Thread: Wheel issue

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Have a 1968 chevy C-10 pick up. When I bought truck it had 15" deep rally wheels on it. The issue is this. The center hole in the rims are 4.250 but the round part of the hub is only 3.5. So the weight of truck is not on hubs but on the studs. So I need some sort of adater or spacer to fill in the emty space so the weight will be on hub. I,ve call auto parts places. But with no luck. I,m sure these items are out there but people at these auto stores don,t know where. Next week I can make me some spacers at work. But would rather buy some if I can. When I explain this issue to the auto parts places. They don,t know what I,m talking about. Thanks, John

John
I have to plead ignorance here. I have always thought that the lug nuts hold the wheel against the (drum/flangs) and the nuts center the wheel and the friction of the force of the tight nuts hold the wheel where it belongs. Is there somthing I'm missing here. Most wheels don't touch the hub they have center caps for looks.

Doesn't make two cents worth of difference, does it? The studs are more than strong enough to take the load. That's what they're there for. My aluminum wheels are just flat on the back, with enough room to clear the hubs. They don't ride on anything but the studs, and the taper on the nuts provides the alignment.

On the aluminum wheels with no taper on the lug nuts (the step & washer type), the hole in the wheel and the outside of the nut provide the alignment.

My advice: Don't worry about it.

i agree the hub has nothing to do with it.

LOL, Sounds like my son. On my other old truck(1967) the stock wheels are on it. The hole in the wheels fit tightly on the hubs. So that the weight and braking load are on the hubs. All the studs are doing is keeping the rim on the spidel. On my 68 chevelle the studs do take all the load I think. But on the back the rim rest on the hub. I would think that the truck that these wheels came off of. Had a 4.250 hub. I belive the rims are ment to set on the hubs. If you have a full size truck or know of one. Check this out and see if that is not the case. Thanks, John.

I just finished restoration on a 71 Chevy pick up. Beleave me the studs and nuts are the only thing holding the wheel to the truck/car. Its kind of like kitchen cabinets. Usualy there are only 4 #8 or # 10 screws holding them up. BUT the screws do not hold up the cabinets. The screws hold them against the wall with enough FRICTION to keep them there even full of good heavy china.

I know what he is talking about, because I have seen some cars where the center hole on the wheel is a just a few thousanths bigger than the hub, so it kind of supports it there. But not all cars are this way, and not all wheels (especially aftermarket mags, etc) are either.

One of my cars had stock steel wheels that had a certain sized hole in the center, because I tried to put some other steel wheels on it, and the holes were too small to fit over the hub.

I agree with the others, the studs should hold the wheels fine.


Don

You learn somthing new every day I stand corected but I don't beleave these were intended to suport the weight of the car/truck

Thanks for all the input. When I bought this truck back in nov of 2005. I seen this issue about the truck. But with rebuilding motors and some other issues. Forgot all about it. But today, My son told me one of the lug nut studs broke off and fell into the hub cap. I checked it out and then remembered the wheel issue. That,s when I tried to find some sort of spacer. Ofcourse I replace the stud. So it has 6 nuts on each wheel. It worrys me that stud broke. I,ve never seen a stud just brake off. So, just to ease my mind I,ll make some steel spacers on a lathe and put the load on the hub. By the way, Do you think it would be a good idea to replace all 24 studs?

put a tight fitting spacer on there and let it rust up a little, you'll probably wish you hadn't when you try to get it off, like the old VW's or the old Chrysler car wheels.

Originally Posted by DennyW

Your right Mike. They recommend, and I also use anti-seize around that area only. Nothing on the studs, or lug nuts.

i used to use spacers up to 1/4" to space my wheels out to fit the fender. thats what they were made for and i never had a problem. i've had some lugs break off after the mech. tighten them to tight (with a air wrench)