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I refurbished my speedline rims last year and now I have a problem wich I want to solve.
I did al the work myself (strip the paint, polishing, painting) but the only thing I didn't do myself, putting the wheels back together, went wrong.
The guy that put them back together did not reuse the rubber seals but used silicone sealant. Now my wheels are leaking air.
If the car sits for about a week two tires are seriously flat.
I know new seal are VERY expensive...But what is the best way to go?
-Get new seals and put them back together.
-Get new seals + use silicone sealant to be sure and put them back together.
-Only use silicone sealant and put them back together.
i gave my speed lines for refurbishing back in 2004, they did mounting without intermediate- and sealring. no leaks so far, perfect airtight.
unfortunately i realy dont no what kind of sealant they used, all i can say is it works. i guess it has to be kind of silicone, maybe they have done just proper work.
The rubber O rings are expensive, and now almost impossible to find/buy. For years when I do my Speedline wheel restorations I reused the original seal provided they are not too stretched and had not silicone placed on top of the original seal. Many of the wheels have been refurbished and when I remove silicone off the O ring it makes the seal stretches and un useable. Recently I have been using the crush ring as it adds to the width of the wheel and sealing after silicone after assembly. Sometimes you will get an air bubble and a leak. They should not leak at all. It maybe possible to dismount the tire, clean all the silicone off and simply reseal without disassembly. When you disassemble and seal without the factory O ring and you are filling the big gap allow 3 - 5 days of drying time. jdorociak@gmail.com
Kudos for attempting to rebuild the multi-piece wheels. The key of a good airtight seal is to ensure the two mating surfaces are as clean as possible. If there is any residue left over, you are likely to have a leak. This is one of those OCD moments that will pay dividends, as disassembling them is a chore!
RH 3.6 Turbo wheels do not have .25" crush ring with rubber O that actually seals the wheels. This crush ring and rubber O ring sandwiches between the inner and outer rim. This crush ring is part of the overall width of a Speedline wheel. jdorociak@gmail.com Jim
RH 3.6 Turbo wheels do not have .25" crush ring with rubber O that actually seals the wheels. This crush ring and rubber O ring sandwiches between the inner and outer rim. This crush ring is part of the overall width of a Speedline wheel. jdorociak@gmail.com Jim
Do you mean they "DO" have a .25 inch crush ring? and removing this would decrease wheel width?
I purchased factory new RH 3.6 wheels a few months ago - the bead of sealant is all that was visible between rim/barrel.
Finish is nice, looks very close to OEM centres.
I would say though the finish of casting marks and paint around the back of the spokes as they return inwards could be cleaner. However you have to be very close up to see the imperfections.
07-10-2011, 01:57 PM
speedline question.
