You may recall when we got home from Joplin I posted my thoughts on the weekend and mentioned that I thought I had a trashed a front wheelbearing. Well today I found out that it isn't a bad bearing at all but rather about 6 spokes on the right front wheel had broken and the rim and tire was now loosely attached to the hub. This began to manifest itself about 50 miles from home and I drove it on in. I got cold sweats when I saw it. I truely believe we had a guardian angel riding with us that weekend. So, next move????????? Get Kanter on the horn and see if they will deal on a replacement wheel? We've had them for a few years (maybe 6-7000 miles) so I think that's a stretch, but I'm sure gonna try. Replace them all? NOT my first choice! Any idears on what caused this condition? The spokes just broke. The wheel took no major hits or abuse when the car was in my possession, nor Vicki's that I know of. I'm open for some thoughts folks.
First Ken, It was great meeting you in Joplin. Second, spokes don't just break for no reason. I've had several british sports cars with laced spoke wheels and have even run some of them loose for a period of time. Side impact is the most likely suspect but that usually shows other damage. You said the spokes were broken, as in snapped off at the nipple? Could be they were way overtightened at the factory and just showed up now. Wire wheels are pretty tough when properly adjusted and trued. I'm guessing a flaw at assembly, but I'm sure some others will weigh in as well. GV
I'd at least check them all. Like a piano tuner with a little hammer, listening for a dull thud that would mean a loose spoke. We don't want to lose you guys to a bad wheel! jerry
Hey brutha, you know I've got an extra wheel(my spare) Yours are just like mine---Wheel Vintiques/Caddy repros, right? Not likely those spokes "just" loosened up, cause they're sealed in the rim.... Got your message , too, btw. We're in on the train ride---call you in a day or two
Yes GV they are snapped off at the nipple there are at least 8 broken ones. <8-( Mike please check your PM's.
Hey, Are these chrome plated wheels by some chance? If my rememberer is workin' correctly, chrome plated spokes MUST be heated in an oven after being plated. If not a thing called hydrogen imbiterment can happen. The end result being broken spokes if not done properly. CALL DEALER/BUILDER A.S.A.P. Swankey Devils C.C.
Check to see if they are a fresh break all the way across, or if they were cracked for a period of time before failure. Signs of an old crack would lead me to suspect faulty assembly, ie over tightening. Also check the spokes directly across from the broken ones to see if they are loose. Wire wheels hang from the top spokes. If some were not tightened enough it could have put strain on the ones directly across from them. Just thinking out loud. Hydrogen embrittlement is a possibility as stated above, could come into play during assembly when tension is put on the spoke. On a motorcycle wheel you can bend a rim by overtightening, but I'll bet you can get a lot of torque on that heavy a wheel before you would distort the rim. Still bet they were cracked at assembly. Let us know what you find out.
The ones that are broken are all on the inside row of the hub. I'll look to see if I can see the condition of the breaks. I found a pretty good paper on embrittlement and it sounds like it could be a factor. Here's the link. http://www.fera.org.uk/pdf/Fera activity listing - hydrogen - march 06.pdf Here's some pic also.
OK that is the opposite end of the spoke from where I was thinking. I was thinkings broken at the threads where the nipple threads on.
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