Tire rotation

[ggranch]

A question for those that do thier own maintenence. How would you prevent corrosion from occurring between forged aluminum wheels and iron hubs? This is prompted from me rotating the tires on my F-350 today. The rears were not bad at all but the front wheels required the use of a heavy rawhide mallet. The corrosion was very thick and dense between the bore of the wheel and the iron boss it fits on. I used 120grit emery cloth to remove most of the corrosion and rust (on the hub), polished the rest off with Mothers metal polish and then put a thin (very thin) coat of grease on the hub before remounting. Time will tell if all of this works or not. If you have encountered this problem and defeated it, share your secrets please. Bob

[LonnieB]

Bob, the only way to prevent the chemical reaction of the two metals, is to put a barrier between them. It sounds like you have done that with the grease, and the only thing I would have done different, would be to paint the hub before I greased it.

[noneck]

Agree with Lonnie on this, although instead of grease I would use the brake paste...although over the years dependent on how long the rim remains bolted without being disturbed your gonna need to break it loose....maybe more frequent rotation? I'm on an Oil change rotation (5k miles)...although often forget if last time was the cross or same side swap? Age making me absent minded.

[ggranch]

This was supposed to be the second rotation (first oil change & service was at dealership) the second was home brewed at 12725 mi. Even if they shorted me at the dealer, that was quick work by the gremlins. Bob

[BillE]

SMALL amounts of Anti-Seize works well.

Bill

[MacDR50]

I use a spray-on rust paint and include the studs. Protect other wheel components from over-spray.

[bsmeaton]

There is a warning somewhere in the back of my brain about lube on the studs. I don't know if that includes rust prevention or not. The story was it would make the lugs loosen and loose torque.

I don't remember the source. Lonnie - anything to that?

[racerjoe]

On our truck, we did have the same problem, we took some emery cloth and sanded both the rim center and brake hub and then used a thin coat of never sieze. no trouble since, plus the never sieze will not thin out like grease might when wheel hub heats up from braking.

I believe that Brad is right about putting any lubricant on the wheel studs.

[ggranch]

I knew not to put lube on the studs. I re-torque at 500 mi. I may invest in some anti-sieze before the next rotation. Noneck mentioned brake paste. I am not familiar with that. Bob

[sreigle]

Good thread. I was not aware of this problem. I've never seen this problem but now I know to watch for it. And what to do about it. Thanks.