At 06:31 AM 2/26/98 , you wrote:
>I removed my rear wheels yesterday in order to install some Mopar
>Mud Guards on my 97 Dak. I noticed that the inside of the aluminum
>rims was covered with grease and grime. The tires has 12K miles
>on them.
>
>Does anyone know if any of that grease and grime was supposed to be
>there to 'protect' the aluminum finish? There was SO MUCH grease
>that it was hard to remove. It was 1/8" think in places.
>
I've never heard of anything being put on the inside of wheels to protect
them. It's not unusual for a _lot_ of material to build up on the inside
part of wheels. After all, the inside of the wheel never gets washed. Dirt,
dust from the brake pads/shoes, road tar and who knows what else gets in
there. And because it never gets washed it will be very hard to clean.
>I went ahead and scrubbed it out as good as I can. Was that a
>'bad' idea? If not... can you 'wax' the aluminum finish so
>that its easier to clean in the future and will prevent the
>grease and grime from building up?
>
Don't know of any reason why it would hurt to clean the dirt out. There may
be some product out there to help protect aluminum wheels, but unless you
are planning to remove and clean them often, it probably won't be worth it
since the dirt builds up very quickly on that part of the wheel. I'm not an
expert on this and if I'm wrong I hope somebody will correct me, but unless
it's something that can easily be seen I wouldn't worry about it.
-- Mike Crumley mcrumley@airmail.net 97 Dakota Regular Cab Short Bed 3.9L V6 3.55 Auto DDBC Bug Shield Mud Flaps
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