Unable to loosen 2002 SC430 Wheel trim bolts

[Frank DUva]

I have a beautiful 2002 SC430 and have a slight shimmy at all speeds. I took it in to Belle Tire to have the wheels balanced and they were unable to free the 10 screws, on the trim cover, to mount the wheel on the balancing machine. Does anyone have any experience with this or suggestions.

[RX400h]

Do you have the proper wrench for the screw heads? If that slips, then another way to get them off would be to use a Dremel tool with a small cutoff wheel. Use this to make a slot in each screw head. (Wear protective glasses.) Then use a large flat-blade screwdriver to remove each screw.

Yes, it's a lot of work but my guess is that some of the screws can be removed with a hex or Torx wrench.

[Frank DUva]

They are hex head cap screws and I've been able to apply as much torque as I want, I'm just afraid they may break off in the wheel, then they'd have to be drilled out.

[dcfish]

Make sure the hex wrench fits the bolts tightly, Insert the hex wrench and tap a few times with a light hammer, Then turn them. They will come out, You take the chance of stripping the hex more that breaking them off.

[Frank DUva]

Thanks for the encouragement, my friend used a 1/2 in. hex socket and an 18in. breaker bar and with a little effort broke all of them free. I may need a gut check when working on this car...lol

[RX400h]

Patience and persistence are the keys! 👍

[Twinram]

Upgrade the wheels...

[dcfish]

16 hours ago, Twinram said:

Upgrade the wheels...

No reason to upgrade, Those stock wheels are Classic on the SC  😉

[Twinram]

3 minutes ago, dcfish said:

No reason to upgrade, Those stock wheels are Classic on the SC  😉

True, but I always saw it as the weak point of the looks of the car. Lot's of options out there to go with wheels.

[Hotspur]

23 hours ago, Twinram said:

True, but I always saw it as the weak point of the looks of the car. Lot's of options out there to go with wheels.

Many of which look ridiculous on the car.