HELP!! PT Rims on van...wobbling...

[TurboOmni08]

I have a set of 01 PT Crusier rims on my 90 Caravan turbo. A friend was following me to work and told me when we got there "dude, your left rear wheel looks like its gonna fall off!!!" We jacked it up and the wheel bearing feels nice and tight. But then you spin it you can clearly tell, it looks like the wheel is bent. But when you take it off the wheel rolls fine and it has no flat spots. The hub on the rear barely fits, its really close. The wheel looks like where the hub sit against the inside of the wheel it has warn some of the alumnium down.

Question-
Is it possible to put an aluminum wheel on and tighten it down and have it not setting flush? But yet be able to drive it, never feel it, and have it stay tight? Also, if this is possible, I have put over 500 miles on it like that, has the wheel been damaged in any way? Finally, how the heck is the right wheel not doing the same thing?!


HELP ME!!! I need to drive it home!!!

[turbovanman]

Sounds like its catching when you tighten it down. Take it to a tire shop and have them put it on the balancer, it could be bent but rolling it on the ground, you'll never notice.

If you dont' have time, swap the rear wheels left to right and see if it swaps sides. If it does, bad rim, if not, the drum or ? is bad.

[WVRampage]

I knwo the hub on the older cars are a little larger in Diameter than the ones on the newer cars and the rims fit very tight over the hub,I think it would be posssibe to put in on and not have the wheel all the way over the hub.On some applications the hole in the center of the wheel needs to be bored out a little bit to fit on the older vehicles.

[TurboOmni08]

I got it on there ok now. I never even noticed it, you could just see it wobble when you watched the van drive by. I put it back on and tightened it down and it stopped. I think I cam going to lathe down the hub on the drum so it slips right on!

Question- Can I cut the end off of the hub? The actual metal piece that the bearings ride on with the big nut on the end is too long and it touches the back of my centercaps on the wheels...causing it to chew the inside of the centercap up. If I could cut about 1/2in off of it would that be ok?

[WVRampage]

Try to find the dust cover off a neon or pt as it is shorter and cone shaped if it will fit the hub as it should that may give you the clearence needed for the rim

[turbovanman]

I got it on there ok now. I never even noticed it, you could just see it wobble when you watched the van drive by. I put it back on and tightened it down and it stopped. I think I cam going to lathe down the hub on the drum so it slips right on!

Question- Can I cut the end off of the hub? The actual metal piece that the bearings ride on with the big nut on the end is too long and it touches the back of my centercaps on the wheels...causing it to chew the inside of the centercap up. If I could cut about 1/2in off of it would that be ok?

The lip is part of the hub, I honestly wouldn't mess with it. It also acts to center the wheel.