Ok, I am trying to be a Boy Scout and be prepared. I am learing that "tardy" does not just mean late, it means selling a car without run flat tires or a spare tire & wheel assembly in sparsely populated areas of the western USA where large areas have no traffic, no cops or any cell phone coverage (the Donner Party forgot a spare, they brought fix-a-flat).

I read that SLK320 spare wheel & tire assemblies work, check. Getting one ASAP.

81 ft lbs torque on lugs, check. Will re-check all lugs to make sure nobody has torqued them on my newly aquired Crossfire so tight that I cannot get them off with the wrench in the trunk.

Jack present and functional, check.

How does the center cap come off the wheels? i read the owner manual and the service manual. Nothing. It should be with the jacking and tire replacment info in the owners manual. It seems that section was written by the same person that wrote that the oil change was 6 quarts!

It cannot be hard to remove the stock wheel centercaps, I just dont want to bugger anything. Is it threaded? Do they pop off?

 

They just pop off.. and when putting back on, line the tab on the cap with the slot in the wheel. Mine came with all four being miss aligned and an edge sticking up.

 

There is a small slot to insert standard size screwdriver into and pop off center disk.

 

I wrap the screwdriver blade with masking tape so the wheel finish is not damaged.

 

Thanks guys for spending the time to help with the little stuff like this. As a fairly experienced gearhead but new Crossfire owner, it is appreciated.

 

Take one of the lug bolts to a good hardware store and buy a 3" bolt with the same thread, then cut off the head. It makes a dandy wheel hanger and simplifies remounting a wheel.

 

I find it way easier to put the wheel in front of the hub with the bottom of the tire slightly further in than it will end up, and lower the car until the wheel is on center and push the wheel on the hub. Spin the wheel until the bolts line up, that's easier on the rears as the front wants to turn. Minimal lifting this way.

The stud method can scratch the inside of the wheel, but I guess I'm too fussy.

 

Mercedes do a post which screws into the hub for just this job. Had one in my SLK was a little upset when I didn't get one with XF. So I just went onto ebay and found one for less than £5 / $8. makes the job so much easier and no sharp edges.