Replacing tires, edge of rim rusty, problem?

[captainjohn]

Hi all,

Just bought some new Michelin Defenders for my 1974 31' sovereign. Had the Goodyear marathons in the cart until I checked on my most valuable resource (here), crisis averted.

As I began to refinish the rims I notice some rust (flaking away quickly) at the edge of my rim.

Wanted to stick with the 15s due to the budget, is this a big issue?







Thank you kindly,

John

[AWCHIEF]

Not a big issue. Steel rust. Hit with a wire brush and repaint.

[J. Morgan]

Rust CAN be a problem when aggressive rust extends into the area where the tire bead seals against the rim or extreme rust consumes a lot of a rim, but judging from what I can see in the photo, I think the advise given above is right.


Gradiens super tenui glacie.

[Bgibbs]

After wire brushing, I would treat the wheel with a rust converter. Wire brushing will not get all the rust and it will soon eat thru the new paint. Some of the rust converters also act as a primer for painting.

[Bgibbs]

If rust is so bad that it causes air loss, clean up the rusted area and use JB Weld to fill the pits. Sand smooth and paint. I have done this several time on classic cars.

[Action]

What is pictured is not the sealing area between tire and rim. While rust is always an issue, as noted above clean it, paint it and you should be good.

If you want to go all in, remove the old tire, clean rim and powder coat it for a tougher finish.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[captainjohn]

Thank you for the peace of mind!

When I take the tires off, how will I know if I have the infamous split rim or not?

Thanks again,

John

[Action]

You don't have to take the tires off to know that. Your pictures confirm that you do NOT have split rims. (however your tires are shot) If you would like to know more about split rims go here. http://www.4wdonline.com/Wheels/Split.html
Split rims are still used in commercial application. Just not passenger vehicle applications.

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[captainjohn]

Excellent. Thank you.

I will now be taking apart the hubs on my "complete axles" so that I can weld the shock bracket to the axle.

I must have missed the part in the conversation between delivery and bolt-on.

No install instructions, no returned phone calls.. I'm going to guess and say some vets out there have a good idea where I went to get them.

Life lessons.

John

[Waterdog]

You could get the rims power coated . A friend did that with a boat trailer with rusty rims . Looks great

[TomKirk]

1) Like others have said, clean rims with wire wheel and paint.

2) Install inner tubes. Nothing beats old school.

Tom

[McArthur]

Originally Posted by Waterdog

You could get the rims power coated . A friend did that with a boat trailer with rusty rims . Looks great

I wouldn't powder coat anything. I've seen too much of that stuff flake off and the rust comes right back. I would sand and paint them with POR15. That will last just about forever.

[woodfox45]

You could always get them sandblasted

[featherbedder]

Whether sand blast or wire brush if don't use good primer that stops rust it will come again. I had flat bed rims and trailer blasted 2 yrs. ago and painted, now rust forming. They were primed by shop that painted trailer, but dif. paint than used on rims. This shop rebuilds semi trailers and container chassis for 4 railroads, the paint used on trailer same as there customers. Bill

[wvstreamer]

POR 15.... AFTER SANDING. Pain't over the POR 15.
You'll be good for a very long time.
Dave

[captainjohn]

All primed up!

Thanks for the input.

John

[Action]

Lookin' Good!

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[captainjohn]

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by TomKirk

1) Like others have said, clean rims with wire wheel and paint.

2) Install inner tubes. Nothing beats old school.

Tom

Using inner tube on tubeless tire is not a good idea. Neither is using just any tube on a radial tire (radial tubes are different than bias tubes.

Tube in tubeless tire can cause pressure issues as air can get trapped between tube and tire only to leak out slowly over days and weeks of use which means you need to monitor pressure constantly till the pressure stabilizes.

[Tireman9]

Cleaning and paint may be a good solution unless the rust is actually flaking steel which I think is seen in your pictures.
Surface rust should not be an issue.

POR15 and powder coat can work but you may cause other problems in the bead seat area as those thick coatings can actually cause bead seating problems. I did work on this issue when a car company decided to re-paint a few hundred wheels to change from silver to black. The 2nd coat was thick and when added to the original coat resulted in a number of wheels being too large for proper bead seating.

Personally after removing rust I would inspect the wheel for pits which indicates that material has been lost. If no significant steel has flaked off then clean all oil, and tire lube off. Thin coat of spray Rustolium primer and Rustolium spray silver should works well.