The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Is this a safe split wheel?

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These are the wheels on my 59 chevy truck. As I mentioned in my first post I need to work on the brakes but I am unsure of the safety of these wheels. I thought I would ask before I start taking them off.

Also, any special procedures to follow when removing? deflating? Anything I need to know?
Gene

Yes it is comparatively safe. All precautions should be taken when airing one up.

Hy Gene_Spartan80, those are multi-piece Dayton wheels which were standard equipment on your truck. These wheels are completely safe if handled correctly, never inflate a deflated one unless it is in a tire cage. The wheel is the heavy cast part in the center the multi-piece rim with tire attached is retained by the five clamps at the end of each spoke of the wheel. The rims on the rear have a spacer in between them and both rear wheels can be removed when the nuts and clamps at the end of the spokes are removed. A word of caution about the rear wheel clamps, they can get wedged in place under considerable pressure, just loosen the nuts a couple of turns and then pry or hammer on the wheels until the clamps release, then you can take the nuts all the way off and remove the clamps, outer wheel, spacer and inner wheel, hope that helps.

So, is there any need to deflate the tire before removing it from the wheel? It sounds like the part where these can become dangerous is during inflation.

Do not deflate a tire on a multi-piece wheel unless you're planning to dismantle it, and NEVER try to add air to one that's flat or seriously low without a breakdown and reassembly. It's OK to remove and reinstall fully-inflated split rims. The internal air pressure makes it impossible for the pieces to separate. The danger is of parts coming unglued while doing the initial inflation after a tire change or a flat repair. Always use a cage, or wrap a heavy chain through the wheel in several locations when inflating. I use a clip-on air chuck and a ball valve in a 20-foot-long air hose extension and hide behind something substantial.
Jerry

Excellent! I think I can manage this.
Thanks,
Gene

There are lots of truck tire failure videos on YouTube...check a few out and you will see what a tire can do to the cage when it flys apart.

Be safe,

Mike B

Some useful information and diagrams:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg433.pdf

If you will read the Goodyear manual carefully from one end to the other and understand how to mount tube required wheels you won't blow one up.
http://www.goodyeartrucktires.com/pdf/resources/service-manual/Retread_S3_V.pdf

Back in the 60's we changed an average of 50 tires a day and we had never even heard of a tire cage. We finally got one in the 80's.

I have witnessed thousands of tube required tires aired up, and I have never seen one explode. I always heard that they could blew up, but I never even talked to anyone who had first hand information that one had blown up. Most of the guys that changed them were high school drop outs that were too dumb to read and write. But they were smart enough to see that they had the correct lock ring and that it was seated right because they knew their life depended on it.

Now we have people who are smart enough to upload things on You-tube but are too stupid to recognize a mismatched wheel and lock ring or a bead not properly seated.

Maybe people are too stupid to read safety manuals these days. Possibly the things pointed out in the Goodyear manual should be put in You-tube. But I doubt that anyone would watch it because there is no excitement when nothing happens.

The most memorable lock ring separation I remember was at a diesel shop I was managing in 1976. Most of the time, we didn't do tire work, but the tire buster at the truck stop next door was backed up, and I returned from a parts run to find one of my wrench jockeys assembling a flat repair. He was having a hard time getting the bead ring to install on a 3-piece wheel, one that had a separate locking ring and a full-circle bead ring without a split in it. He was doing a LOT of hammering and using some pretty colorful language. When he squatted down next to the wheel and leaned over it to attach the air hose, I told him to either wrap a chain around the wheel or at least turn it over with the ring facing down. He argued, and I finally had to threaten to fire him if he refused to do it my way. After a lot of argument, he finally turned the wheel over with the bead ring facing the floor.

When the tire had about 30 PSI in it, the ring blew off, and put a 1/4" deep groove in the concrete floor. The guy stayed mad at me for a week- - - -even after I had saved his miserable life. Did I mention he had approximately the IQ of a gerbil?
Jerry