how do I remove hub caps...

from the stock steelies with out damaging the wheels or destroying the plastic caps?

what's the trick?

TIA

 

EDIT: Disregard my post, sorry about the misinformation.

 

use a flat blade screw driver and wrap a rag around it and lightly pry it off.

 

that, or use the lug wrench, the end of it is slightly curved up to stick in the tab/hole of the "hubcap"

 

yep...that works as well.

 

where is the tab/hole?

 

x2 on the flat head screw driver. Toyota makes hubcaps that are hard to take off so you may have to use a little force

 

it will be around the hubcap somewhere...right where it meets the actual wheel.

 

I think you guys are talking about two different things?

 

im pretty sure we are talking bout center caps(some call them hub caps too).

 

I gotcha, I just went and looked at some stock steelies....




you can kinda see it there...

 

man these things are a pita to remove.

and those little steel clips are gonna make reinstalling another pain.

 

you can also take the entire wheel off and tap it out from the back side, i found this to be the easiest way.

 

x2 and also the best way not to ruin them

 

So...

If I take my truck in for service...the techs will remove the wheels and leave the center caps on the wheel?

 

Not sure about the steelies, but in my alloys, I never remove the caps, no need to either.
If you can remove the wheel without removing the caps, then I don't see why you need to remove them for general maintenance.
I you can remove the wheel with the caps on, then the easiest way to remove the caps avoiding any damage to them would be to just tap them from behind the wheel with the handle of a hammer or similar non metallic object.
hope this helps

 

I never had trouble popping these things off. Shit once I got out here to Cali the front caps just fell off at some point.

 

i took my stock wheels off recently and the center caps just fell off... now i cant get them to clip back on.

 

New ride Larry?

 

i have the steelies, i think it's pretty hard to get them off with the wheel on, but like 907taco said, once you take off the wheel, they pretty much fall off on their own without hardly tapping them.