Alcoa lug nut covers

[WinniMN]

Greetings
I am going to try polishing the Alcoa wheels on our 2020 View.
My questions are:
-how do the lug nut covers come off?
-are the center caps removable without unmounting the wheel?
I have the wheels with 6 rectangular slots

Did the wheel weights REALLY have to be mounted on the outside? (sorry, had to vent)

Thanks for any help,
Bruce

 

[Morich]

There are a number of different options, so this may be guess that misses!
But it sounds like you are speaking of what some call "wheel simulators"?
A thin cover that might look like a big broad hub cap?

If that is not too far off the mark, try looki9ng for two of the simulated lug nuts. They may actually be just thin covers and not actually hold the wheel on!
Looking closer, you may spot those two in different ways:
!. If you gently tap each lug nut cover, there may be two which sound different?
Something like ding, ding and then click?
2. There may be two which look a bit different right at the point where their base meets the rest of the sim. Some have a circle laying on the larger metal and some have no circle?
3. There may be points built into the nut covers that may look like a - pressed into one side of the fake covers!

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Different brands may have different features to look for to ID the ones which can then unscrew to release things!

What I am thinking is that finding the fake two, unscrew them and that let the big fake cover come off and THEN you see real lug nuts if you wanted to remove the wheel!
There are tools to get them off but I find channel locks are good enough as long as I pad them to avoid marking the soft, thin metal!


If they are hard to get off like REAL lug nuts, my guess may be wrong, so go with that in mind!

 

[bigb56]

If this is what you have, I remove mine with a pair of channel lock pliers like Richard mentioned with rubber jaw protectors, they are just a press fit, just wiggle and pull. (Mine are not Knipex but an old pair of Rigids)

Instead of lead weights they could use those stick on weights but they don't look so good either. Mine had stick ons, and when they mount new tires they have to peel them off but they don't clean the wheel, that's up to the owner. I had to use 3M adhesive remover, plastic razor blades and lots of elbow grease .

I'm pretty sure the stick ons are really supposed to be applied on the inside near the center, but if the tire guy doesn't clean the inside of the wheel really good they fly off, and if you've ever seen the inside of a wheel after 30,000 or so miles cleaning it is not going to be easy.

I'd rather just put up with the lead. Besides on a dually what is the inside can change to the outside even though the Alcoas on ours are not set up that way, we have front and rear specific with different part numbers, and steelies on the inside rears. So don't plan on rotating them.

 

[jayelldouble]

I use a lug nut cover removal tool like this -

Amazon.com

 

[bigb56]

I use a lug nut cover removal tool like this -

Amazon.com

Never knew those existed. Does that one fit the Mercedes Sprinter Alcoa wheel nuts?

 

[jayelldouble]

I'm not sure - the one I actually bought was the Ken-Tool 30606 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GPGOIQ?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_6 and it works great - looks like the Grand General one may be for bigger lugs -

 

[WinniMN]

If this is what you have, I remove mine with a pair of channel lock pliers like Richard mentioned with rubber jaw protectors, they are just a press fit, just wiggle and pull. (Mine are not Knipex but an old pair of Rigids)


View attachment 1115543

yes, these are what i have.
You sure have done an outstanding job keeping them polished.

What have you done that gets them so shiny?

Does the center cap come off without unmounting the wheel?

I assume the rear center cap goes in from the inside before the wheel is mounted.

I ordered a lug nut puller.

Thank you everyone for your help.
Bruce

 

[bigb56]

yes, these are what i have.
You sure have done an outstanding job keeping them polished.

What have you done that gets them so shiny?

Does the center cap come off without unmounting the wheel?

I assume the rear center cap goes in from the inside before the wheel is mounted.

I ordered a lug nut puller.

Thank you everyone for your help.
Bruce

Yes the front caps come off from the outside. I use a plastic pry tool to avoid scratches. The big rear cap also comes off from the outside, not the inside. There are a row of spring clips all the way around that hold the front caps and some longer ones on the rears that you line up to fit over the recessed dips in the hubs then push into place.

I used Met*All aluminum polish. I used a polishing ball and some home made wooden tools to reach tight areas. The first time it took me about 45 min to an hour per wheel as I don't think the previous owner had ever touched them. A year later I did a touch up which only took a fraction of that time. In between what I do is every time I wash the rig I also clean the glass with paper towels and glass cleaner so I hit the wheels with the paper towels before throwing them out. It also helps that my rig is stored out of the weather.

Amazon.com

Before ordering any polishing products though you need to check to see if your wheels have the Dura-Bright finish. Do some research on Alcoa Dura Bright and have your wheel numbers ready which are stamped into the wheel surface, and your label color. I believe some labels actually say Dura Bright on them but don't quote me on that. If you have Dura Bright you do NOT want to use a polish that could damage the finish. My wheels are from 2011 and are not Dura Bright.

In the pic below I have circled my non-Dura Bright Alcoa part number. If your part number has "DB" at the end they are Dura Bright and if so follow Alcoa's recommendation on cleaning.

Note that front and rear part numbers are different. Our wheels are not interchangeable front to rear like most duallys.

 

[WinniMN]

Before ordering any polishing products though you need to check to see if your wheels have the Dura-Bright finish. Do some research on Alcoa Dura Bright and have your wheel numbers ready which are stamped into the wheel surface, and your label color. I believe some labels actually say Dura Bright on them but don't quote me on that. If you have Dura Bright you do NOT want to use a polish that could damage the finish. My wheels are from 2011 and are not Dura Bright.

In the pic below I have circled my non-Dura Bright Alcoa part number. If your part number has "DB" at the end they are Dura Bright and if so follow Alcoa's recommendation on cleaning.

Note that front and rear part numbers are different. Our wheels are not interchangeable front to rear like most duallys.







View attachment 1116381

Again, thank you for your help

I had thought my wheels are Durabright. I was wrong.
Here is my rear part number

so, i can polish this, right?
I was not able to find the part number for the front. Do they stamp that one on the inside?
Is it possible that the front could be a Durabright? It looks just as bad as the rear.

thanks again
Bruce

 

[bigb56]

Those sure look like non Dura Bright. Odd that your rear part number is different than mine. It's possible yours are all the same but mine are different front and rear. Doesn't bother me because I never rotate them anyway, they will age out before they wear out. The part numbers are all stamped in the deep side so on your fronts that would be on the inside.

 

[Bnystrom]

Regarding your question about the wheel weights, it's common practice with alloy wheels to use self-adhesive weights on the inside of the wheels, but you have to request it and it may not be possible with all wheels. On rear duallys, there's nowhere to put the weights where they won't be visible.