Can 3 piece wheels be taken apart when the tires are still mounted?

I want to take apart the face of my wheels to clean the insides since they've been through a few days of rain. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? Torque specs should be 32 ft/lb and I'm not sure if there's any glue I need to apply.

as longas you defalte your fine

Here are a few tips.

First off if you are going to unbolt the surface you SHOULD take the tire off. Reason for this is, is because most 3 piece wheels have a silicone filler between the inner and outer barrel to prevent air from leaking out. Judging on the age of the wheel the silicone may crack or be somewhat damaged while moving the surface. But you wont know if the tires are still on. So when you assemble your wheel back together you may get air leaks. You can try it out and if the air holds its all good. If no well you have to do it all over again and reapply the silicone. In some cases the inner and outer barrel are welded together so you wont have any trouble with the silicone


My suggestion is to take the wheels apart in all 3 pieces if there is a silicone filler. remove any old silicone and thoroughly clean between the barrels before reapply the new silicone.

They are Junction Produce Scaras, not too old. I know OZ makes them, but I don't know if OZ wheels usually have silicone. I don't want to have to remove the tires. Is there an easier way to clean the insides?

Most, if not all, 3-piece wheels will have silicone on top of the welds for the barrel, so I think OZ does also.  I would say take the tire off just to make things easier, but I understand how that can be a pain.  Have you tried using a small tipped rotary tool to clean the wheel?

You can do it either way, like Grant said, just deflate the pressure completely before you do it.  EliteAutoStyle, I personally don't know of any two piece barrels that don't use silicone, although I did see a race wheel that had a "seal" or gasket (but only once in how many wheels).  ALWAYS remove the old material and reapply silicone when assembling wheels back together.    I've done this many times, and done it both ways to save time and not risk potential damage to the wheels.

[quote=elpresidente;118708]EliteAutoStyle, I personally don't know of any two piece barrels that don't use silicone, although I did see a race wheel that had a "seal" or gasket (but only once in how many wheels). [/quote]

I've never seen two piece barrels that didnt use silicone either until I bought my Garson Deep Racing rims. Also I've sold a few sets of some older SSR wheels that have all 3 pieces welded together. But i would probably say 95% of brands out there use silicone

[QUOTE=EliteAutoStyle;117574]Here are a few tips.

First off if you are going to unbolt the surface you SHOULD take the tire off. Reason for this is, is because most 3 piece wheels have a silicone filler between the inner and outer barrel to prevent air from leaking out. Judging on the age of the wheel the silicone may crack or be somewhat damaged while moving the surface. But you wont know if the tires are still on. So when you assemble your wheel back together you may get air leaks. You can try it out and if the air holds its all good. If no well you have to do it all over again and reapply the silicone. In some cases the inner and outer barrel are welded together so you wont have any trouble with the silicone


My suggestion is to take the wheels apart in all 3 pieces if there is a silicone filler. remove any old silicone and thoroughly clean between the barrels before reapply the new silicone.[/QUOTE]

+1 If your gonna do it, do it right!

He's talking about his Scaras, which the barrels are welded together.

Is there a special silicone used for the wheels or just get the one from autozone?

i dont think there is a SPECIAL silicon they use. the silicon on my fabos isnt hard hard, its soft or flexable, i guess you can call it non-hardening... i think more importantly is preparation of the metal before applying silicon. 

heres my fabos, 3 piece design. like stated earlier, just air out the tires to be safe, after you get the centers out, put back a few bolts to keep it together.... im gonna paint the lips the same color as my car, when i paint my car... dont know if i should keep the centers chrome, or spray them semi gloss black/satin black....
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b335/calitri808/tires/DSCN0073.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b335/calitri808/tires/DSCN0074.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b335/calitri808/tires/DSCN0075.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b335/calitri808/tires/DSCN0076.jpg[/IMG]

I just used the same silicone I always use from autozone to do my wheels.  It's a 3pc design where it's the outter lip, face and rear barrel. Basically you can't take the face off without taking off the outter lip first. Hopefully that works.

Does anyone happen to know of some bolts that are more theft preventative? I'm talking about the allen key bolts that hold your center cap to the face. Kinda like a wheel lock but for your center caps.

Hey Brent, there's this local fastener shop that sells any kind of bolt you can think of. I've been meaning to go there and find some strange shaped bolts to put on my centercaps. I'll let you know if I find anything.

thanks Chris. I need the same bolts your looking for. Doesn't have to be a one of a kind, just not so common. Please do pm me here or CL.