Wire Wheels

[vrmlbasic]

How are you supposed to get these wire wheel covers off of a 92 LeSabre when you don't have the "wheel cover key" ?

If the car ever came with it, it is long lost.

Once I manage to get these things off--preferably Not with the brute-force method--I think I'll switch over to something better, as I could never find a replacement center cap for the wire wheel cover that is lacking one...now I know why. These things suck (though they look cool) and no one else with a LeSabre bought them.

Searching the forum I found something about a "green nut" but I see nothing but white plastic, with a recession for a key.

Any ideas?

[vrmlbasic]

Seriously, someone has to know how to get these things off....without the key, my only options are to hope that the local yard has one, but that involves paying to go in and searching through all the cars, or going to a dealership....which is like walking to your execution. Well, at least the execution of your wallet. I don't think a 16 year old part can cost that much, but I'm sure they'll find a way.

[Rasp]

I had an 89 LeSabre with wire hubs. The way I got them off (after losing the actual key) was with a pair of needle nose pliers. I grabbed an edge of the white holding nut and turned it off.

If yours was the same as mine was it should turn off without to much trouble. BTW thats how the mechanics do it at our local Canadian tire and that is were I got the idea from.

[spinne1]

If you don't want to locate an original key of the right color, just get a dremel and cut a groove in the sides such that a pry bar could be used as a large flat-head screwdriver to screw them out.

[vrmlbasic]

You were right-on with the pliers trick...I thought the nuts would take far more torque, but they about fell off with some graceful application of pliers, even though they'd been on for years.

Would anyone happen to have an extra center cap for the wire hubs? I'm only running 3 out of 4, and to complete the set would greatly enhance my ride. ebay (bleh) and the junkyards only have caps for the non-wired covers.

With the covers off, I noticed that my front hubs are rusty and ancient looking, while my back hubs are shiny and appear new. Strange.

Canada actually has auto stores? When I was in the Brampton/Toronto area this past May, I couldn't find an auto parts store for anything. All I found were tire and battery only places, and garages. Nothing Auto Zone like.....of course, I didn't find an ihop either....some international house of pancakes!

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by vrmlbasic

Canada actually has auto stores?

Yes we do. We even have electricity and running water now too.
You obviously did not look too hard. There is a Canadian Tire store (like WallyMart, but more geared to auto parts) on nearly every corner. There are hundreds of smaller autoparts stores like NAPA, ETC. There are GM dealers all over the place, and we have auto recyclers.
Hey, we even have the Yellow Pages in Canada now!!! Check there next time.

[richtazz]

Universal health insurance, Electricity AND Yellow pages?!?! You guys aren't plannin' on invading Michigan with all that new technolgy are you?

[polarzak]

No time to invade this year...we still have to install indoor plumbing, get the new fangled invention call a t-e-l-e-p-h-o-n-e., and what I am really looking forward
to is this TV thing. Sorry we will invade next year.
Gotto to go, the igloo has a loose block, and it is snowing in here. We had 10 feet in last May so perhaps that is why vrmlbasic couldn't find an autostore in Toronto.
heh heh.

[Rasp]

Thats classic funny. I love it. EH!!!

[vrmlbasic]

In my defense here, this was the first time I'd been to Canada in eons, and apparently people who make GPS software (delorme) didn't consider Canada important enough to be in their software.

For a company centered in Maine, I find that strange.

I'm not a large fan of GPS, but the paper AAA maps that I had for toronto, the most up-to-date maps that they had, still said that the Toronto->Rochester ferry ran, and it had been discontinued TWO YEARS PRIOR to the printing of the map.

Toronto isn't innocent on that ferry aspect either--they still have signs pointing to a discontinued ferry. How hard is it to take down a sign?

Not to mention that every minor street in southern toronto leads into a maze of one way streets. On the plus side, there is only one major limited-access road in the toronto area, making navigation brainless (sadly)....south park was right on something

**And you can't enter this limited-access highway to the direction opposite of the direction you're traveling in. E.g. if you're going east, you're hard pressed to find an entrance ramp to the westbound road.

Yellow Pages? Paper? Who still uses that? What hotel provides that? They'd rather force you to use their city-wide wireless internet service, something for which I can laude toronto, but you have to pay 10 dollars an hour, which is lamentable. So there was no way to find these hidden auto stores.

The only american maps for Ontario are only for Toronto, and they really do suck. Landmarks like the CN tower are borderline microscopic on them. Try asking AAA or the like for a map of ontario, and they'll tell you they only have toronto....ask for brampton, and they'll tell you it's on there.....it really isn't. The AAA map starts at the Lester B Pearson airport and goes east for a ways (don't remember how far off hand), and that's it.

Truth be told, I didn't look to hard, but I wasn't in Canada for the autozones....that was more of an afterthought...and after the plethora of Tire and Battery only places, I was too discouraged to continue looking farther. Not to mention this one psycho canadian woman driving, but that wasn't in toronto, that was right after coming in over the rainbow bridge, so I won't go into that, though it did prove that canadians use the middle finger...I thought that everyone but US had switched over to the British Finger, or the backhand view of the V for victory.

A very educational experience....so when I next go up there, hopefully with my LeSabre now that I can work on her, I'll make sure to find an auto store.

[vrmlbasic]

10 feet of snow last May? You guys really are the great white north, if you can have snow in upper 60s-80s degF temperature wise.... (15 to 18 C, if you're inclined lol) as that's what the temperature was when I was there.

Of course, where I live, snow is measured in fractions of an inch, and one flake inspires a mass panic and mad rush to the grocery store, so I might not have been able to recognize such a large amount of snow. Forgive mah ig-noh-rans of yo' great white nort' ways.

[vrmlbasic]

Getting back on topic, would anyone have a spare center cap for a wire wheel?

(BTW, national health care is not a plus, as someone implied...the number one ad I saw in toronto is "Ontario's national healthcare plan almost killed me".)

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by vrmlbasic

10 feet of snow last May? You guys really are the great white north, if you can have snow in upper 60s-80s degF temperature wise.... (15 to 18 C, if you're inclined lol) as that's what the temperature was when I was there.

Of course, where I live, snow is measured in fractions of an inch, and one flake inspires a mass panic and mad rush to the grocery store, so I might not have been able to recognize such a large amount of snow. Forgive mah ig-noh-rans of yo' great white nort' ways.

I was kidding. In May we had no snow....we didn't have any in January. My wife is from Texas and her parents now live in Connecticut. A flake in CT is like a snow storm in Canada. But we love it when we go to CT in the winter. Beautiful country.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by vrmlbasic

In my defense here, this was the first time I'd been to Canada in eons, and apparently people who make GPS software (delorme) didn't consider Canada important enough to be in their software.

.

I did not quote all that you wrote, because there was too much to dispute. Enons can be a long time. Next time you come up I can show you a good time. Call me. 555_555-5555 We now have central heating in our igloos.
AND when I go to TX and CT, they always ask me to bring Canadian beer.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by vrmlbasic

Getting back on topic, would anyone have a spare center cap for a wire wheel?

(BTW, national health care is not a plus, as someone implied...the number one ad I saw in toronto is "Ontario's national healthcare plan almost killed me".)

Back on Topic.... do you have an auto wrecker nearby?

(BTW) 1.2 million people in the US have NO health care. Everyone in Canada does. What is your point?

Anyway, let us stop this here..I love my American travels, my Yank wife, and friends south of the 49th. Lets build better cars.