cracked wheels
 

Gentlemen
Why did my original 19" wheels on my 1930 Town sedan crack at one of the outer hub spokes? Three of the original wheels that came with the car when I bought it were cracked so I replaced them with original wheels at that time. Now 11,000 miles later two more are cracked.
Larry

Re: cracked wheels
 

Might have AR hubs on the car ... later wheels will crack if on early hubs.

Re: cracked wheels
 

Are you running hydraulic brakes and if so do you have the necessary adapters?

Charlie Stephens

Re: cracked wheels
 

Interesting tidbit about the AA brake rocker am in there too

Re: cracked wheels
 

How do you tell if you have an AR brake drum or a B style. I do have a couple of wheels that have those cracks and had been welded before I bough the car, but then were not welded very well and are cracked again. I suspect my wheels are original's but I know the previous owner put on cast iron drums. Don't know what type. My wheels seem like they fit tight to the drum without a gap.

Re: cracked wheels
 

I've had several wheels crack there. They can't take the pressure put on them when towing so I had some rings cut out of 3mm sheet. Each ring was 270mm ID and 290mm OD, giving a width of 10mm. They were such a good fit that I had to fit them over the wheel centre like you would fit a tyre - put one side on and work my way around with a hammer. Once they were on, I welded them in place. It takes a sharp eye to notice them, in fact, I have only had one person spot them in 3 years. They work just like the later centres where the edge is turned out to stiffen it. Haven't had a problem since in that area but the next weakest place failed on our next trip. I started pulling spokes off the rim. At that stage, I gave up and acquired a set of 16" wheels. They mightn't look right but they will hold together.
Broken wheels don't look right either.:D

Re: cracked wheels
 

I have original mechanical brakes.

Re: cracked wheels
 

If that comment was in response to my earlier one, I have mechanical brakes too. Maybe I should have said so. The breaking of my wheels has nothing to do with the brakes.

Re: cracked wheels
 

are the lug nuts protruding through the wheel mounting holes not allowing the wheel to be tight against the drum

Re: cracked wheels
 

In operation, the upper spokes are in tension and the lower spokes are in compression, so the loading is cyclical as the wheels rotate.

Stopping, accelerating and cornering cause bending of the spokes, and are also cyclical conditions. The angled spokes attaching the rim to the outside hub react the side loading from cornering and bashing curbs.

The characteristics of all of the loading acting on the spokes is cyclical (repeatable & reversible), and act in various combinations. Therefore excellent static and fatigue fatigue strengths are imperative to preclude cracking the spoke attachment welds.

To safely carry the loading, the spokes attachment welds to the hubs and rims need to have a through penetration, so Ford used most efficient electric welding. The Ford factory electric weld process is proven to have the best of strength and durability.

When reattaching spokes to the rims and hubs, you need to have more penetration than MIG, TIG and gas welding will provide. Stick welding with full penetration is the better process when done by a professional. I also would use a new spoke.

Re: cracked wheels
 

Drill a hole in the rim where the spoke should go, then weld the spoke in place from the outer rim side (rim liner side). This will give full penetration and when the weld cools it will pull the spoke tight.