rim question
 

hey guys, my PO put on a set of aluminum rims and i went to work on the brakes and put the rims back on, they wouldnt seat on the drums right, its like theyre are 2 little lugs comming out of the drum, are they suppose to be there? like placement studs? or did some guy break the old studs and just put these rims on to make it a rolling chasis? i checked the back of these rims and theres no extra holes for these mystery studs. and also, are the rims suppose to be huncentric or lugcentric? these rims dont sit on the hub, but the lugs are tapered to be lugcentric. just making sure so i dont have a wheel break off on the highway, thanks guys

Re: rim question
 

That seems a little wierd. I've had a set of drums that had like a 9/16 bolt head sticking out of it to hold the drom to the axle. I just took it off and the rims set right up against the drum. Is it something like that? Have any pics?

Re: rim question
 

The only drums I've seen like that were on Buicks from the 50's and 60's. They didn't use lug nuts, they used lug bolts instead. The drum had a small tapered stud protruding to align the wheel. I believe early Mopars used this arrangement as well, which is why the early wheels all have 10 holes - 5 lug holes, and 5 smaller alignment holes in between the lug holes.

I remember when the chrome steel Astro slot wheels came out, there was a clear disclaimer that even the sheet metal tinnerman nuts that held the drum to the studs had to be removed, or the wheel would not seat correctly and damage the wheel. And of course I knew a guy that ignored the warning and mounted them anyway, bending the face and splitting the chrome.

I would be very cautious about driving it if they don't seat flush. As you guessed it was probably made into a rolling chassis, and if the wheels are put under a load without fitting correctly they will fail in service.

Re: rim question
 

The wheels will be lug centric as hub centric really didn't come into widespread use until about the last 10-15 years on domestic autos.

Make sure you are using the correct type lug nut for the wheels with sufficient thread engagement. The biggest problem with our trucks is when installing aftermarket wheels that typically have thicker flanges there is not enough stud engagement for proper installation.
If your wheels require a standard conical seat lug nut I can't stress the importance of using "ET" style lug nuts enough.

See here for an example:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Billet-Special...7-bc510d253e51

(yes I know these are shown as 1/2" x 20 but they are available in 7/16" too)

If you are dealing with the front brakes are you referring to the rivets holding the drums to the hubs?
If so, I have always cut them off to make the drum free floating (like the rears) which makes general maintenance on the brakes much easier (cleaning and adjusting) without the need to pull the bearings.

Either way you should not have more than 6 studs per corner (assuming 1/2 ton).

Pictures would help greatly.

Re: rim question
 

alright guys, thank you very much, ill get you pics hopefully tomorrow