I read a thread yesterday regarding the set up of the Corvette by the factory, and it said that the rear axle torque should be at about 118 foot pounds.

My question is, how to remove the center caps without scratching the wheel clear coat or the coated plastic on the caps. Is there a plastic tool or something that will not harm the coating, or is no tool necessary.

Thanks for the help. The Forum is an awesome source of information.

Gary

 

I use a thin screwdriver in the tiny space in the cap and it gently pops right off. You wont scratch it

 

Very carefully. I can remove mine by just pulling on them , no tools necessary. I have read of others using an flat screw driver wrapped in a rag.

 

I used a strip of duct tape. Insert it beside one of the lug nuts and stick it to the side of the cap. Now just pull on the tape and the cap pops right off.

 

Grab it with your hand it comes right off..

 

Thanks a lot for the advice everyone. I'm going to check it tonight. The car still only has 1200 miles on it so I think it should be OK, but I want to make sure.

Thanks again.

Gary

 

Let me know what you find. My 07 has the same mileage on it. thanks.

 

My 07 C6Z with 5,700 miles on it had about 25 ft. lbs on each nut. I blue locktited them and torqued to 120 ft. lbs. You should check them.

 

 

I just use my fingers, but yea, it's kinda tough since there's not much room to get a good grip on it.

 

Got stuck at a friends house and I was unable to pull the cap off. I tried a long thin screw driver but it seemed it might scratch the cap. I found a thin coat hanger and bent the end to form a hook. It removed the cap without a problem. Cost me nothing and now I keep it in my tool box. Some times the most simplest of things work best.

 

I stopped by Sears and couldn't find any deep sockets the right size. So I went over to Northern Tool and got a 34 mm axle nut socket for $15. It fit just fine. The nuts both started turning at about 60 lb/ft for about 1/4 turn til they were at 120.

 

I pull my caps off with a cotter pin puller.

 

Gary,

I was under the impression that the rear axle torque should be at 100 ft lbs; are we talking about the 20 lug nuts that bolt up to each rotor that hold each wheel onto each rotor or something entirely???

Thanks...

 

The lug nuts are not what is being discussed here. This thread is about the axle nuts. Under the center cap on the rear wheels there is one large (33-34 mm.) nut that is on the end of the axles at the very center of the wheel. These two axle nuts should be torqued to 118 ft.-lbs. You are correct in that the lug nuts should be torqued to 100 ft.-lbs. , but it's the larger axle nuts that this thread is about.

 

I used a piece of wooden paint stick, somebody else said to use a popsicle stick. Both work, and no scratching. Just an idea.

My 07 had 2,500+ miles, and I found mine loose two weeks ago. Torqued to 118.

 

Re: my 2006 Z51 coupe, roughly 14k miles

I picked up a 33mm socket today at Pep Boys... el-cheapo, made in Taiwan, "Performance Tool" (PT) brand.. part #W80553... 1/2" drive, 6-point, deep, says "fits many GM applications" (for whatever that's worth)... only $12.99... it fit my rear axle nuts just fine, a tad loose if anything. This socket is of decent enough quality for this application.

A 34mm would definitely be way too big, at least on my axle nuts. Maybe different nuts have been used on C6s over time, but this PT 33mm socket is pretty much the perfect tool for the axle nuts on my 2006.

My driver's side nut was fine... was torqued to at least 118 lbs/ft.

My passenger side nut... I found it at LESS than 50 lbs/ft. But it did not require much movement to get it up to 118 lbs/ft.

I was thinking of double-nutting, but I feel that the nut torque may become reduced over time NOT necessarily because the nut loosens on its own, but because of other movement in the joint. Thus, it may be possible that the effective torque on the primary nut will become reduced over time even WITH double-nutting. Just a theory. Double-nutting WILL keep the primary nut from moving and backing off, but it will not ensure precise correct torque on the nut against the hub over time.

With the above in mind, I am thinking that I may NOT double-nut, and just make it a point to check the torque at every oil change or whatever... it's so quick and easy to do, realistically takes like 2 minutes or less and you don't even get dirty. Since I do not drag race, I doubt those nuts will be loosening up any quicker than 6k miles, so a bi-annual torque check should be a safe bet... about the same frequency as my oil changes.

 

Orange sticks are good for this, along with a lot of similar tasks where scratching is an issue. These are round wooden sticks about 6 inches long with double bevels on each end.

They're good for light scraping, detailing, stirring paint, you name it, and are cheaply available in quantity from beauty supply places.

I think they're used for manicures or something like that - my wife mentioned cuticles or some such. By the way, these places are a good source of spray and squeeze bottles too.

 

I use the 'free' paint can opener tool that all of the hardware stores give away. Perfect tool for this.