Two of tires on my '95 Aurora have stuck valve caps. The caps are metal (presumably aluminum) and they won't come off for love nor money. I've tried dousing them with penetrating lube, twisting them with pliers and even grinding them off with a Dremel tool and they won't budge. Any other suggestions? I need to get air in those tires so I can move the car out of the driveway and install a metal carport for my '64 Dynamic 88.

 

Try gripping the valve with pliers and while turning the nut.

 

Any chance you can simply swap out the two wheels and tires just to get the vehicle moved... Chances are the valve stems could break in the process of removing the caps (I know, I have broken several)... With the wheels off, you can change the valve stems if you are still having a problem removing the caps...

 

grind a slot in the side of the cap w a dremel and apply penetrant in there if neccessary

 

Why not just drill a hole in the top of the valve cap to use for squirting in penetrant?

 

@CRUZN 66: I have one extra tire and wheel, which is on the car now. I can put the mini spare on the other side to move the car, which i'm going to have to do shortly when the carport is installed for my '64 Dynamic 88 convertible.

@RetroRanger and D. Yaros: I just got a new mandrel for my Dremel tool this evening so I can bring down further mayhem on those valve caps until I can either get them removed or there's simply nothing left of them. I may have already damaged the valve stems as I've pulled and twisted on them so hard I've let a lot of air out of the tires.

 

Then this is a no brainer, just break the tires down and install new stems.

 

 

I finally had some more time to mess with it earlier this afternoon and the Dremel tool did the trick, albeit going through four cutoff discs in the process. By the time I got the valve cap off the right rear wheel, I found that I had taken a little chunk out of the brass end of the valve stem. It was enough that I couldn't get a good seal with my big air compressor but my little 12-volt compressor, which plugs into the cigarette lighter socket and has a connector with a locking lever like a bicycle pump, was able to make a proper seal and inflate the tire, albeit slowly. It took about 10 minutes to get it aired up to 35 pounds but afterward I was able to drive the car for the first time in almost five months. I've still got to remove the cap from the wheel that goes on the left rear and air it up but that one is in the trunk at the moment with a full size spare on the ground. The important thing is I can now move the car out of the driveway whenever the people come to install the carport for the '64 convertible.

 

This happened to me when I use to own a 84 H/O. I was lucky enough to use a vise grip on the valve stem and a ratchet with a socket to remove the caps because the caps was shaped as a nut. After removing the caps, I applied anti seized on the thread and never had a problem again.

 

If my valve stems were a little longer, that would probably have worked for me but I didn't have enough room to get both the vice grips and a wrench on them, thus my somewhat more barbaric methodology.

 

Had that happen on a Camry I had. Dealer said they corrode and you have to replace the stem. Mine had pressure sensors in the stem. Guess who uses plastic caps now.