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Junk Yard Hunt For 16's or 15's


Ranger850

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28446

saw this truck for sale. ots got Crown Vic wheels with truck tires. just so you know what your junkyard run would have looked like if you pull that trigger.
As far as the wheels you have on them, new whistles are never good, some small spacers may do some good (idk what size spacers maybe some one with more knowledge will chime in) but sounds to me like the wheels are too close to the caliper. find where the whistle is coming from, front or back, and pull off the wheel and inspect the backside of the wheel and all around the brake components. bright fresh metal will be an indicator of the problem. I say a small spacer would be ok without causing too much stress on bearings and pushing the wheel away from the caliper, AND without lifting the front. BUT this may cause it to rub on the outer fender some. smaller tires may also be an option.......
 


Jay11

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That's a great visual, thanx! I coulda got those, I just didn't know about all the offset stuff, yada yada.

Definitely I will pull and the wheels.

These chromes came from a 2009 Explorer. Googling specs they are Center Bore70.6 mm while ranger stocks are 70.5 mm.

Thinking of adding 1" hubcentric spacers will still leave me with a 70.5 mm center to contend with, nor will 70.6 mm spacers resolve the current issue remains because the 0.1 mm issue will just be transferred from the rim to the spacer.

And I just can't find hubcentric ring reducers to resolve a 0.1mm difference???
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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I thought rangers were lug-centric.

Edit; I may be wrong. My knowledge is about older rangers and Ford probably did change to hub centric with the newer ones.
 
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Ranger850

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im bout to go google "lug-centric"
::edit::_ok i got it.:icon_thumby:
 

sgtsandman

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alwaysFlOoReD

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Yeah, all of my hands on knowledge is 93 and earlier. I think if the lug nut is flat where it contacts the rim its hub-centric and if conical its lug-centric.

Edited my original post.....
 
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sgtsandman

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Yeah, all of my hands on knowledge is 93 and earlier. I think if the lug nut is flat where it contacts the rim its hub-centric and if conical its lug-centric.

Edited my original post.....
Nope, the lugs are definitely conical. The rims move into position as you slide the rim over the hub. The lugs just center the holes over the lugs but the rim stays in contact with the hub. What you say about the older models may be true. I know my utility trailer is lug-centric. The rims do not touch the hub after the lug nuts are installed and maybe even before that.
 

Jay11

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Pulled both fronts wheels, no sign of any shavings nor scratch markings. Wheels had a slight but observable wobble when spinning, I think this is the cause of the unusual vibration. I could not determine 100% if the front rim bore went in all the way to butt against the hubs. It's as if these rims struggled to easily slide in and sit where they are supposed to. Gave me a feeling ... again a feeling like their bore centers were small. Which doesn't make any sense because they are supposed to be 70.6 mm compared to stock rangers 70.5 mm. The rims bore centers look like they are tapered. So I am thinking to test out 1 inch spacers with hubcentric lips. What do you guys think? Which spacers make sense to order - 70.5 mm or 70.6 mm and what would be your reasoning?

As far as spacer width I really don't know what. I have read up on offsett, etc but I still haven't put it all together. So I am just gonna go for either half or one inch and see what happens. But if anyone has any tips, or you can share what you are using I will be great full. These Explorer rims are 18x7.5, 44mm offset 4.5" bolt pattern.

The rear wheels seem ok from observation as far as the hub and rim bore. No rubbing, shaving, nothing. The only thing I observed was a play of about 1 in. if you are attempting to spin them.

I re-installed the old tires at the front only, new chromes at the back and will do the noise tests tomorrow morning on this setup.

Here are a bunch of pics showing where the tires are rubbing. Let me know if something jumps out at you.

28596




28597


28598


Driver front tire

28599

28600
 
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Jay11

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****UPDATE****

Tested this morning and front wheels are completely back to their old selves. No vibration, bounciness ... nothing. Only the rears have a slight whistle noise but only if I brake really hard. Maybe the shoes are getting worn but I am almost sure i never heard that noise before. I just never had a reason to test hard braking on the old wheels so...
 

Jay11

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I have never installed spacers before. If i get regular spacers without a hub centric lip will the lugs center the wheels properly?
 

sgtsandman

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I have never installed spacers before. If i get regular spacers without a hub centric lip will the lugs center the wheels properly?
Centering isn't the issue. The conical seats of the lug nuts will take care of that. What could happen is broken studs. I know a couple of people who had issues with studs breaking. Of course, they were also driving with lower profile tires, which is harder on the suspension and drive train from less side wall shock absorption. So, that may have been more their problem than the rims not sitting on the hub.
 

Jay11

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Centering isn't the issue. The conical seats of the lug nuts will take care of that. What could happen is broken studs. I know a couple of people who had issues with studs breaking. Of course, they were also driving with lower profile tires, which is harder on the suspension and drive train from less side wall shock absorption. So, that may have been more their problem than the rims not sitting on the hub.
Definitely don't want studs breaking in motion especially. However, I broke 2 while removing passenger wheel, luckily opposite ones. So I did not want to take a test drive in this situation.

I will pick up longer steel studs from AZ tomorrow and give this better time than I had today.

For quick testing 1" spacers could not sit flush to hub, not without these 5mm spacer rings. The rings are hub centered. Question are these spacer rings known to be safe?

28769




IMAGE40.jpg
 
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alwaysFlOoReD

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I can't see a problem unless they are made of chalk. They are squeezed between two metal pieces so aren't going anywhere.
 

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In my humble opinion... the best solution is to just have a pair of wheels that fit.

Adding a spacer so your other spacer fits... is a recipe for disaster.
 

sgtsandman

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Finding rims with the offset/back spacing to fix the issue is the best solution but more expensive than spacers.

Based on the previous photos, it looks like the rims you are working with are hub centric, so spacers with a hub ring would be the next best solution.

The spacers I used on my trailer had studs installed in then from the factory and used the original studs to mount the spacer. The studs on the spacer are used to mount the tire. If the ones you get are like that, make sure you use thread locker on the lug holding the spacer to the hub and torque the lug nuts multiple times to ensure they don’t work loose. Since the rim will be covering them, you can’t get at them once the tires are installed.

I have not had a problem with them since I installed them years ago but keep in mind this is on a lug centric system designed to take all the forces on the lugs. The plan in my case is to eventually replace the axle with one that will fit the rims better and eliminate the need for spacers. That and with the modifications and build up I’ve done on the trailer are pushing the load limits of the original axle when it’s loaded and needs to be addressed as well.
 

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