This is a compilation of emails over the last year and this.
Might be of help.J.R. Wright
Here is some Info from my records. It's a from a bunch of posts from a
lot of people.
The first sentence is the most important.
Beware: there are two spider shapes for GM dually wheels. Either will
fit the GM & Chev trucks, but only the dome shaped one will fit the
GMC MH. The other one (sort of a truncated cone shape) will not fit.
Wheel Info:
359402 is the original 16.5" GM part number
F029587 and 29587 are 16" steel wheel part numbers.
They are $66 at Southwest Wheel.
Fits Chevy 3500
1062 is the Hollander interchange number
They were used on a lot of GM trucks - Here are a few of them:
All C/P/G300 Dual 76'-87'
All C/P/G300 88'-00'
1 Ton P3500 Dual 76'-87'
1 Ton P3500 Dual 88'-00'
1 Ton P30 Dual 76'-00'
1 Ton K3500 4x4, Dual 76'-87'
1 Ton K30 4x4, Dual 76'-87'
1 Ton K30 4x4, Dual 88'-00'
1 Ton K3500 4x4, Dual 88'-00'
1 Ton G30 Dual 76'-96'
1 Ton G30 Dual 97'-00'
1 Ton C30 4x2, C3500 Dual 88'-00'
> THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE WITH THESE STEEL WHEELS IS THE LOWER WEIGHT
AND PSI RATINGS AS COMPARED TO THE ALCOA.
They are rated for a maximum of 2540 and 2440 pounds at 80 psi maximum inflation. This should still be within the weight on each wheel of the GMC MH. Weigh your coach to find out for sure
Alcoa Hub Caps
you can see them here
http://www.gmcmotorhome.info/projects.html#jacks
I have an even better idea for Alcoa wheel hub caps. The next
time you
are at one of the outlet complexes scattered across the country, stop
in
the Revere Ware Stores and purchase six of their 9-inch ss pot lids.
Unscrew the handle on top of the lid and discard. Cut off the
stud that
was used to hold the handle and drill a 3/16" dia hole in the center
where the stud was located. Put a metal cutting blade in your
saber saw
and clamp the saw in your vice with the blade sticking up. Saw
off the
lip that normally sticks down inside the pan, and sand it smooth on
your
belt sander. Get some .030 ss material and cut six strips about 1
1/2"
wide and long enough to span across two opposite wheel mounting
stud
nuts, and drill two holes so you can mount the ss strap under the two
opposite nuts. Purchase six 3/16" dia nut-plates form Home
Depot and
mount them in the center of the ss straps (I used rivets). If you
still
have the chrome covers in the center of your hubs, remove them and sell
at next swap meet. Now, place the ss pot lid on top of the eight
Alcoa
nuts and attach the hub cap using a ss 3/16" bolt long enough to
reach
through the nut-plate. Tighten the bolt until you see the hub cap
start
to deflect in the center. Now, stand back and admire how nice
your Alcoa
wheel look with those ugly nuts covered up. The Revere Ware pot
lids are
a very good grade of ss and will never need polishing. The lid
sits on
top of the Alcoa nuts and do not even touch the wheel. I have had
mine
on for about eight years and have only lost one hub cap. You can
find
them on sale sometimes for around $6.00 each. If you take the
Motorhome
Marketplace Magazine (or have a friend that has saved them) you can see
what they look like in the May 1997 issue on page27. They look
like they
were just make for the Alcoa wheels. If you get tired of
polishing your
Alcoa wheels to match your shiny new hub caps, you can get them
"clear
coated" at your local auto paint shop. They won't be quite as
shiny as
new wheels, but they will stay that way. Chuck Aulgur
This is strictly my 2 pennies worth, Canadian pennies at that.
The short version: budget for Alcoas.
I had Weld Racing on mine on advice of Buskirk a looooonnnngggggg time ago. I may have been one of the first and then I didn't install right away so all recourse re warranty etc was gone. Not anyones fault but my own.
Anyways, long story short. Mine developed slow leaks. A few wheels
were good, but in particular the rears as there is a lot of sideways
strain on the wheel and the Weld, and I do mean the weld, as these are
not one piece wheels, stresses out and develops a leak, i.e. overnight.
Have woken up
to
flat tires more than once when I had the Welds on. I think nowadays you
can (maybe) put some goop into the wheels to seal them but that's
wasn't/isn't for me. Once I new how there were constructed, i.e. 2
pieces welded and taken
into account the tremedous sideway stress our wheels get in a sharp
turn
I scrapped them and I do mean scrapped them.
I developed the first leak on the road, of course and trying to get it fixed was futile. Not very many folks can or want to weld aluminum and whats worse is to find the pinhole. I did get it repaired twice after heading to the airport first and a magnaflux to find the leak. I tell you, that was even scarier, seeing the original welding job in that 'light'. [g].
Unfortunately a switch means new wheels and tires, but the peace of mind is well worth it.
As I said. just my 2 pennies worth from long ago :-)
Heinz
4/15/08
The new number for the Alcoa Wheel recall is
1-800-242-9898
listen to the message and select the option for warranty.Steve
Southworth
April 15, 20087/10/03 Now there is
another recall for the Alcoa
rims. The dates are 6/96 to 6/99. (now 9/93 - 6/99) Here
is the info
http://alcoawheels.com/maint/16x6wheelrecall2.asp
I called the number shown on the recall (888-279-3055) and talked to
a
lady who said for me to give her the dates on the wheels, make and
model
of vehicle, etc. Alcoa will then ship new wheels to you, and reimburse
you
reasonable mounting and balancing costs. Your old wheels are returned
to
Alcoa in the boxes they came in, shipping prepaid by Alcoa. The numbers
are
stamped on inside rim opposite the valve stem. The old date code on
mine
is four digit. 0898 would be Aug 1998. Are they all that way?? Don't
know.
The newer Alcoas I have seen have a regular date 08-15-00 for example.
I
don't think they care if the wheel is new, split
down the middle, old, as long as it falls in the recall dates. There
are
other numbers stamped as well, max load, wheel dia. and width, part #.
Al
Scott
*******************
I received the letter from Alcoa. The following is a part of the 3 page letter. I would suggest that if you have the Alcoa wheels you call the number (1-888-279-3055) and you have them send you a letter. The letter covers the LTS and the Classic wheels with 10 part numbers for the Classic. I referenced the 160231 since that is what we use on the GMC. The rest of the letter tells how to identify the bad wheels and how to get them replaced at no cost.Gene
>>>>>>>>
Our records indicate that you may have purchased wheels that were
manufactured during the period affected (Alcoa Classic 160231)
These wheels produced between September 1993 and June 1996, inclusive may have certain process induced stresses in the forging. This condition may lead to cracks developing over a period of time, depending on the severity of the application,. First indications could be cracks in the bead seat or disc/rim area of the wheel, leading to air loss from the tire. This could possibly progress around the circumference of the tire bead seat and if not heeded, could result in the tire separating from the wheel and a vehicle crash due to loss of vehicle control.
If the tires on your vehicle are losing air and require refilling in order to maintain pressure, stop using the wheels and have them replaced immediately. Call the Alcoa Champaign Center TOLL FREE at 1-888-279-3055 for immediate replacement.
In all cases, to correct this condition, Alcoa will replace the
subject wheels at no cost to you.
>>>>>>>
6 wheels, 6 center caps, 48 lug nuts, shipping = $1150
Wright Wheels (608) 742-0696
Wheel Studs And Center Caps
It is absolutely NOT necessary to replace the wheel studs on the GMC
motorhome. Another myth put to rest and one that more than likely cost
a lot of owners money that did not need to be spent (replacement of 58
studs is not cheap!). The whole thing started because the 160231
wheel was made for the GMC truck, and when they are used in the truck
application on the rear with another
Alcoa inside wheel, the studs have to be changed for longer ones
because
of the added thickness of the 2 Alcoa rims over the two steel ones.
2. The 8 1/2" center cap that some dealers are trying to sell us is not satisfactory for the Alcoa wheel. The one I have has 11 holes in it on a 6 1/2" bolt circle, and fits over the studs. Four (4) of the holes are 3/4" diameter and four (4) are 1" diameter. The lug nut than goes over top of the cap. The problem is that on the 1" holes, very little of the lug nut is contacting the cap and none of the wheel. The bottom swivel nut is 1 3/8" outer diameter and inner is 1 diameter. Not good says Alcoa and should not be used.
If you are ordering Alcoa wheels make sure that you know what you are getting before plunking your hard earned money on the counter.
Here is some info that may help you compare prices.
1. Every 2 Alcoa wheels weighs 46#. You can go to WWW.UPS.com and
find out the shipping cost from the dealer to your house. In my
case it was $12.38 from zip 49909 to 13477. total shipping for 6
wheels than
would be $37.14 plus a little for the lug nuts.
Imitation Alcoa Wheels
After someone saying that imitation Alcoa wheels were circulating
asked her how to identify the correct one. Answer, part number
160231 stamped on the inside of the rim, Just before the Forged Alcoa
aluminum there is a hour glass symbol. I was pretty sure that
mine were ok to start with and was more worried about the nuts, center
caps and nuts. I confirmed that my alcoa wheels are OK. Nuts and center
pieces were not however!
There is also a warning on the outside of the box "Use only with two piece flanged cap nuts P/N 39987 or 139987 (9/16"-18). Do not use nut plates and cone nuts.
Alcoa told me that the 8 1/2" center cap would void the warranty since it covers the whole center section of the wheel and comes between the lug nut and the wheel. Also the correct Alcoa lug nut is P/N 139987 and has a chamfer on the outside lip to compensate for the 003611 cneter cap, as well as a free spinning washer on the bottom.
The correct lug cover is the Alcoa hug-a-lug part number
000190.Thomas
Hub Pilot Wheels
The rims on our GMC motorhomes are " Hub Pilot " rims . I'm sure the
rims on GMC pickups (even though they may have the same bolt pattern
and clear the brake drums) they are not Hub pilots. The first pickups
to switch to
Hub Pilots were the 97 Ford F150's. The trucking industry has had this
problem the last few years as Hub Piloted wheels were introduced on
commercial trucks about 10 years ago. At first there was a choice by
the truck manufacturers as to which wheel you wanted, now days however
everything is built with Hub
Pilots. Many large trucking companies had supplies of extra wheels they
would
switch from truck to truck, then suddenly those old rims couldn't be
used
on the new trucks, now ,a few years later they all have spare Hub
Pilots. The point is you must replace Hub Pilot with Hub Pilot
only. Bob
The published literature says that if you mount rims using the lug bolts only, they will wear the holes and cause problems with balance an out-of-round conditions. Gene
You also have to check that the offset of the rim to the hub (centerline of the tire vs. centerline of the hub) is the same as the GMC or else you can put so much load on the front wheel bearings that you could easily have a failure. Emery