anybody use these wheel spacers? (1 Viewer)

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Just say NO to spacers! They are a bad idea... They cost me $2000 when one came loose and I lost a tire going through some serious twisties. Thanks to Destination Toyota in Burnaby for their skillful use of a torque wrench... NOT!!
 
Ive run spacers on several different vehicles over the years, and if installed and maintained correctly, they work just fine.

I wouldnt go with anything but the the ones offered by the likes a Trail gear, Spidertrax, All Pro Off Road, etc.

Its just not worth saving a few bucks when so much is at stake, IMHO.
 
I have been running these same spacers for over a year now and have done some pretty serious wheeling in that time as well. I have not had any issues with them whatsoever. I recommend them for the price. They are a good value. I purchased them because "rigged-up" was a seller that another person on MUD recommended.
 
x3 on no problems with spacers. MAKE SURE the spacer's studs are fully seated, re-tourque multiple times in the weeks after installation.
 
I have had spacers come loose. I have seen 3 other people suffer the same. but... in every case it was the first time the spacers had been on the rig (on the rig for less than a month each time IIRC) and after they were reinstalled and torqued very very very tightly... and rechecked a few times... all of the rigs continued to run the spacers for years and had no further problems. I have to assume that in each of these cases we failed to get them tight the first time.


Mark...
 
Ive run spacers on several different vehicles over the years, and if installed and maintained correctly, they work just fine.

I wouldnt go with anything but the the ones offered by the likes a Trail gear, Spidertrax, All Pro Off Road, etc.

Its just not worth saving a few bucks when so much is at stake, IMHO.

x2
Install them yourself to make sure they are installed correctly. (i.e. loctite and correct torque)

I have spidertrax on my 80.
 
x2
Install them yourself to make sure they are installed correctly. (i.e. loctite and correct torque)

I have spidertrax on my 80.

I would never use locktite on spacer studs. The problems with spacers probably come about because the studs weren't fully seated. If you lock the threads the stud can still become loose but you won't feel it with a torque wrench. If anything, use antisieze.
 
I think I got mine from Trail Gear. I've had them for over a year and pulled my 3000 lb popup with them on several trips last spring and summer with no problems. Even when I swapped out tires, I checked them for any looseness and they were all seated nice and tight.

I would just be very anal about mounting your rims to them and make sure that the rims are seated properly.

I think I paid about that much for all 4 too.
 
Ive run spacers on several different vehicles over the years, and if installed and maintained correctly, they work just fine.

I wouldnt go with anything but the the ones offered by the likes a Trail gear, Spidertrax, All Pro Off Road, etc.

Its just not worth saving a few bucks when so much is at stake, IMHO.

Have to agree! Saving money is not worth your life! I'll take it one step further though, I will not run anything but the Spidertrax if I need to run spacers... just my .02! A good rule of thumb "Quality isn't cheep and cheep isn't quality!" That is not to say that sometimes you can't get a bargain on quality goods. However I tend to stay away from Chinese parts on eBay!:cheers:
 
I have had spacers come loose. I have seen 3 other people suffer the same. but... in every case it was the first time the spacers had been on the rig (on the rig for less than a month each time IIRC) and after they were reinstalled and torqued very very very tightly... and rechecked a few times... all of the rigs continued to run the spacers for years and had no further problems. I have to assume that in each of these cases we failed to get them tight the first time.


Mark...

Almost all of this type of problems are due to mounting failure. Most wheels and hubs have contour, voids, holes, in the surfaces. In the void areas there is no contact between the wheel and hub, so rust, dirt, etc, builds up, this must be removed so the spacer mounts flat, solidly to the hub and wheel. If debris is left in place, the spacer will mount to the high spots, they are relatively soft and will hold the spacer away from the solid surface. When driving load, vibration is applied, the high spots will collapse, loosening fastener tension without the nuts even turning.

Torquing very very very tightly doesn't cut it. Better to torque to a known setting. First; all fasteners have a yield point, if tensioned over yield, they will be plastic deformed, permanently weakened. IIRC the yield point for studs is ~140 ft/lb. Second; re-torque has little meaning. If fasteners are torqued to a known tension, used then rechecked at the same setting, the fastener should not move. If the wrench clicks and the fastener doesn't move, you can be assured that nothing has moved and it will stay tight, if the fastener moves there is an issue.
 
I would never use locktite on spacer studs. The problems with spacers probably come about because the studs weren't fully seated. If you lock the threads the stud can still become loose but you won't feel it with a torque wrench. If anything, use antisieze.

Agree 100%, loc-tite has it's place, but I would never use it on a wheel stud. Properly mounted/torqued wheels will never come loose. All cases that I have or have seen investigated were due to mounting surface debris, rust, paint, etc, or plastic deformed over/under torqued, studs. Gluing the nut to the stud will do nothing to prevent it and will make a re-torque check worthless, so it less likely to be found before catastrophic failure.
 
... However I tend to stay away from Chinese parts on eBay!:cheers:

Which spacers on e-bay are Chinese, are Marlin, Trail Gear, Slee, etc, Chinese? I have installed, worked on, held, most of the "brands" of spacers, including some from e-bay. Other than some trick semi-custom types, all of the "normal" ones are exactly the same, machined from 6061, the same Dorman type hardware, my bet, all are made in the same machine shop/factory.
 
Almost all of this type of problems are due to mounting failure. Most wheels and hubs have contour, voids, holes, in the surfaces. In the void areas there is no contact between the wheel and hub, so rust, dirt, etc, builds up, this must be removed so the spacer mounts flat, solidly to the hub and wheel. If debris is left in place, the spacer will mount to the high spots, they are relatively soft and will hold the spacer away from the solid surface. When driving load, vibration is applied, the high spots will collapse, loosening fastener tension without the nuts even turning.

Torquing very very very tightly doesn't cut it. Better to torque to a known setting. First; all fasteners have a yield point, if tensioned over yield, they will be plastic deformed, permanently weakened. IIRC the yield point for studs is ~140 ft/lb. Second; re-torque has little meaning. If fasteners are torqued to a known tension, used then rechecked at the same setting, the fastener should not move. If the wrench clicks and the fastener doesn't move, you can be assured that nothing has moved and it will stay tight, if the fastener moves there is an issue.


I'm not an 18 year old newbie to wrenching. I will not speak to why the other people who I saw have problems did have them, but I am not ignorant enough to have mounted dirty wheels/spacers.

I assume that the studs were not seated entirely and after some driving time they shifted enough to allow the lug nuts to come loose. Since it was years ago, I don't expect to ever be any more sure of this than I am now.


I am well aware of how to use a torque wrench and why, and I understand perfectly the mechanics of and the reasons not to over torque a fastener.


Mark...
 
... I am well aware of how to use a torque wrench and why, and I understand perfectly the mechanics of and the reasons not to over torque a fastener.


Mark...

Then my typing wasn't for you.:cheers:

In my experience, some people would not take "very very very tightly" as ~100ft/lb. Some would assume that it meant something like; as tight as I can get it, using the longest bar that I have. That is who my rambling was for.:hillbilly:
 
Eh, I was in a not as good as I could have been mood and when you quoted my post.... No big deal.

:)


Mark...
 

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