Pulled my split rims apart. I was expecting rust, but didn't know how much there would be and now I'm wondering if they're worth saving? I was planning to have them blasted and powder coated. Should I hold steady or start shopping for replacements?
The ones that I bought for my truck looked pretty bad too, very rusty. Yours appear to have more rust out on the ends of the rings than mine. Have a look at my thread https://forum.ih8mud.com/fj45-owners-club/710998-rusty-split-rims.html and you will see what they looked like. I have the best four on my truck right now and they seem fine.
Your rings looked like they were in better shape than mine. I also read Kevin's thread with his splits too and those even looked like they might have been better.
If the rim on the inside of the ring is in good shape, they should hold, right?
I had them dismounted at a tire shop and they tried to convince me that they are garbage. But it sounds like most tire shops say that about any split rims.
But if they truly are garbage, I don't want to waste my time and money.
Blast the rims first and see if they are serviceable and worth painting. The rings look worse than most I have seen. I have five split rings floating around at Valley Hybrids, in much better shape, if we can find them. Will see and let you know.
I agree with Steve. Blast them and then assess them.
If you look closely at them and understand how they work, you will see that the depth of the "flange" may not be the most critical detail. I believe that the ridge that locks into the rim is the most critical part of the ring.
The flange has pressure on it for 360 degrees, a bad spot for 10% of the circumference may not make any difference to how well they work.
I have had my splits on for a couple of years now with no issue, other than they are not balanced and shake a bit over 50 mph.
i have run many many splits for many years without any issues. they are rustier than i would use but that is only because rims are free in my part of the world.
i agree with 45kevin; the ridge that locks the ring is the most critical part. also, when the ring is mounted there must still be a decent gap between both ends of the ring, this is very important. as years of rust gets belted or blasted of the rim and ring this gap naturally decreases.
