Chrysler Repair: flat tire, brute force approach, lug nuts

Question
Roland,

I have a 99 LHS with a rear passenger flat tire and I am unable to get the wheel off the car to put on my spare.  I think it may be frozen.  I tried loosening the lug nuts (almost completely) and moving the car a little but it still didn't brake free.  Any suggestions?  Thank you!

Answer
Hi Kevin,
I haven't experienced exactly that problem myself, rather a brake drum frozen to the axle flange. That turned out to be a rust-together problem which relented with the application of penetrating oil into the flange/drum interface via the lug holes, waiting for it to work, then tapping on the drum with a metal hammer. If it was frozen then a small amount of heat from a torch would presumably work, then you could try the penetrating oil routine if it still won't let go. Another brute force approach might be to park near a curb, get a wedge of wood that would fill the gap between the tire and the curb, then jack up the car, then put the wedge in place and gently lower the car so the tire becomes wedged sideways and thus gradually puts a torque on the wheel and its presumed bound up surface. Let me know what happens with any of these approaches, I'm curious.
Roland