In
the first installment of project Xtreme TJ I told you we would be
covering axles, gears and lockers this month. Unfortunately, my
axles are still under construction. Hopefully I’ll have an article
on axles next month.
Beadlock
rims seem to be showing up more and more these days on trail rigs
and to a lesser degree used on the street for daily drivers. I knew
I wanted to use some type of beadlock on project XtremeTJ so the
hunt was on.
I
contacted Stockton wheel http://www.stocktonwheel.com,
they can take any rim and turn it into a beadlock rim starting at
$125.00 per rim. The biggest drawback of their approach is the beadlock
itself, it is held in place with only 10 bolts. I felt this could
become a safety issue when used at highway speeds.
My
next source was Marsh Racing Tires (MRT). "Woody" has
steel beadlock rims in stock with a standard backspacing of 3.5"
in all the popular bolt patterns and sizes. I needed a little more
backspacing than that. You can order any custom backspace you need
for a $10.00 up-charge. MRT rims come standard with an 18 bolt beadlock
or you can order their extreme duty rim which has 36 bolts holding
the beadlock on. MRT rims look very similar to AR767 rockcrawlers.
Now
its common folklore that steel rims are the only way to go when
crawling around on the rocks. I have been running Centerline’s on
my ZJ for 2 years now and have yet to bend them, sure they have
some scars but its just badges of honor.
Running
35x14.50 Swamper SSR’s I thought I would try to save some weight
and gain some good looks by going to an aluminum rim.
Champion
Wheel has two different styles of beadlock rims for four wheel drive
vehicles, the "Outlaw" and the "Baja". These
rims start life as a stock American Racing rim, the outer bead is
cut off and a mounting flange is welded on. The valve stem hole
is re-located and a 24 bolt beadlock attached. Standard tire fitment
suggests using a 15x10 rim with a 14.50 tire, the helpful folks
at Champion Wheel suggested I try a 15x8 and check the fit, when
my rims arrived I measured the distance between the inside bead
and the edge of the mounting flange, 7.75". The SSR measured
nearly 8" so I felt this would be a good match, the smaller
rim would pull the tire in tighter and provide more protect and
floatation plus I didn’t want the rim sticking out any farther than
it needed to be. Price for a 15x8 with a 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern is
$240.00 each. Champion wheel will also take any aluminum rim and
weld a beadlock mounting
flange on it for $125.00 per wheel.
When
you order from Champion Wheel you have a choice of colors on the
beadlock, since my TJ is red I ordered the matching red beadlock.
Once
you get the rim out of the box you’ll need a place to work, I found
a 5 gallon bucket turned over with a towel on it worked great. With
the rim on the work area you’ll need to remove the 24 bolts holding
the beadlock on, work slowly following a criss cross pattern so
the beadlock will not deform.
Once
you have all the bolts loose you can lift the beadlock off the rim
and set it aside. Before you mount your tire you’ll want to install
the valve stems.
Locate
your tire, mix some water and dish soap in a container and coat
the tire bead with this solution. Now push the tire over the rim
and seat the outer bead over the mounting flange. Once the outer
bead is seated on the mounting flange you can place the beadlock
ring on the rim. If you have trouble getting the bolts to start
try pressing the beadlock down with your hand. If this does not
apply enough pressure so you can start the bolts, try using a "quick
clamp" which has a rubber end so it won’t scar the rim. Getting
all the bolts started was a challenge but once they are started
you need to apply some anti-seize to the threads to prevent galling
of the metals. Now the fun begins, since you can not just tighten
down one bolt at a time, you need to employ a criss cross pattern,
I found it easy to follow starting at 12, 6, 3 and then 9, rotate
the rim one bolt and start the process over again. The bolts only
need to be tightened to 15 pounds and it will take you a few rotations
around the rim before the beadlock seats against the rim. Take your
time and only tighten each bolt a few turns on each pass.
Inflate
the tire to seat the inside tire bead, check your tire for maximum
inflation prior to inflating. Now all that’s left is to mount the
wheels to your Jeep and head over to your favorite tire shop to
have them balanced.
Until
next month...
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