alloy rims?

Do alloy rims rust like steel rims do?

Wondering what would be the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the
old rusting steel rims ('89 Ford Festiva) with a set of alloy rims from a
wrecker.


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Worse if anything. Once old the sealing area get corroded and rim leaks
are a perpetual battle! I am ready to toss 4 rims in the trash because
of this. Every first real cold day and my wife has 2 or 3 flats with
her 'fancy' alloy rims.

They also will weld themselves to the brake hubs or drums unless you use
tons of expensive antiseize compound on them. That is just from dis
similar metals and electrolysis.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

"William R. Watt" wrote:
>
> Do alloy rims rust like steel rims do?
>
> Wondering what would be the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the
> old rusting steel rims ('89 Ford Festiva) with a set of alloy rims from a
> wrecker.
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
> homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
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Well, alloy rims won't rust, but they will sure corrode, and curb
kisses will chip out small pieces of metal. You will have to inspect
very carefully used alloy rims that are over 15 years old. Chances are
at least one of them is bent and the others will have a wobble.

Why not just strip down and repaint the steel rims?

On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 11:02:01 -0500, Mike Romain >
wrote:

>Worse if anything. Once old the sealing area get corroded and rim leaks
>are a perpetual battle! I am ready to toss 4 rims in the trash because
>of this. Every first real cold day and my wife has 2 or 3 flats with
>her 'fancy' alloy rims.
>
>They also will weld themselves to the brake hubs or drums unless you use
>tons of expensive antiseize compound on them. That is just from dis
>similar metals and electrolysis.

Yes, I just rotated my tires and had to wire-brush off some corrosion
on _both_ the hub & the alloy wheels. Then I put some NOT so
expensive anti seize on the wheels and remounted them.

Had I not done so, "rust jacking" would have become a problem. If you
keep on top of your maintenance, there is nothing inherently wrong or
bad about alloy wheels; they just need =some= occasional maintenance.

Lg


>
>Mike
>86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
>88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
>
>"William R. Watt" wrote:
>>
>> Do alloy rims rust like steel rims do?
>>
>> Wondering what would be the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the
>> old rusting steel rims ('89 Ford Festiva) with a set of alloy rims from a
>> wrecker.
>>
>> --
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
>> homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
>> warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

Replies appreciated.

I did "refinish" the exterior surface of the steel rims a few years ago
which has worked quite well (paint remover, wire brush on drill, rust
treatment, coats of rust paint topped with coats of clear polyurethane)
but did not remove tires and grind inner surface. One leaking at rim now.
Will keep steel rims, go ahead and have the leaking one ground and sealed.

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In article >, says...

>Do alloy rims rust like steel rims do?

No.

>Wondering what would be the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the
>old rusting steel rims ('89 Ford Festiva) with a set of alloy rims from a
>wrecker.

Better looking. Not many other advantages.
-------------
Alex

Sounds like your wife's car has the wrong tires on the rims. I can't imagine the
rims getting cold enough to affect the tires seal to rim. I have 2 vans and both
have aluminum rims. I have had no problems with them. No leakage, no bent rims
or curb damage that I can tell. The tire wall sticks out further then the rims
do.

I installed aluminum (not for looks) rims because they are lighter, easier to
manage, they don't rust like the steal rims do. I get slightly better gas
mileage and better overall performance! IMO aluminum rims are the way to go.
also I'd like to point out that anti seize compound is relatively inexpensive
around here! I guess if you lived in a 3rd world country like Canada <kidding>
you might experience a higher price.


Remove *flaps* to reply

"Mike Romain" > wrote in message
...
> Worse if anything. Once old the sealing area get corroded and rim leaks
> are a perpetual battle! I am ready to toss 4 rims in the trash because
> of this. Every first real cold day and my wife has 2 or 3 flats with
> her 'fancy' alloy rims.
>
> They also will weld themselves to the brake hubs or drums unless you use
> tons of expensive antiseize compound on them. That is just from dis
> similar metals and electrolysis.
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
>
> "William R. Watt" wrote:
> >
> > Do alloy rims rust like steel rims do?
> >
> > Wondering what would be the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the
> > old rusting steel rims ('89 Ford Festiva) with a set of alloy rims from a
> > wrecker.
> >
> > --
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
network
> > homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
> > warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

I am in Canada in the salt belt and having old aluminum rims go bad is
really common. The rims are stock Cherokee Laredo rims.

My friend with a Chrysler van is also having rim leak issues. One other
friend recently had to replace some because they welded to the brake
drums and when they finally let loose, 1/2" or more of the rim was left
on the drum. It peeled the rim in half. He had to get new drums too.

Salt is a real SOB on vehicles. It speeds up electrolysis and just
plain corrodes everything corrodable.

I use a lot of antiseize compound which does 'seem' to get expensive
after a bit.

Mike

Backbone wrote:
>
> Sounds like your wife's car has the wrong tires on the rims. I can't imagine the
> rims getting cold enough to affect the tires seal to rim. I have 2 vans and both
> have aluminum rims. I have had no problems with them. No leakage, no bent rims
> or curb damage that I can tell. The tire wall sticks out further then the rims
> do.
>
> I installed aluminum (not for looks) rims because they are lighter, easier to
> manage, they don't rust like the steal rims do. I get slightly better gas
> mileage and better overall performance! IMO aluminum rims are the way to go.
> also I'd like to point out that anti seize compound is relatively inexpensive
> around here! I guess if you lived in a 3rd world country like Canada <kidding>
> you might experience a higher price.
>
> Remove *flaps* to reply
>
> "Mike Romain" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Worse if anything. Once old the sealing area get corroded and rim leaks
> > are a perpetual battle! I am ready to toss 4 rims in the trash because
> > of this. Every first real cold day and my wife has 2 or 3 flats with
> > her 'fancy' alloy rims.
> >
> > They also will weld themselves to the brake hubs or drums unless you use
> > tons of expensive antiseize compound on them. That is just from dis
> > similar metals and electrolysis.
> >
> > Mike
> > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> > 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
> >
> > "William R. Watt" wrote:
> > >
> > > Do alloy rims rust like steel rims do?
> > >
> > > Wondering what would be the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the
> > > old rusting steel rims ('89 Ford Festiva) with a set of alloy rims from a
> > > wrecker.
> > >
> > > --
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
> network
> > > homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
> > > warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

"Alex Rodriguez" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
says...
>
> >Do alloy rims rust like steel rims do?
>
No they do not RUST. However they do corrode rapidly. If your in an area
that they use salt they will corrode even faster. The clear coat is
easily damaged and then they start to oxidize. There are only two
advantages to aluminum wheels over steel. 1: better looking because the
aluminum can be formed easier than steel. 2: sometimes lighter than
steel, BUT that depends a lot on the size and style of the rim.

Steel : Stronger for a given size than aluminum. MUCH better for any
hard use (off road or towing). Cheaper than aluminum. Better able to
withstand damage. Will bend instead of break and can be straightened if
damaged. They will rust if the paint gets damaged, however they can be
sandblasted and painted to like new since small pits can be filled with
braze or welding. Much cheaper than aluminum.

Aluminum : Can be lighter than steel. Usually better looking since they
can be formed easier than steel. Easily damaged by potholes, rocks, road
debris. Balance weights mar the appearance when installed on the outer
edge. Corrosion can lock the rim to the vehicle and damage the wheel
flange and cause brake pulses and vibration because of the damaged
seating surface. Very difficult to repair damage or to refinish when
they corrode.



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Thanks for additional info.

The leaking rim was resealed at a service centre. Stopped the leak for a
few months but now its back and getting worse. Don't use the car much,
maybe once a week. Have to hand pump tire before driving. If I don't use
the car for a couple of weeks it deflates quite a bit, almost down to the
rim, so I've been putting a big block of wood under the box frame and the
car sits on that when the tire deflates. It's probably a good antitheft
device for a car, shove a block of wood underneath and let some air out of
a tire.

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