Wire wheel hub wear. A question

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:59 pm

I have my original 5 inch enamel wires which I am not using but harbour the desire to have a set of original wheels with Dunlop X plys fitted for showing. What has held me back is the fear of putting potentially worn wheels on brand new Hubs. Is there a way of determining whether the wheels are worn or not?

Post by **mgcjag** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:05 pm

Hi Andrew....check for any visual signs of damage/wear.....slide on the splines and check for any movement... you could always trailer it to the show then fit them

neil4444 · Post by **neil4444** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:06 pm

From recollection the worn ones on my MGB used to clonk & I used to have to pack them with high melting point grease to cure.

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:24 pm

Thanks guys. I was actually told by a leading restorer and engineer of Astons that they must ALWAYS be packed with grease or they will chatter. What I was after , if it exists, is a technical way of checking g for wear. I could trailer the car but would rather drive it. Maybe MWS could fit new hubs but whether I would save anything on buying a new wheels
I doubt

Post by **mgcjag** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:17 pm

Hi Andrew what are you refering to with.... must be packed with grease....do you mean tne hub bearings...you cant pack the splines and the tapered surface at the rear where iwheel meets hub should be wiped clean.....your really thinking of having a trailer queen

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 10:29 am

the splines should be well greased is what I was referring to. In fact, I took a DB5 or service and after it came back it was throwing residual grease through the spoke holes in the hub. RS Williams assured me that they need very well greasing where the two meet, the hub and wheel. I don't recall what he said about the cones. I will ask him

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 12:48 pm

Yes, the splines and the cones (the beveled mating surface where the wheel contacts the hub) both need to be coated with anti-seize or grease. The wheels should also be removed, cleaned and re-coated about annually to prevent rusting which will cause extreme difficulty in removing the wheel. Not something that you want to deal with in the event of a flat tire at night in the rain.

Moeregaard · Post by **Moeregaard** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 1:15 pm

The best way to prevent grease from getting past the spokes I've found, is to clean everything really well and apply a smear of ordinary bathtub caulk on the inside of the hub, over the heads of the spokes.

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 1:38 pm

thats a good idea. Either way, I was assured that they need lots of grease to avoid chattering. Anyway, back to my question. Anyone else know of any proper way of measuring wear? I suppose I could ask MWS.

Duckham · Post by **Duckham** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:04 pm

neil4444 wrote:From recollection the worn ones on my MGB used to clonk & I used to have to pack them with high melting point grease to cure.

Reminds me of my student days and the splines on friend's MGB which were so worn that he knew they would fail the MOT.

Being cash-strapped he did some experiments.
Grease did nothing, tightening the knock-offs only lasted a short distance and he couldn't afford any adhesive (yes, he did seriously consider it) so he hatched a plan involving booking it into a distant MOT garage chosen because it was at the bottom of a hill.

He paused at the top of the hill and tightened the knock-offs as much as possible with a heavy metal sledge hammer (!), then coasted gently downhill to the garage without touching the brakes.

It passed:-)

Joe

Duckham · Post by **Duckham** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:10 pm

andrewh wrote:t. Anyone else know of any proper way of measuring wear? .

The traditional way is to look at how sharp the splines are compared to new - for example (via google) http://www.mossmotoring.com/balancing-w ... ck-wheels/
Joe

ALAN COCHRANE · Post by **ALAN COCHRANE** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:19 pm

Andrew

The splines should be well greased to allow the wheel to be removed easily. Otherwise there is a danger of the wheel hub rusting onto the splines after a prolonged period.
I'm guilty of always putting far to much grease on with the result that the wheel usually squishes a good amount of it out the rear.

Alan

ALAN COCHRANE · Post by **ALAN COCHRANE** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:22 pm

Sorry just read the other posts and I was a bit late with my reply.
Must try harder in future.

Post by **mgcjag** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:45 pm

Wire wheel splines do not need loads of grease......the splines of the wheel should be a perfect fit to the splines on the hub, if you apply loads of grease then when you push the two splined surfaces together it will just push most of the grease off hence it will all push out the back and front with plenty comming up through the spokes...the surfaces of the splines need just enough to stop them corroding together......with to much it will also get on to the tapered face of the wheel and hub, these are supposed to be friction mating surfaces and kept grease free.....adding extra grease to try to cure worn splines is rediculous.........its not like using a grease gun to take up a bit of slack in a ball joint......if there is movement on the wheels change them or the hub

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 9:29 pm

mgcjag wrote:Wire wheel splines do not need loads of grease......the splines of the wheel should be a perfect fit to the splines on the hub, if you apply loads of grease then when you push the two splined surfaces together it will just push most of the grease off hence it will all push out the back and front with plenty comming up through the spokes...the surfaces of the splines need just enough to stop them corroding together......with to much it will also get on to the tapered face of the wheel and hub, these are supposed to be friction mating surfaces and kept grease free.....adding extra grease to try to cure worn splines is rediculous.........its not like using a grease gun to take up a bit of slack in a ball joint......if there is movement on the wheels change them or the hub

I just knew this thread was going to go this way. I am afraid I don't know , but I am inclined to listen to Richard Williams on this one. He has been the foremost Aston Martin engineer for over 45 years, trained at Aston Martin, ran their race team , and builds world class cars. I travelled 15,000 km in his rally prepared DB5 on the Peking to Paris and the only thing that went wrong was a condenser, and we broke rear springs every other day. BUT, I don't mean to be demeaning of anyones opinion, but he clearly impressed upon me the need to keep the splines very very well greased. When I see him, I will ask him for more details. I would say, that we have had clicking on wire wheels before and after applying grease this has disappeared. Maybe there is always, some differential movement between splines especially one cars that have covered some miles?

richard btype · Post by **richard btype** » Thu Mar 09, 2017 2:32 pm

Just noticed this is an old thread, but surely anything more than 'just enough' grease is a bit crazy whatever the pedigree of the proposer!

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