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Silicone on wire wheels?

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CaptRoy

Jedi Hopeful
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My new Dayton wire wheels came in today. I have heard that a bead of sisicone should be placed on the inside of the hubs covering the spokes. I would assume that this is to keep grease from running out the spokes. Any tips or product to do this..

Thanks
 
No, but if you use silver anti-seize on the splines instead of grease, you won't notice it running out the spokes.

I was told to do this in 1977 and I still have the can of anti-seize I bought. Getting low, though.
 
Aloha Capt,

A smear of clear silicone sealer around the top of the hub covering the spoke heads will keep grease from running down the spokes. You can use any exterior type you have or get some at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

The alternative is use silver anti-seize in lieu of grease on the hub splines. You can get close to a lifetime supply at NAPA for about $10. Any that is forced out of the hub by centrifugal force down the spokes matches silver painted wheels or is close in appearance to chrome or stainless steel. Or you can seal the spoke heads and not worry about streaks.
 
I've used both regular GM wheel grease out of the can and the anti seize product. The only time I saw grease fly anywhere was the first time I applied the grease to the splines and hubs. You know the saying more is better? Well not when it comes to applying grease to wheel splines and hubs. I had grease whipping everywhere. I learned the hard way that a little bit will do especially if you faithfully pull them off once a year. After that mess I use to only get some grease to come out on the original wheels but it only strayed as far as the back of the inner hub. I've not seen any grease whipping out of the new Dayton's and I never applied silicone to the spokes. The only thing with the wire wheels that I find a pain is the brake dust that settles on the front wheels. I bought a soft bristle spoke brush for that which works pretty good as long as I don't hurry and rap my knuckles on the knock off.
 
A little off-topic, but what the heck:

We put anti-seize on spark plug threads in airplane engines. When I was a snot-nosed newbie, I thought that, if a little anti-seize was good, more was better. I was globbing it on the threads one day and the shop boss saw me. Turns out that if you use too much anti-seize on the threads, it can get on the electrodes and the plug won't fire.

The boss told me, "When putting anti-seize on spark plug threads, a little dab'll do ya." The advertising slogan of a hair product (I forget the brand) at that time.

I never forgot that.
 
CaptRoy said:
My new Dayton wire wheels came in today. I have heard that a bead of sisicone should be placed on the inside of the hubs covering the spokes. I would assume that this is to keep grease from running out the spokes. Any tips or product to do this..

Thanks
Click to expand...


Yes coating the spoke nipples with a clear silicone is highly recommended. It keeps the water out of the hubs when you wash the wheels or when you are traveling and encounter the wet. Yes an anti seize compound on the splines is preferred to grease. I recommend that you obtain a Product called CopaSlip from Moss motors. Additionally, use this product on all nuts and bolts you remove and replace in the car.--Fwiw---Keoke
 
Twosheds said:
...The boss told me, "When putting anti-seize on spark plug threads, a little dab'll do ya." The advertising slogan of a hair product (I forget the brand) at that time.

I never forgot that.
Click to expand...
Brylcreem, as I recall. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif
 
That's what I thought, but then I found I was wrong. It's on the tip of my tongue...
 
Hmmmmmm I have never thought to put anything on the splines on my 56 Tr-3, I have never had any problems with removing the wire wheels off of the hubs. As a result I have never seen any grease on my spokes either. {stands to reason hahahah} Should I be putting some kind of lubricant on the splines? For what purpose?
 
AweMan,

The splines on the wheel and the hub splines are similar to a gear in constant motion and therefore wear requiring some lube. Not to mention if you don't remove them at least once a year they have the potential to fuse (rust) together as one making removal very difficult.
 
Harry_Ward said:
... Not to mention if you don't remove them at least once a year they have the potential to fuse (rust) together as one making removal very difficult.
Click to expand...
And this is NOT a task one would look forward to. In some cases of severe rusting, the only tool that will remove a wheel is a cutting torch. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif

and BTW, I never personally used Brylcreem, but I do still have a partial tube of Score (It's EASY when you know the SCORE....)! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif
 
I'm confused -- was I supposed to use Brylcreem or Score on the hubs?

Andy -- about time for you to clean out the medicine cabinet I think, while you're in there pitch those bottles of Jade East and Hai Karate.

FWIW, I use anti-seize and the silicone sealant. Once watched someone free a frozen hub by loosening the knock-off and driving figure-8s until the wheel was ready to come off. I never want to have to try that.
 
I had a frozen knock-off on my MGB-GT. It wouldn't come off with a sledgehammer. Finally, I just got the propane torch and heated it up a couple times. Came right off.

After that, I found that the engine was pretty much shot. So everything was for not.
 
I had an MGB with a stuck wire wheel that needed a new tyre due to a ply separation. I took the car to the tyre shop to let the great big kid muscle the wheel off. Well, he beat on it with a sledgehammer to no avail.

He stated that they had a Triumph come in with the same problem and they ended up changing the tyre with the wheel on the car. Took two changers four hours and they charged him an hourly rate.

I suggested heat. He lit the acetylene torch and, instead of playing the flame around the hub, made like he was going to form a puddle on the hub. I suggested that I would try to get the wheel off myself.

I left the knock-off loose, sprayed penetrating oil in there and drove around for a couple days, then took it to the local foreign car repair shop. The driving with the loose knock-off and oil must have loosened it and the mechanic got it off by beating and wiggling. He's the one who told me about anti-seize. I've used it ever since.

Believe me, Aweman, you don't want to have a stuck wire wheel!
 
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