The splines (teeth) and threads on the hubs and inside knock-off
wheel centers must be kept clean and well lubricated with grease or
the wheels may not come off the next time you need them to. The
lubrication also aids in correctly tightening the wheels to the
hubs. More on that later.
The splines (teeth) and threads on the hubs and inside knock-off
wheel centers must be kept clean and well lubricated with grease or
the wheels may not come off the next time you need them to. The
lubrication also aids in correctly tightening the wheels to the
hubs. More on that later.
Some owners have objected to greasing the splines on Borrani wire
wheels due to unsightly black grease on the spokes from the
lubrication slinging through the spoke holes with centrifugal force
as the wheels spin. The cure for that is to clean and dry the inside
of the wheel centers very thoroughly. Then apply a layer of RTV
silicone rubber all over the spoke ends inside the wheel center,
inboard and outboard. When the RTV has cured (overnight) reapply
grease to the splines and reinstall the wheels.
The knockoff nuts should be tightened to 325 foot pounds. A
special socket and torque wrench for this purpose is available from
Stainless Steel Brake Co. If you must use a mallet, use a big,
plastic, dead-blow mallet filled with lead shot and really beat the
nuts tight, being careful not to hit the fenders. Getting the wheels
tight is important. It is not uncommon to find cases where the hub
is so badly worn from an under tightened wheel wobbling around on it
that the wheel can no longer be tightened correctly. In such a case
the wheel is not far from stripping the splines under braking or
acceleration in which case the wheel would just spin freely on its
hub.
Cars with bolt-on wheels need special wheel mounting attention as
much as their knock-off wheeled cousins. Before mounting bolt-on
wheels, it's a good habit to thoroughly clean the wheel and hub
mating surfaces and apply a very thin coat of grease to the wheel
mounting face. Clean the threaded studs and apply a thin, even coat
of molybdenum anti-seize compound to each one. Install the wheel and
wheel nuts. Snug wheel nuts down and then incrementally tighten each
nut to 80-90 foot pounds. On 4 lug wheels, use a cross pattern. On 5
lug wheels, tighten every other nut incrementally as you go
clockwise in a circle around the wheel center. Every 5 times you
turn every other nut, you have tightened every nut in the circle. Do
that about 4 times working up to 90 pounds and you have torqued the
wheel correctly. The main reason for this method is to prevent brake
rotor warpage due to uneven tightening while going through hundreds
or thousands of heating and cooling cycles. Never let anyone install
your wheels with an air impact wrench.
If you care about the appearance of the wheel nuts and you don't
have one of those fancy nylon lined wheel nut sockets, try the
following: Clean all dust and grit from the wheel nuts. Take the
correct size six point deep socket, preferably one with "flank
drive" (such as sold by Snap-on) and clean any grit that might be on
the inside. Cut 2" squares from a plastic bag, place a plastic
square over one of the wheel nuts and push the socket onto the nut.
Have an assistant push on the brakes if need be and tighten the nuts
in the previously described manner and to the correct torque using a
new plastic square for each nut. Avoid using an extension between
the deep socket and the torque wrench if you can. Extensions tend to
absorb torque when they twist.
