Wheel Spacer Woes
MK1949
03-29-2008, 06:43 PM
First time out with this forum. Please bear with me.
I have had two different problems with my 1978 Ford Ranger (F100) front wheels. Previous owner put American Racing , 5-spoke, mag-wheels all around. He re-built this whole vehicle out of spare parts and salvage - much of his work is highly suspect now!
Now its 10 years down the road, he's nowhere to be found and I am trying to correct some of the truck's problems to make it safer and road worthy. After having a mechanic replace brakes and rotors, the R/front brake locked up and tried to cook the wheel. Letting some of the brake fluid out of the the brand new master cylinder took the pressure off. Mechanic also said he couldn't get the wheels to fit that hub when he tried to rotate the tires and was initially afraid that the rotor was touching the inside of the hub. He said the rotor was too close in the front (hub covers are small, funky, non-stock on front wheels for some reason). He suggested I put a wheel spacer on fropnt hubs to allow for wheel/tire rotation.
Later this month, a second mechanic replaced all the shocks. He was afraid to take the front wheels off and worked around them, in place. One of them (L/front) rocks a bit and won't tighten down. He suggested a wheel spacer might solve the problem.
Just this past morning, while trying to trace down wheel spacers, I was advised by a third mechanic against the use of wheel spacers... too prone to loosening up. He suggested new hubs or wheels all around or, at the very least, to search out hubcentric wheel spacers so they won't drift out of alignment with the hub. He told me to measure the hub and go on-line.
From what I can see from looking at the mounted wheels, the outside dia of the hub matches the dia of the center portion of the mag wheel. I measured this and it comes to 17mm. When I search for wheel centric spacers for F100s, I get 30mm or larger sizes but nothing as small as the hub on my truck.
First question: Are my hubs stock to the truck at 17mm in dia?
Second question: Are hubcentric spacers safe?
Third question: My wheel only moves a small fraction of an inch if I push hard against it along one edge - a 1/16 of an inch or so, max. All the wheel spacers seem designed to move the whole wheel and tire well away from the wheel. Is there a spacer that will give me just the minimum breathing room I am seeking?
Fourth question: If I use one of these thicker spacers, how do I determine, in advance, the feasibility of the tire fit in the wheel wells? None seem to list their thickness. Also, will spacers mean I will require bolts to mount them tot he hub and then a second set of bolts to mount the spacers to the wheel? I am currently running 31X10.50XR15 tires.
Fifth question: Are there other performance issues I should look at? The truck is used for light to medium duty hauling and I live on a rocky road that is virtually 4-wheel drive for several hundred yards. The wheels and shocks take quite a beating weekly. I'm starting to take a real beating financially trying to get this truck up to par.
Whew! Glad I got that all off my chest... hope there's someone out there with as many answers as I have questions! :banghead:
I have had two different problems with my 1978 Ford Ranger (F100) front wheels. Previous owner put American Racing , 5-spoke, mag-wheels all around. He re-built this whole vehicle out of spare parts and salvage - much of his work is highly suspect now!
Now its 10 years down the road, he's nowhere to be found and I am trying to correct some of the truck's problems to make it safer and road worthy. After having a mechanic replace brakes and rotors, the R/front brake locked up and tried to cook the wheel. Letting some of the brake fluid out of the the brand new master cylinder took the pressure off. Mechanic also said he couldn't get the wheels to fit that hub when he tried to rotate the tires and was initially afraid that the rotor was touching the inside of the hub. He said the rotor was too close in the front (hub covers are small, funky, non-stock on front wheels for some reason). He suggested I put a wheel spacer on fropnt hubs to allow for wheel/tire rotation.
Later this month, a second mechanic replaced all the shocks. He was afraid to take the front wheels off and worked around them, in place. One of them (L/front) rocks a bit and won't tighten down. He suggested a wheel spacer might solve the problem.
Just this past morning, while trying to trace down wheel spacers, I was advised by a third mechanic against the use of wheel spacers... too prone to loosening up. He suggested new hubs or wheels all around or, at the very least, to search out hubcentric wheel spacers so they won't drift out of alignment with the hub. He told me to measure the hub and go on-line.
From what I can see from looking at the mounted wheels, the outside dia of the hub matches the dia of the center portion of the mag wheel. I measured this and it comes to 17mm. When I search for wheel centric spacers for F100s, I get 30mm or larger sizes but nothing as small as the hub on my truck.
First question: Are my hubs stock to the truck at 17mm in dia?
Second question: Are hubcentric spacers safe?
Third question: My wheel only moves a small fraction of an inch if I push hard against it along one edge - a 1/16 of an inch or so, max. All the wheel spacers seem designed to move the whole wheel and tire well away from the wheel. Is there a spacer that will give me just the minimum breathing room I am seeking?
Fourth question: If I use one of these thicker spacers, how do I determine, in advance, the feasibility of the tire fit in the wheel wells? None seem to list their thickness. Also, will spacers mean I will require bolts to mount them tot he hub and then a second set of bolts to mount the spacers to the wheel? I am currently running 31X10.50XR15 tires.
Fifth question: Are there other performance issues I should look at? The truck is used for light to medium duty hauling and I live on a rocky road that is virtually 4-wheel drive for several hundred yards. The wheels and shocks take quite a beating weekly. I'm starting to take a real beating financially trying to get this truck up to par.
Whew! Glad I got that all off my chest... hope there's someone out there with as many answers as I have questions! :banghead:
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