We bought a 97 Z3 about a year ago. Yesterday I was going to rotate the tires due to some wear on the rears. When I attempted to remove the left front, no luck. A few whacks with a towel covered rubber malet, no luck. I noticed some rust on the rear wheels, where they met the hub, but no major resistence. This is my first occasion to pull the wheels. Could the fronts be stuck due to rust, brake dust, ??????
Bigger hammer. What I have done is to spray some PB Blaster where the wheel rests on the hub. Rotate the tire and let it soak. Walk away for a half hour. If you stand there it won't work. Trust me. Then use some anti-seize where the wheel touches the hub and you won't have that problem next time.
In the extreme case, you need an extreme measure. I don't like whacking my wheels, so if they don't pull loose, here's the plan. Each subsequent step assumes that the previous one didn't work after jacking it back up to check. First, I will have the lug bolts ½ to 1 turn looser than finger tight and drop the jack abruptly. [Only works with a hydraulic jack. You cannot safely do this with a screw jack.] Second, I will move the steering wheel (if it's a front wheel stuck) with the loosened wheels on the ground. Third, I will move the car a short distance (~30 feet). Fourth, I will move the car a longer distance (like up to 0.05 mile) while turning from side to side. I have never had to try anything more. As Steven said, use a little anti-seize paste around the hub center/wheel center hole to prevent this problem.
