Rattling Center Caps
I upgraded to 8" wide American racing AR-23 wheels a few years back so I could safely go to 265 tires on the burb. One persistent problem has been that the center caps rattle endlessly. I tried bending the tabs on the flange in the back so that they fit tight between the wheel and hub, but they work loose in a few miles and rattle again. My mechanic in NY had tried wrapping black tape around the edge to quiet the rattling, again a short term fix. Truck always sounded like a junk wagon with those caps rattling all at once.
I finally sent an email to American Racing and asked if they had a fix for this. They asked me for the part number of the center caps I was using and then promptly mailed back to tell me they were the wrong ones! So the guy provided a new part #. After a little research I find out that both part #s are the identical center cap, except the number they gave me is an updated version that now has an o-ring around the base of it.
I dig a little deeper and find the O-Ring Warehouse online. the size -251 is a perfect fit for the OD of the center caps. I opted for the FKM material because it has the highest temp rating (450F).
Installed the wheels with the new O-rings last week, and voila, a nice snug fit with no rattles! Total fix was $7 for the O-rings and $5 for shipping, less than half the cost of one new center cap.
This seems like a somewhat common problem from some of the posts I've read on other forums, so thought I would pass it along here.
I finally sent an email to American Racing and asked if they had a fix for this. They asked me for the part number of the center caps I was using and then promptly mailed back to tell me they were the wrong ones! So the guy provided a new part #. After a little research I find out that both part #s are the identical center cap, except the number they gave me is an updated version that now has an o-ring around the base of it.
I dig a little deeper and find the O-Ring Warehouse online. the size -251 is a perfect fit for the OD of the center caps. I opted for the FKM material because it has the highest temp rating (450F).
Installed the wheels with the new O-rings last week, and voila, a nice snug fit with no rattles! Total fix was $7 for the O-rings and $5 for shipping, less than half the cost of one new center cap.
This seems like a somewhat common problem from some of the posts I've read on other forums, so thought I would pass it along here.
