Subject: Re: wheel woes
Author: Charlie Mullendore
Date: Mar 11, 2002, 4:19 PM
Post ID: 1709827325
Hi Jeff,
Every Loop wheel I've ever looked at (okay, not that many, maybe a
dozen) has had some of what look like cracks. I was worried about mine
too since it had what looked like cracks. So while the wheels were apart
and the hubs were at a friends machine shop for bead-blasting, he
"Zygloed" (sp?) them to check for cracks. None found! "Just looks that
way, don't worry" he said.
So far, I'd have to say these are much easier than others (Falcone) I've
tried my hand at. The disassembly can be a bear if the spokes are
corroded into the hubs, but reassembly doesn't look nearly as tedious.
I'll let you know in about a week. My new spoke sets came from Buchanan
Rim & Spoke last week ($65 per set of 40 stainless steel spokes and
nipples) and Saturday I finished polishing the front rim, hub edges and
all the spokes and nipples. Hope to get under way with reassembly by
Wednesday. Gonna' have to wear shades just to look at the wheels! I'd
say go for it if you have the time. Cheers,
Charlie
jeff m wrote:
| So I spent the weekend tackling the wheels on my Ambo. Spent some quality time with SOS pads and 409 to get rid of all the 32 years of crap on 'em. They're starting to look pretty good BUT I noticed a couple of maybe 1/2 - 1 inch long cracks radiating out from the center of the hub (near the flanged bearing housing). They don't seem to go all the way through the casting, but I'd rather not take chances. Considering the overall crappy casting quality of the engine block, I wasn't sure if these are just artifacts from when the hub was made or more of a stress crack. 'Nother question -- how hard are these wheels to rebuild? If I do need to replace the front then I'd like to see if I could source a new hub and rebuild the wheel myself. From my BMW days, I would always send the wheel out as they were considered by many to be 'unrebuildable'. |