>Should the locking cap be vigorously pounded tight?
>The last issue (Number 51) of The Vintage Triumph (VTR's Quarterly) has an
>article entirely dedicated to this issue, and it essentially disagrees with
>this approach. (Note: the article is a reprint from a 1981 issue,
>originally submitted by Bill Sohl.) The analysis puts forth the theory of
>"the outer taper of the wheel center *rolling around* the inside of the
>slightly larger taper of the cap, again, with the cap loosely fitted (!)"
>--- the effect being to eventually tighten everything up properly.
>
>More quotes from the article:
>
>"The effect of over-tightening? ...the wheel is held in place between two
>pairs of tapers and does not touch the brake drum. Excessive tightening of
>the locking cap will therefore force the wheel centre farther on to the
>back taper of the hub, expanding it and thus making it eventually, a sloppy
>fit on the hub. The outer taper tends to be compressed and the locking cap
>itself will actually expand to a small extent; this may cause the locking
>cap to contact the outer spokes or 'bottom-out' on the hub, in either case
>preventing proper tightening. ... A sloppy wheel centre soon starts to
>fret on the hub... eventually the whole assembly ... is fit for the scrap
>yard."
>
>The article goes into much more detail and explains the theory with great
>care. It's too long to send to the list, but perhaps if it were already on
>electronic media (Bill?) it could be downloaded to hoosier.
>
>Lee M. Daniels - Laboratory for Molecular Structure and Bonding - Texas A&M
Sorry guys, the article in question was typeset by the printer at a time
that preceeded my joining the Internet crowd, so I don't have a file copy
I can download.
Also...George mentioned he tightens the wheels and they are then tight
after which he then drives the car, hears a slight "klunk" and upon
rechecking finds the wheels again have 1-2 degrees of play. I'm
wondering if by chance the splines and knockoffs are on the wrong
side of the car. It might be worth checking as the description would
seem to indicate that possibility.
Better safe than sorry.
Bill
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