A number of folks have posted in saying they’ve had problems removing their ’04 – ’05 center caps while at the same time not chipping or otherwise messing up the clear coat on their aluminum (factory) wheels. Well, I thought I had the solution with a flat blade screwdriver wrapped with a protective layer of electrical tape. After all, it worked on my last three trucks.

Well, this past weekend I found out that my tried and true method just led to a gouge in the clear coat on my ’05. Obviously they changed something in the design. So what did I do? I tried a number of other methods to find a way not to mess up my other three wheels – and I found one! Here’s what worked really well for me.

I happen to have a Snap-On “hook tool” that came as part of a 4 piece Pick and Awl set. These four tools are all small handled and sharp pointed, but all have different shaped ends. One is a straight awl, one is bent 90 degrees, one looks like it got run over by a truck and one has a nifty little hook shape to it. I found that if I slipped the hook into the center cap through the screwdriver slot, then pulled straight out while using my other hand to catch the cap, it popped right off with no damage to either part. Hope that helps a few of you avoid the damage I did to one wheel.