ok, heres the deal. I have a set of 16" full moon wheel covers that are the snap on type. yes they are knock offs, and yes they make noise.they also dont fit as tight as they should, so I'm not overly happy with them. I had a set of the screw on moons about 25 years ago and they were a bitch to keep tight, rattled and such. I love the look, but what to do about the rattling and racket? would I have better luck with the screw on's ? any tricks? ideas? suggestions?
ok,....so it sounds like I need to ditch the crappy pop on- knock offs, buy another set of original screw on moons, and a tube of silicon. thanks guys
What about the snap-on jobs that Mooneyes sells? How do they fit? Noisy? Hope not as they were on "the list" of stuff to do on my next build. Gary
The silicone works great, 'till you gotta get them off. If you put too much on, it'll bend the tar out of them to get them off and if you use too little the'll come loose. I have 130,000 on my E250 with 16" Moon's. I'm on my 3rd set. They are a pain, but they look cool!
They rattle cuz the screws back off, right ? A little blue Loctite on the threads may do the job for you.
I had a set of MOON snap-ons, and one by one they would dissapear, and they weren't being stolen. These were on a roadster, and the last time I lost one, (drivers side front), it almost took my head off. If I ever decide to run another set, they will definately be the screw on type.
Ok, then... nix the Mooneye moons. Anyone else make them? Or, what about the other full wheel discs I've seen, the have a bulge in the center and kind of remind you of a flatenned out WWI dough-boy helmet? I have no idea what they are called. Or does Mooneyes make them, too? Gary
well I decided to quit pissing around and put in a call to speedway today, one set of "screw on moons" headed my way. anyone want a set of 16" snap ons? cheap
I gotta say,...I love speedway motors! not even 24 hours from ordering and I have a box on my step. I wish I would have got the screw on moons to begin with, the look is sooo much nicer. now if I can just get past my old memories of days gone by, and hopefully keep these tighter than the ones I had in the 80's. just a thought, but has anyone considered welding a small stud on in place of the self tapping screw, then use a nylock nut to fasten the wheel cover on? I dont think they would come off that way, or be able to rattle and make noise? just an idea?
I have the Speedway discs on mine. I was swapping wheels too so I added another set of screw holes one inch over from the originals then drilled and tapped the wheels ahead of time for 10-32 screws. I found some stainless pan heads about 3/16" long that were just long enough to go through the disc and wheel without getting into the tire. The screws on the right side came loose after about 10 miles but I may not have gone back and snugged them all after the first round. The left side stayed tight but I had gone back over them. I snugged them all again and have not had one come loose since. I've put about 400 miles on it since and the roads around here aren't the greatest so they have seen some road schock.
You weld these tabs on your wheels with a jig you rent from Moon. Then you use Dzus 1/4 turn fasteners. They stay tight. They are quick and easy to remove and install for checking tire pressure. They don't fall off.
The Dzus fastener setup RichFox shows has to be one of the best ways ever. Especially appreciated when it's time to add air. Strikes me that making your own jig wouldn't be a big deal. A few fwiws: About gennie Moon discs and not the copies which where plentiful a couple years down the road. 8-32 stainless buttonhead allens help in the theft dept, look good too. Standard allens look fine, but are easily removed with a pair of pliers. Buttonheads offer a small bit of theft protection. Yeah, I know, what about just using an Allen wrench? Just like back in the day, not many bad guys carry a pack of Allen wrenches Torx screws would be an option and while Phillips head machine screws in 8-32 are available do ya really want a piece of cabinet hardware on a classy looking wheel/disc setup? You can drill and tap with the tires mounted on the wheels and if you're careful you can do it with wheels mounted on the car. Make some kind of stop on the tap drill - a bolt-on or even a wrap of masking tape. Air will not leak out since the bead has such a wide sealing area compared to the small hole for 8-32. Most times a starter tap will work, but it can help if you grind the almost threadless area back a ways. A plug tap can be tough to get started. Get HSS (High Speed Steel) taps and skip the carbon steel ones found at home repair stores. Keep in mind that if your wheels are drilled and tapped for one set of Moon discs another set of Moon discs may not fit if there are a few years between manufacturing dates. I don't remember ever having a problem with 8-32 thread mounted discs coming loose or rattling. The wheel is thin in the area the 8-32s go in and using sheet metal screws of any type doesn't give the coarse threaded screw much of an area to bite on and they tend to back out. Back in the day, the bolt-on Moon discs were popular and run by guys who either were or considered themselves serious. Guys who weren't real handy with tools or didn't have access to somewhat specialized ones leaned toward fancy wheel covers. Nothing quite like being the son of an oil field mechanic who kept a pretty fair collection of tools at home. When snap-on Moon discs came out some went for that, but they didn't look quite right and like now, didn't stay on very good. Best short story on that was watching the left front disc on my pals 49 Shoebox coupe come off and roll into the door of the TV store at Seaward & Main in Ventura, California. I walked in and got it, nobody said a word....
ok, thanks for the ideas everyone. a little dab of blue rtv and a few split washers on a few of the screws did the trick. I've tested it quite a few miles and no rattles (and our roads arent the smoothest by any means) the 1st test drive went poor, lost one screw,got back home, made a few adjustments and then took it for a drive,...all better now now that I'm done wasting time on my daily and get back to my real project.
I've used real, screw on Moons on several cars. Yes, the sometimes rattle or creak. I've always used the stainless steel button heads, and I use nylon washers under the heads. That seems to help with the rattle issue. Also, I have always marked the back side of each disk with some kind of marking. either a number or just dots. That way when I rotate the tires, I keep the correct disk with the correct wheel. also, put the mark where the valve stem is, so you keep them on the same way. This helps cause the holes aren't always drilled the same. If you use RTV, jsut put a small bead, and let it dry completely. That way it's jsut a rubber bumper and doesn't actually glue the disk to the wheel. The creaking/ratteling noise I've heard is mostly caused by the wheels flexing. One other thing to keep in mind. The SCTA/BNI rule book requires 6 fasteners to hole wheel covers on (unless you use zeus fasteners). The three original holes that Moons come with are OK for street, but not for the dry lake. The three holes are usually right next ot the word MOON. If you want to look serious, drill holes on the other side of the word "MOON". Then you'll have 3 pairs of holes, and be SCTA legal.
Man, this thread is astounding. Imagine, all the years I've seen Moon discs on everything from race to customs to rods I never knew - or ever even heard - that they fit so poorly. Wouldn't ya think the little bastards would have been improved by now? I mean, man, the ratty old hub caps on my old man's Ponty never even rattled (unless a stone got in one) and they always fit really tight. It took a good pot hole, curb or a "Bat" turn to get them off unintentionally. Along with Santa Claus, my Moon Myths have been shaterred. Sniff. Gary
The SCTA used to want the little screws on your moons safty wired. Talk about not wanting to check tire pressure.
Dab the silicon on the covers and let it dry...I wouldn't let it bond the wheel to the cover. All you're looking for is cushion so they aren't metal to metal.
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