The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Out-of-round wheels/tires '54 Chev 2-ton

On my '54 Chevy 2-ton rear I have two somewhat out-of-round wheels/tires on the inside and two round ones on the outside. My question is: will the defective ones tend to wear more round with use or will they tend to become further out? (Or could they even cause the good ones to become like them?) I'm hoping the consensus is that the situation will improve over time.

The tires are new Chinese-made bias-ply 8.25 - 20 mud and snow. The rims are the "true widow maker" type. The dealer who ordered and installed them claims it is the wheels and not the tires or his installation that is the cause. The wheels with the original tires were perfectly round. Another interesting point: I asked the installing man to up the pressure from 70 to 75 pounds and when he did, one of the tires produced an extremely loud BANG! scaring him speechless for minutes. I assumed it was from the tire not seating, making me wonder if others are still not seated or otherwise improperly installed.

I couldn't find this exact question in a forum search, although I suspect it has been answered. Thanks for any help you can give. -CC

Sounding pretty risky....

If they were mine I’d deflate them from a distance and find safe wheels.

Hy Carolina Clive, I second Grigg's opinion, I'm extremely surprised you found someone to assemble them! Next time you go to adjust pressure up (which I do not recommend under any circumstances) lace a chain through the wheels hand holes or put it in a tire inflation cage, never mind just don't do it!

I had one rear that had a bad belt, people following me said it seemed to wobble side to side. A very good friend that owns a tire shop told me that on duals it is very much recommended to replace both to match, preferably whole axle, to keep one bad one from causing strange wear on another.
I'd ask the shop you went to to show you how they figure the wheel is out, not the tire.
And that bang I'm betting is one wasn't fully seated, makes you wonder about others. See if you can get newer rims may be best.

They are called “Widowmakers” for a very good reason.

Thanks much for the quick replies, guys.

I can't really say that the rims are the much-feared Firestone Type RH-5: The tire man told me these were the "worst kind" of split rims, which I interpreted as "true widow maker". He's not going to admit either that they aren't put on right or that the tires are faulty. After the new tires' installation I complained about the pronounced out-of-round condition on the right side. He found that two out-of-round tires were on the same side and in sync. His solution was to pair each of the defective ones with a good one on each side, claiming that would reduce the effect to tolerable.

I requested the 75 lbs because I wanted to haul 5 tons of rock and I thought the Chevy data bulletin recommended that pressure.

Does the following procedure sound foolish or unreasonable? Chains on inside (out of round) wheels/tires; deflate these to, say, 10 lbs; remove chains; drive around for a few miles, supported by the outside, round ones; chains back on inside ones; inflate these back to 75 lbs (hoping to hear loud seating noises); check for improvement.

What do you think? I don't pretend to be at all knowledgeable. I just want to get some enjoyable work done and this is interfering.

What do I think?
You're asking for trouble trying to coax difficult or messed up RH5 wheels into submission.
They are not something to play with, particularly if you value your life and that of others.

Have a look at the links and references here
https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthread...els-and-tires-what-to-do.html#Post867617

Otherwise if you have brand new tires that are out of round then first mount them on acceptable rims, and if still out of round that should illustrate the issue to tire dealer who I'd hope feels obligated to help you out.

NEVER
EVER
REDUCE
PRESSURE
ON
SECTIONAL
WHEELS!



That's the best way I know of to cause a rim separation and an explosive blowout! Back when I was supervising a tire shop, we wouldn't even add air to a noticeably low tube type tire without a full breakdown to find out where the pressure leak was located.
Jerry

Back when it was acceptable to work with RH5 wheels, a loud pop while inflating the tire was a sign that the wheel halves had seated properly. It usually happened somewhere around 30 PSI as the tire, tube, inner liner, and wheel assumed the proper fit to each other. That was also the most dangerous point, where an improperly assembled wheel was most likely to have a catastrophic failure. ALWAYS use an inflation safety cage when dealing with any multi-piece wheel, but if you ignore common sense and all the warnings about RH5's, definitely use a cage, and a long "chicken hose" with a clip-on chuck and an on/off valve in it and hide behind something sturdy while inflating the tire.
Jerry

The effect of the tires is not intolerable, so I'll just haul with what I have until four safe rims come over the horizon. I'm still human, not having evolved into either Eloi or Morlock, Hotrod, so many thanks for protecting such an ignoramus from himself.
CC

Please use private messaging or the swap meet section for parts wanted or buying/selling/offering.