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Knock-Off Spinners

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twas_brillig

Jedi Knight
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We had a flat on our wire-wheeled BJ7 last summer, and had a bugbear of a time getting the spinner off. I want to remove and reinstall all the wheels this fall, but was unable to find any of the previous notes on this site as to how to properly lubricate and tighten the splines and spinners. Please advise. Thanks, Doug.
 
This is indeed a long and twisty rabbit hole if you choose to go down it. My attitude is , remove wheel, clean splines and wheel hub with solvent, do not overly apply the grease of your choice ( I will use anti-sieze if I can't lay my hands on some grease but grease that is not too thin is probably best), replace wheel, snug nut before lowering off jack and then tighten with at least a 2 lb mallet of your choice. I do use a laminated plywood tool that is about the diameter of the tire and strike it on the end until I feel like it's enough. Obviously you need to hit it harder the shorter arm you are striking until you get down to hitting the wheel nut ear itself, which for some reason I never want to do. I do think that the longer arm you use, the more you would be able to repeat the tightness you like.

The cars never came with anysort of tool/ extender so I assume striking directly on the ear with a lead or copper mallet by what the courts refer to as " any reasonable man" is sufficient.

Actual torque specs from bouncing around on line seem to range from about 150 foot lbs to 450 foot lbs, or about 200 to 600 NM. None of these numbers were officially applied to our Austin Healeys. I would be loath to use the higher range of this span. Pretty sure 200 ft lbs would be plenty. Your mileage may vary.
 
Interesting story:

Rudge-Whitworth hub

Invented to deal quickly with frequent punctures, this rapid-release system became standard in Grand Prix racing and lasted until the 1960s.
www.motorsportmagazine.com www.motorsportmagazine.com

I've heard everything from 'just snug them up' to 'bash the snot out of them;' I lean towards the latter. A 4-lb lead hammer is best IMO and, unless you screw up and hit the ear with a glancing blow you're not likely to damage it. Wheel bearing grease on the threads is my go-to, it's tenacious by design yet still a good lubricant. Put enough on to make sure all splines get a good coat, fit and remove the wheel from the hub and spinner a couple times, then wipe off the excess. Clear RTV on the inside of the wheel hub will keep the grease from migrating up the spokes.
 
I agree with BOB:
I have always used the lead hammer without any problems.
 
Hit the ears with a leather/copper hammer. Any small indentations add character. Don’t bash them too hard! They are based on a patented self tightening design, so they tighten when you drive.
 
Was once told: "As tight as you can... they'll only come off ONCE if you don't!"

I was given an ingot of printing press lead for the purpose, it gave over 20 (Y)ears' worth of service. (y)
 
While working at Austin-Healey West (late 70s, San Francisco) we had a mechanic come to work there that had done his apprenticeship at the MG works in Abingdon__where all but the Longbridge Healeys were assembled__and he claimed they used a copper-paste on the splines. The subject came up when he witnessed me using Kopr-Shield on the splines of a customer's car. So I guess that's been my go-to spline treatment at least since 1976 & the '66 wire wheeled MGB I had at the time.

Another Healey owner tipped me to the "2-hammer" method sometime in the 90s; he held a lead hammer to the spinner, and struck the opposite end with a decent sized mallet. The spinners on his 30-yo MKIII still looked pristine! Taken a step further, I use a rawhide mallet against the spinner, striking it with my Indy 500 (Proto Tools) copper hammer...

IMG_5816.jpg
 

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I have a British Wheel Wrench:

BRITISH WHEEL WRENCH for MG. Knock-off KO Spinner Wire Wheel MGB TD TC


I've made sure there are no sharp corners on the working surfaces and put a shop rag over the spinner. The threads are 12 tpi.

I tighten the spinner hand tight plus 1/2 turn.
 
Randy: I couldn't find a retailer (a fairly shallow search) for your Kopr-Shield, but I can access a couple of varieties of Permatex copper based products. My issue at the moment is I have a 1999 Buell S3 motorcycle (a real motorcycle chassies/brakes/suspension etc., powered by an uprated Harley V-Twin) and the interface between the front cylinder head and the afternmarket Vance and Hines exhaust system has gone all to heck. Stock, there is a compressible gasket made from what looks like expensive steel wool between the header and the head, and mine has blown out completely. Unfortunately, there's been some wear on both the head and the header. I've replaced the 'gasket', but fired the bike up this evening and I'm still getting blow-by. One of the Youtbue videos that I looked at had a chap extolling the use of a copper based sealant (apologies: I can't find the video and didn't take note of the name). I was thinking of pulling the exhaust header again, and filling it with Permatex Ultra Temperature Gasket Maker. Not exacly a Healey question, but I would appreciate your thoughts. thanks. Doug
 
These have been my tried and true tools every race weekend for the last fifteen years. Tire changes and brake inspections 2-3 times a day means wheel/tire removal needs to happen without issues....

Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant 8Oz 80078 | Zoro

Order Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant 8Oz, 80078 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.
www.zoro.com www.zoro.com

SpinnerSpanner - Healey Webshop

webshop.healey.se webshop.healey.se
 

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Me, I use the hide/copper mallet on the hide side, a touch of copper grease on the splines (I have a life times supply) wind the spinners on to hand tight then drop the car to lightly tighten with the hide mallet. this lessens the strain especially on the front axles, no point in giving them big welly as they do self tighten and you could easily damage the threads.

:cheers:

Bob
 
Finally got the wheels swapped and the 48 spoke spare is in the boot. Had a bugbear of a time getting the spinner off (again!). Dunno which one of us three males tightened it last July, but it's had only about ten miles put on it, so no self-tightening. Used a 5 pound sledge and a chunk of 2x4 (choked up most of the way on the sledge) and a helper.
Used WD40 to clean the extra grease and crud off the splines on the hub and inside the wheel plus the knock-on and threads. Had a container of Quaker State multi-purpose grease from eons ago and used it on the splines, and then anti-seize on the knock-on threads.
 
I'd appreciate your thoughts on:
1 - would it make sense to build your own?
2 - would it make sense to drill it such that you could bolt a metal lever arm to it, so as to not have to pound on it?
3 - would i t make sense to screw/bolt a piece of steel onto it that could accept a half-inch drive breaker bar? That you could add a snipe to for more leverage? (and does anyone other than myself refer to that 5 ft. long piece of pipe you slip over the breaker bar for more leverage as 'snipe'?)
Thanks, Doug
 
twas_brillig said:
I'd appreciate your thoughts on:
1 - would it make sense to build your own?
2 - would it make sense to drill it such that you could bolt a metal lever arm to it, so as to not have to pound on it?
3 - would i t make sense to screw/bolt a piece of steel onto it that could accept a half-inch drive breaker bar? That you could add a snipe to for more leverage? (and does anyone other than myself refer to that 5 ft. long piece of pipe you slip over the breaker bar for more leverage as 'snipe'?)
Thanks, Doug
Click to expand...
Don’t do any of that stuff. Just buy the inexpensive dive wooden tool from Moss. If you feel like making things, make a duplicate when the tool arrives. I think the hammer I use weighs two pounds.
 
I pull the wheels off my TF at least once a year and I have always used a lead hammer. The chrome on my spinners look as nice as they did when new, not one scratch or dent and I put my nuts on tight! Got it from Hendrix wire wheel at his recommendation. Oh yeah, I put never seize on the splines also. (y) PJ
 
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