Better Way to Clean Corrosion on Alloy Wheel and Hub Mounting Surfaces

Works on any car. Here is a method you can use to prevent taking off too much metal and to prevent having to breathe all the horrific dust usually created by this operation

[@nealeburgess6756]

Hi Kent, good instruction. Thank you. Do you then put anything on the surface to discourage further oxidation?

[@chrisszarek4869]

We use anti seize copper paste, you put alittle on the rotor hub, it prevents corrosion, and works very well!

[@zammap08]

Just this afternoon I had a little discussion with a car, a wheel and a sledgehammer. Coincidence, but still. Life works in mysterious ways sometimes. I usually use a wire wheel or brush for cleaning a hub. A wet pad. Interesting. I`ll give it a try.

[@Andrew-zv4fm]

I feel like I am watching the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.

[@thoughtloop1737]

Fantastic! This was exactly what I was trying to find the answer to.

[@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL]

Just used this method with cheap, "Scotch Brite" type drywall hook and loop sanding pads from Menard's on Lincoln Town Car aluminum rims. Worked as shown in this video. All deep, black corrosion is gone, in and outside of wheel. Also works really well to round off any gouges from curbs, etc, on the outer edge of rim. I used a spray bottle of water, though.

[@RockawayCCW]

Looks like a good reason to have a spray bottle handy

[@Thankz4sharing]

Are you sure this is needed? If it doesn't throw a code on the CAN bus, how do we know that anything is wrong? : - ) Seriously, this is good to see. I confess to having used a b-mill file with the tang broken off. And even worse, not always while wearing gloves.

[@Mercedessource]

lol

[@stevewuertz3598]

Great tip-recently had the devil of a time replacing a tire. Glad I did it in my garage and not on the side of the road in the rain at night. This tip might have made removal much easier. I'll add this to my next maintenance session

[@DavidM-yv9js]

Kent very good topic! My wife's 2014 Impala lt2 ltz had the same issue after seven years. Car had been under warranty (no longer) and dealer serviced. Last month I installed new front brake pads and rotors. Also flushed four brake lines. The four aluminum wheels were corroded to rotors. I removed corrosion with a Dremel and small brush. I applied some white lithium grease to wheel-rotor contact points hoping to slow down future corrosion.

[@hockeyfreak896890]

Sorry if this is a stupid question but could you use a wire metal brush? Wet everything down and use the brush?

[@Mercedessource]

Remember the wheels shown in the video are aluminum. A stiff steel wire wheel can actually remove aluminum and you do not want to do that on the face that mates up to the bub.

[@raydavies2545]

Excellent advice... thanks!

[@joelee918]

good instruction. I thought about it. but nobody mentioned it. happy to see somebody take care of it.

[@chiil034]

I put a nice layer of copper paste on the hub... keeps this from happening.

[@juancabral342]

Great vid, do you recommend adding an anti-sieze to the newly sanded material?

[@Mercedessource]

Yes, absolutely. forgot to mention it in the video

[@zeuszahareus5060]

Nice

[@JRcash226]

Have done this too on my 190 and 126, drives without vibration now!

[@ratboyjersey]

what kind of soapy suds you using?

[@garys9694]

DAWN, LOL

[@allseeingeyezz]

i had a very slight wobble in one of my wheels. visited 4 different shops and none of them mentioned corrosion on the hub was an issue. replaced wheel, tire, and drum and problem persisted. Cleaned it up myself and replaced the paper gasket between the drum and hub and it's running straight again. i guess shops don't clean up the rust anymore. You'd think it would have been an obvious thing to check, guess not. really frustrated none of these mechanics even tried to get to the root of my problem.

[@dragonmaster391]

attention to detail like this is a something you always appreciate! that's something I aspire to see more in life, not rushing to get through jobs but taking the time to take pride in your work. if society as a whole stops rushing so much to try to get things done fast, and instead cares to do them right, everyone bennefits

[@Danyael850]

Yeah, I will start with applying water in the process. This dust is not the best thing to breathe in, and right now there are far better places you should use those one-time-use masks :-)