I found a spare wheel for my 52 F3. Back in the day, the 17" wheels were two piece. The two halves are joined near the center-line by rolling part of one half outward to capture the other half. There is an inch or two of float. This is different than what is commonly referred to as a split rim.

I took the wheel to my Goodyear Dealer for a tire. He wouldn't touch it. He said they are dangerous and illegal.

The four on the truck have been doing well for 50+ years. Is there real cause for concern? What to do?

 

Steve,

Dangerous, yes. Illegal, I doubt it. The dealer probably did not have anyone experienced enough or the correct equipment to handle the rim. Look around and I'm sure you will find someone willing to do this for you. It's the same old story. Handling the old split rims is just enough out of the mainstream that they don't want to mess with it..kinda like the service you get from the parts guy when you ask him for a part for a 50 year old truck. All they want to handle is the easy stuff!..

 

A place in my town would do them while the other wouldn't touch them. Also the tires are getting harder to find up here. These rims are safe then the earlier ones which has the ring on the outside. I have 5 of them stacked with the rest of my parts. If you could find some 48-56 F-2/F-250 rims they will bolt on, use the same hubcaps and can run 16" radials. I thought about using the 17" but then I later found my rearend was shot so I'm an F-1 axle and 90's F-150 rims.

 

SteV8e;
Try a site search for: (Split Rims) and for ("drop-centre" Split Rims) and for (Balancing MARK on tires?). I had quite a go at this a few months ago. Most have advised that they are dangerous, and extreme caution is advised; especially when inflating. I put a locking chuck on the valve stem, and inflate mine from the other side of the wall. But I've had no problems with that. I inflated mine to 55 pounds to ensure seating of the rim.
My problem was getting them to run smooth. I finally found out the proper method of assembly: breakdown groove OPPOSITE the valve stem, balancing mark AT the valve stem.
Contact me if you have any questions. Keith.

 

The style wheel you have is not a split rim, but is a 2 piece rim called a suicide rim. It is very dangerous! These wheels have been outlawed. The reason they are so dangerous is the way the two sections connect together. There is no way to see that a secure connection between the two halves has been achieved.
The split rim or split ring style is dangerous too, but with care are ok to run.

Kevin Bigwin

 

Once the tire is seated on the wheel successfully is it still dangerous? Is there a concern that a wheel would come apart at a later time on the road or in the garage?

 

I hope that when they are put together corectly they are safe enough to use, Iplan to use mine. The last time I changed a tire on a 2-piece rim was in 1980, and I cant remember how thick the metal was at the locking flanges.
The problem that I can see is rust and posibly metal fatigue.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Paul.

 

I removed these type rims off my f600 and when the rims were seperated there was very little contact between the two halves.

There is always a chance of them comming apart, thats the danger involved with these type rims and thats why they're supposed to be removed from service.


If you do decide to use them anyways, First, use a clip on inflater so you're not in the danger area of the tire and wheel if it were to come apart while inflating. Second, when installing wheel to vehicle never install this type rim with air in the tire as the flexing of being torqued down could cause seperation.

An old fella I worked with used to tell stories of these type rims and how trucks would head down the road after a tire repair and make it less than a mile and come apart.

BE CAREFULL!!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin Bigwin56f100

 

I just got off the phone with the local wheel shop and found that they can remove the 2-peice rim part, and weld in a new one piece rim part.
It is a pricey operation, but I want the 17 inch size and to be able to use the original hub caps.

Thank you.

Paul.

 

I wonder if this is a common operation. It would seem that you could weld the two halves one to the other without taking them apart. You would have to be careful to get the distance between the two rims correct. How pricey is the operation your described, oilyowl?

 

Steve,
Are these 5 lug or 6 lug? I have Three 17" rims that are one piece tubless style. They are 6 lug, and I have one that is the split ring style. Email me if you're interested.

Kevin Bigwin56f100

 

The approx cost of removing the rim part and then welding on the new rim part would be at least 110.00 plus the cost of the new rim part, plus the cost of drilling a hole for the new stem, so the cost per wheel would be, guessing, just under 200.00

Paul.

 

I have 17" Dayyton rims on my 54 F350, no problems sofar nor with any other 2 piece wheels I know of; there are a lot of old big trucks still in use here in rural areas.
I had a spare mounted about a year ago at a truck shop, didnt even faze the guy.

If you want one piece tubeless rims try Stockton Wheel or Wheel Vintiques; either can make anything you want that will be a lot safer than a jury rigged weld job IMO.

 

bigwin56f100:
These are 8 lug wheels. I looked in all the truck catalogs I could find, and didn't find anyone producing the size and bolt circle I needed. So I bought an original and sand-blasted and epoxy primered it. Now what to do?

 

In my neck of the woods a "split" rim is the semi-drop center rim, where the rim is split in half. The modern "split" rim in which there is the rim and lock ring is pretty much a normal rim, that ANY truck shop will fix. If they don't, they aren't a real tire place.

The semi drop center rims are dangerous in that the locking portions of the rims are not very big, only like 60% of the diameter. They can and will come apart. They are especially dangerous if you find an old truck rusting in the woods, and try to air the tires up. The rust buildup will weaken the locking and take your head, arm and whatever else off. They are illegal and should not be used in service. On dual wheels the rim can blow off into traffic. On modern rims the lock ring is facing inward, and is also less mass.

286, you have Dayton(open center) rims on your 350? Did you change the hubs?

I would grind the epoxy off the areas where the rim fit together to ensure of good fit and find someone over 60 to put it together. F2 rims (16 inch) won't fit?