FJ60 OEM Steel Rim Restoration

[emanning]

Hello everyone,

Has anyone attempted or have any experience with restoring the stock, 15" steel rims for an FJ60? Not only re-chroming, but straightening and correcting runout as well?

I'm at the point where new tires for the FJ60 always need massive balancing weights that end up falling off anyway. There's also one dent (~1/4") that needs correcting. I've reached out to a couple local (Denver) shops that do rim repair - the first said they could straighten only and that the repair would leave the rim with indents and damage the existing chrome (not a huge issue if I re-chrome anyway). The second said they don't typically repair steel rims because "you can get them cheaper new" (but maybe not at >$300 per rim from Toyota now).

I really like the OEM chrome rim look and would like to keep it if I can. If restoration turns out to be too big a battle, maybe I'll look at this 16" option and send those to a chrome plater. Honestly I'd probably end up spending as much trying to restore what I have.

Let me know what you think and thanks for your input.

 

[Ian Crawford]

How bad are the ones you currently have? I've seen some pretty impressive results removing the rust and giving them a good polish. There are places around that will "true" bent wheels, you could also try it yourself. Steel wheels are much more forgiving in repair than alloy wheels.

Where are you located? I have a nice set I'm about to replace with the 16's you posted above.

 

[SteveH]

I had a number of FJ40 rims straightened in Colo Springs a while back, and the old duffer didn't do a great job. I compared his work to an FJ60 rim, and the FJ60 rim was much true-er (if that's a word) than the '40 rims. The depressing thing is that I bought 3 brand-new FJ40 rims from Toyota, and they had a surprising amount of runout. Again - the FJ60 rim I had was better. The new FJ40 rims were better than the shop-straightened ones.

All this is to say that if you find someone to straighten the rim, be sure it's actually straight when you get it back. I tested my rims by bolting them onto my FJ40 rear end (jacked up), putting the truck in first gear, letting it idle, and watching the rim spin around.

 

[emanning]

How bad are the ones you currently have? I've seen some pretty impressive results removing the rust and giving them a good polish. There are places around that will "true" bent wheels, you could also try it yourself. Steel wheels are much more forgiving in repair than alloy wheels.

View attachment 2942059

Where are you located? I have a nice set I'm about to replace with the 16's you posted above.

I'm in the Denver area. Mine aren't in terrible shape, they polish up pretty well. It's more the straightening and runout that I have a harder time with. Would love to hear how you like the 16" rims. I'm starting to lean more towards that option.

I had a number of FJ40 rims straightened in Colo Springs a while back, and the old duffer didn't do a great job. I compared his work to an FJ60 rim, and the FJ60 rim was much true-er (if that's a word) than the '40 rims. The depressing thing is that I bought 3 brand-new FJ40 rims from Toyota, and they had a surprising amount of runout. Again - the FJ60 rim I had was better. The new FJ40 rims were better than the shop-straightened ones.

All this is to say that if you find someone to straighten the rim, be sure it's actually straight when you get it back. I tested my rims by bolting them onto my FJ40 rear end (jacked up), putting the truck in first gear, letting it idle, and watching the rim spin around.

Thanks for the feedback. That's partially what I'm worried about - spending the time & money to repair these without good results. And surprising to hear about the OEM rims. Buying OEM was a consideration too, but that makes me nervous given how much they're going for now. Did you end up returning those or correcting it somehow?

 

[SteveH]

I ran the new, OEM FJ40 rims, as they were much better than my old wobbly, bent ones. My FJ40 runs smoothly and the shake at 65-70 is gone. The dealer-new ones are true enough, but just don't look great in comparison to FJ60 rims, which look like they were turned on a lathe.

Given how beefy FJ60 rims are, I would buy used ones and run them. My FJ60 rims (with 31x10.5 tires) need a ton of balance weights. I think it's inherent to 15" rims with big tires on them. My FJ40 has 33x9.5s with a ton of weights on them, unfortunately.

 

[tnblue62]

I think the idea of chrome'ing these 16" OEM wheels could be a great option to stick with the original look. Would love to hear from anyone that has done this.

Otherwise, I'm looking for a set of original wheels in really good condition.

 

[LazarusTaxa]

Have you found a place that will chrome them? I havent ever actually looked, but was under the impression it was hard to find a place that still did chroming and would accept non-commercial jobs.

 

[emanning]

When I looked into it, it sounded like the correct way to re-chrome a steel wheel is to separate the center section from the rim. Some info here. I didn't look into pricing after that but I imagine not cheap and beyond my budget.

 

[77CruiserDog]

It's likely if I keep mine, I'm going to have them media blasted and powder coated, this might be an option to consider. My rims are surface rusting like crazy but they're pretty straight.

The place I get my stuff done has a dizzying array of colors, probably over a thousand in all. Silvers and pewters with flakes and everything. Powder will never replicate the shine of chrome but it's an alternative I've been considering.

However those 16" 70 series wheels in the first post are probably going to win out due to time and cost and the ability to find so many more tire sizes. The oem part number is 42601-60072 for the wheel, the caps are 42621-60010-86 and 42621-60020-86. I think you can get them for less at a dealer willing to work with you.