Removing center caps?

[Irish Pride]

What do you use to pop off your center caps? Do you have a special tool and if so what does it look like and how good does it work. The tool i use cracked one of my painted caps today and i bet i threw it 50 yards. LOL

 

[shocar]

big flat head screw driver ...wider and thicker the better,.. tire iron that comes with the car works good too.

 

[sperold]

Look for the original tire iron like suggested above. It has a little tang on the end that removes the cap perfectly.

 

[Marccus]

Credit card.

 

[rubydist]

I use the same tool I use to remove the door panels - whatever you call that push fastener remover thingy.

 

[newshofan]

When I had my gen two the original lug wrench seemed to work best. The dealer scratched it slightly if I recal when they used theirs and anytime I tried something else it never went to well.

 

[intimdatr]

Screwdriver thats been shrink wrapped.

 

[Rubix]

Curved upholstery tool, I think it's actually supposed to be used to pry tacks out. Don't know where the **** I got it but it's come through a hundred times on various car things.

 

[Irish Pride]

I use the same tool I use to remove the door panels - whatever you call that push fastener remover thingy.

Thats what i've been using. Damn thing cracked one of them today.

 

[frosho]

One thing you can do to make them easier to remove is to cut some notches through the metal retainer rings. This will make the rings expand (since you are removing some of the tension), which will make them a little tougher to put on, but they will come off a lot easier since they will have a lot more flex to them. The only other downside is that you will have some sharp edges on the rings, which can chew up the inside of the wheel a little bit where they snap in. I did this when I ran my powdercoated slicers, and it worked pretty well. I think I made 8 cuts through the rings.

 

[VICIOUS]

i used one of the plastic prybars that come in a 5 piece trim and door panel set sold at harbor freight tools for about $9.00...i think there is a coupon in their ad in hot rod and car craft that saves you a couple bucks.

 

[greengiant]

I use two screw drivers and catch with my legs, I've always wanted to try using a wooden paint stirrer I think it would work nice

 

[93rev2sev]

Depends on the wheel. Some of them have a notch for a scewdriver, some dont.

If there's no notch, I use one miniature screw driver to pry the edge up a little and while holding it open some, I use a second, larger screwdriver to get under the edge about 30° away from the first screwdriver. If the wheel has a notch for a screwdriver, I use 2 large ones. In both cases, I try to spread the load out to 2 different spots. If I get the lip to pop and it stays there, I use my fingers to finish pulling it off.

 

[rubydist]

canadian slicers have the notch, italian slicers do not.


here is the secret, no matter which tool you use: look at the wheel with the center cap removed - there are 3 little protrusions that actually hold the center cap in there. one of them is lined up with the valve stem. when you go to remove the center cap, you need to insert the tool right at one of those bumps - not between them, but at one of them. I use the valve stem as an orientation guide and put the tool in there. the only time I've cracked a center cap is when I put the tool halfway between those bumps when prying the cap off.