Yes, dedicated deep 6 point in a high quality brand so you can beat the hex into submission. Carry spare bolts, washers, A/S, torque wrench, valve stems with cores, etc. in a dedicated bag so you can grab it and deal with most any tire/wheel issue.
Beadlock wheels and grade 8 bolts
- Thread starter Mike_H
- Start date
Yeah, that's one of those we all hoped for, wished for and then after taking a pick with a small hammer to dig all the smeared aluminum from around the bolt heads, all said the same thing. "who thought this was a good fucking idea?"
I'm feeling particularly dense today...The takeaway here is use anti-seize? FWIW, the wheels I have do not have thread inserts...They threaded directly into the aluminum. They are Circa 2018 based on the little cast in calendar on the back side of the wheel.
Check this very closely as this shouldn't be the way, every one I've seen has an insert, from every generation. The only wheels I've seen with out are very new wheel companies that are already out of business some how.
But yes, anti-seize, all the time.
Mike, here's an old Pirate4x4 thread that has quite a bit of useful information, and there's even a special appearance by our resident wizard in it:
https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/walker-evans-threadsert-repair.990116/
Lanzg's post makes me think you either have counterfit WE wheels (I hope not!) or have missed that there are inserts installed in them. Since you drilled one out, you may have to replace that one with a Keensert if your end mill was too big.
https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/walker-evans-threadsert-repair.990116/
Lanzg's post makes me think you either have counterfit WE wheels (I hope not!) or have missed that there are inserts installed in them. Since you drilled one out, you may have to replace that one with a Keensert if your end mill was too big.
I'm not particularly in tune with the nuance of their wheels but the ones in JV would have been a very early set well before 2018 and they had "time-serts" or the equivalent. All the rest I've mounted would not be immediately recognizeable as having inserts due to how a time sert style insert works. With the small counterbore at the top for the shoulder, you may not even see it as an insert.
I will check more closely. The beads are fairly dirty right now, and its possible I'm just missing them.
Champion and OMF both threaded the aluminum directly with no insert of any kind. However, they were both conversion companies, not beadlocks from scratch. I also had a very old set of race versions from one of the major wheel companies that were long discontinued by the time I got them that were sans inserts. Walker's were the first sets I ever saw with inserts and then I never saw any without after that.
I put blue loctite on all the bolts on my racelines. Am I an idiot and should have used loctite?
There is some idiocy there, as soon as you clarify, we can nail it down for you a tad better.
That's better. Kind of a toss up for me. If you used enough, it will seal the threads and prevent corrosion like A/S does. But, I don't know what happens if a rock loosens the bolt and breaks the seal. Instinct tells me that might let water in, but if there is enough, it may not. Run and check them in a year or so. If any are messed up, you know what to do.
In the early days we built alot of bead locks, I wish I could remember who we bought the rings from, they were inserts made into a ring welded on. I was running 15" stealies we made till I got my first Walkers in probably 05. Seems like I used OMF kits for AL rims back then, Bones was my guy over there. Never experienced any champions in AL. These newer wheels I've been asked (and politely refused) to work on seem to be one time use threaded directly into the aluminum.
So, I am going to revise my previous statement. I believe there ARE inserts in these wheels. This pic is from my bolt removal efforts last night...
Yes, I fucked it up, trying to drill it freehand. I should know better by now, but I still seem to learn the hard way. Anyway, if you look close at the upper edge of the hole, you can see another edge, like of an insert. I'm sure of it.
Like I said, they are D-I-R-T-Y and its easy to mistake the little top flange of a timesert for a chamfer...
I still have a whole other set of holes I can use, so this wheel will be fine, regardless if I'm able to get another insert in there, but I'm planning a drill fixture that will bolt into the holes to either side of the damaged hole, that will have a drill guide for a 21/64" drill bit. Then I will tap with a 5/16"SPI STI tap and install a new insert. Hopefully the 21/64 bit cleans everything up. The endmill I used was just under 5/16 (it was a regrind) so I should still have some meat to remove. I don't know that I'll get that whole little wobble out that is show in the zoomed in picture, but we'll see. Maybe an E-Z-lock style insert will fit. I believe those work on the next size larger thread (so a 3/8 outer thread for a 5/16" repair).
Yes, I fucked it up, trying to drill it freehand. I should know better by now, but I still seem to learn the hard way. Anyway, if you look close at the upper edge of the hole, you can see another edge, like of an insert. I'm sure of it.
Like I said, they are D-I-R-T-Y and its easy to mistake the little top flange of a timesert for a chamfer...
I still have a whole other set of holes I can use, so this wheel will be fine, regardless if I'm able to get another insert in there, but I'm planning a drill fixture that will bolt into the holes to either side of the damaged hole, that will have a drill guide for a 21/64" drill bit. Then I will tap with a 5/16"
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Thinnest wall EZ-Loc I see is 7/16-14 which is what they call a thin wall version. The standard wall is 1/2-13.
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