• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.

    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Wire wheels

Donny_L

Jedi Trainee
Offline
Since my AH is off the ground with the wheels off while I wait for my parts to be delivered.I figured I'd spend some time cleaning the wheels. In the procces I noticed ONE spoke is broken. How big a deal is it?
 
Well just cut it off short until you can have it repaired so it does not hang up in anything. I have seen cars disabled because a broken spoke got tangled up.---Fwiw Keoke
 
How many spokes in you rims (48, 60 or 72)? the more spokes the less impact the single spoke will have.

As an ignorant teenage I drove around in my TR6 (72 spokes) with a broken spoke (maybe 2) for probably a year or more. Not recommending you follow my lead on that one, but just an example.

To fix will require removal of the tire, loosening of a number of the spokes around the affected one (and possibly some of the spokes opposite), then inserting the new spoke and beginning the tightening process. Search the net for some instructions on this subject. There are some good write ups out there. It's really not that bad, just takes time and patience.

The other option is to send it to someone like Hendrick and let them repair.

Good luck.

Eric
 
Depends on how much time to have to work of car. If time is limited, do as Keoke mentioned, cut it off for now. Order you a new spoke and change it out when you can. If your spare is good then make this wheel your spare.

Marv
 
they'er 60 spoke painted (silver) rims and I got no spare. After cleaning them ,I find myself wishing for a set of those 8 spoke rally rims. Anyone wanna' swap me?
 
Go on E-Bay and see if you can not find a single wheel cheap.
 
keoke, before i go out to ice station 7777 zebra and count spokes is there any other way to determin the number of spokes i.e. stamped number/date/code etc,?. :savewave:
 
elrey said:
Count 1/3 of them then multiply by three. :thirsty: --elrey
wooofa!, ya scared me for a second, thought you was gunna start tellin me about usin PIE... keoke usually tells me ta stick my head in it. :jester:... but seriously i have 12-14 wheels in my shed hate to have to count all the smokes, just trying to be helfull for a change...oh well. :savewave:
 
None that I know of 7777's.

However, I would think the only confusion in determining the number of spokes in a wheel created by just looking at one would be between a 70 spoke and a 72 spoke wheel.

But one tell tale difference between these wheels and 48 or 60 spoke ones is the rims are wider at least 5" wide,---Keoke
 
Hi Donny,

First, replacing a broken spoke is not that difficult and time consuming. Truing a wheel is. Since you have only 1 broken spoke, I would say the difficult part would be shedding, and then replacing, the tire and tube. Depending on the location of the spoke, removing and inserting a new replacement should not be that difficult or time consuming and “I” would not hesitate to replace the broken spoke.

Also, with the wheel off the ground, I would ping all spokes with a screwdriver to hear any significant sound difference from adjacent spokes. A flat sound will indicate a loose or broken spoke and a number in this condition will give a good indication of the overall condition and value of the wheel.

When installing the new spoke, I usually tighten the new spoke to a ping just below the adjacent spokes within the same plane. This assumes the adjacent spokes ping close to the same level and closely relate to the overall ping level exhibited by the other spokes within the same plane.

Again, I would carefully consider the age and condition of your wheels in context of the level of enthusiasm with which you drive your car. This consideration should help you determine whether you replace or repair your broken wheels. The harder I drive the more I would personally want the confidence and security of new or professionally reconditioned wheels.

Hope this helps,
Ray (64BJ8P1)
 
anthony7777 said:
keoke, thanks, that does help.


Bout time I did sompin helpfull Huh!!!----Keoke-- :laugh:


----------------------------- :thumbsup:
 
And the spline condition, for both used wheels and hubs. Worn splines can be dangerous, particularly in an emergency stop condition. I have a set of hubs at home to remind me of this, the spines folded flat and at the time I went from 4 wheel to 2 wheel brakes.

And as for determining spoke count, count the ones on the spinner end of the center hub. Since spokes on the stock wheels are in sets of three, 16=48, 20=60 and 24=72.
 
MikeP said:
And the spline condition, for both used wheels and hubs. Worn splines can be dangerous, particularly in an emergency stop condition. I have a set of hubs at home to remind me of this, the spines folded flat and at the time I went from 4 wheel to 2 wheel brakes.

...

Since you bring this up, I have to chime in. I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news to the group, but the condition of the hubs will have a direct impact on the life expectancy of your new wheels. If you have a car with 50K+ miles and the original hubs, the hub splines are most likely worn. They may not be ready to fail, they may not even be unsafe. But they are worn. Keep in mind that new splines do not come to a point at the tip. When new, they are actually a bit flat at the top. Hub splines with 50K miles on them are usually pointed at the top, or close to it. This happens over miles and miles of acceleration, stops and cornering which rub the splines of the hub against the spines of the wheel, reducing the amount of material on both.

Those worn hub splines will now be in mesh with the new splines on your wheels which, because they are new, have a profile that differs from the splines on your hub. Those splines will start working on each other and because of the difference, both sides will wear at an accelerated rate. Again, I'm not saying it is necessarily unsafe, but they will both wear faster. If you can afford it, think about getting new hubs to go with your new wheels.
 
Back
Top