner you are working on leaving the other 3 safely on the ground. A spacer and some thick cardboard between the bar and fender is a good idea especially in this overtightened situation.

I did a write up on my process a while back that may help. https://rennlist.com/forums/997-turb...nterlocks.html
Good luck!

 

Thank you so much!!! Really appreciate it.