Kimberley KARAVAN 2021 Installation, Maintenance & Operating Manual Download Page 111

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mounting, take a close look at both
the wheel’s hub face and the vehi-
cle’s hub face itself. In the case of
Toyota wheels, the wheel centering
hole is precisely machined to fit the
hub center flange lip.

If an aftermarket alloy wheel is to

be used, a hub-centric ring adapter
may be required in order to attain a
proper fit, since the aftermarket
wheel may feature a larger center
hole (which makes the wheel adapt-
able to various hub center fitments).

When adapter rings have been

used on the vehicle in the past, it is
possible that an old adapter ring
has stuck to the hub. If this ring is
not the correct size for the wheel
being installed, the wheel may not
be able to seat flush against the hub.
This is sometimes easy to miss, so
always check the hub face flange
diameter and the diameter of the
wheel’s hub face to make sure they
match before installing the wheels.

The wheel must fit flush against

the hub, and the wheel must be

centered on the hub. If the wheel
requires rings and none are used,
you’ll have an off-center installation.

Caution, if wheel spacers are used,
make sure they don’t effect the
wheel track and/or the number of
threads on the wheel studs. If old
rings are stuck to the hub, but the
new wheels don’t need them, or if
you try to double-up old rings that
are stuck to the hub and new rings
on the wheels, the wheels won’t
mate flush to the hub, which will
cause severe axial runout. Always
check closely.

NOTE: If the aftermarket wheels

that the customer has chosen include
hubcentric ring adapters (these may
be either aluminum or plastic), be
sure to use them. Even if you feel that
the fasteners will center the wheel, the
rings provide a closer-tolerance fit to
the hub center and will allow you to
better center the wheel during fasten-
er tightening.

INSTALLING ALLOY WHEELS

A corrosive (electrolysis) reaction can occur between an alloy wheel

and a steel hub, resulting in future wheel removal difficulty. To avoid

this, first clean the hub and wheel, and apply a thin coating of a

high-temperature anti-seize paste onto the hub surface.

Always follow the proper torque sequence and torque values when

installing the wheels. The objective when tightening is to evenly

spread the clamping loads across the bolt circle pattern, to avoid

isolated and excessive loading. Failure to follow the correct tight-

ening sequence can lead to distortion of the wheel and hub/rotor.

TIGHTENING SEQUENCE

Always install ANY wheel by tight-

ening the fasteners in a criss-cross
pattern in order to provide even
clamping loads. Uneven tightening
can easily result in a distorted hub
or wheel, leading to vibration com-
plaints and brake pedal-bounce
complaints.

AFTERMARKET WHEELS

If the customer has requested a

change to aftermarket wheels
and/or oversized tires that he or she
has provided, it’s important to verify
wheel and tire clearance.

After mounting one tire/wheel, test

fit the assembly onto the vehicle.
With the vehicle on the lift, check for
clearance between fender, suspen-
sion and brake components with the
tire/wheel in a straight ahead posi-
tion and during full turns (lock-to-
lock) in each direction. This is espe-
cially important when an upgrade
has been performed where tire sec-
tion width and/or wheel offset and
backspace has changed (as com-
pared to original Toyota specifica-
tions). Next, lower the vehicle in
order to compress the suspension,
and repeat the clearance inspection
(have a helper bounce the vehicle as
well, to further inspect for clearance
issues). It’s better to discover an
interference problem at this point as
compared to after all four
wheels/tires have been mounted, bal-

anced and installed.

NOTE: If the wheels have been

supplied by the customer, be sure to
check the wheel’s rated load range.
This is especially important if the
customer has selected a passenger
car wheel for a truck or SUV appli-
cation. The wheel’s load range

should be visible somewhere on the
wheel surface (rim or rear of the
center section). Use of an alloy
wheel that is not designed to sup-
port the weight of the vehicle at

hand is to be avoided, since the risk
of wheel failure is possible.

TIPS:

• Two styles of center caps (if

used) includes the type that pops
into place from the outside of the
center, and the type that is inserted
from behind the wheel hub face. If
the caps are to be inserted from the
rear, make sure that the cap flange
matches the wheel’s center hole
chamfer and is below the wheel’s
mounting surface. If the cap pro-
trudes beyond the mounting sur-
face, this will create an obstruction
that won’t allow flush seating of the
wheel to the hub. This will result in
false torque value readings and can
cause an axial runout condition.

• To avoid corrosion that may

cause an alloy wheel to “stick” to a
steel or iron hub, apply a very thin
coating of an anti-seize paste to the
hub face where the wheel makes
contact. Don’t apply too much, as
any excess can sling out as a result
of centrifugal force and can con-
taminate the wheel face or brake
surfaces. A thin coating of this com-
pound will make it easy to remove
the wheels in the future, preventing
electrolysis (corrosive reaction
between aluminum and steel). Don’t
apply lubricant to fastener threads,
since fastener torque specification
values are based on the use of clean,
dry threads. By lubricating the
threads with a slippery substance,
inaccurate (usually too high) torque
values may be obtained.

• After installing a set of custom

wheels onto the customer’s vehicle,
place one-wheel’s set of original
Toyota nuts in a Ziploc bag and
store this in the vehicle (in the orig-
inal Toyota vehicle tool kit, next to
the spare tire or jack, etc.). If the
customer ever needs to install the
original Toyota spare wheel/tire in
an emergency, he or she will have
the correct fasteners, since the fas-
teners that are used with the after-
market wheels may differ in length
or style from the OE. Also, the vehi-
cle-equipped Toyota lug wrench
might not fit the new fasteners, as
the aftermarket nut hex size may
differ from those used by Toyota.

• This brings up a point well worth

mentioning. If the aftermarket fas-
tener hex size differs from the
Toyota nut size (let’s say for example
that the Toyota nuts require a 19mm
wrench, but the aftermarket fasten-
ers might require an 18mm or
11/16-inch wrench), be sure to
advise the customer of the need to
carry an appropriate-sized socket
and breaker bar to allow the after-
market wheel to be removed during
a roadside tire change.

★

O Y O TA’ S

U P P O R T

U T O M O T I V E

E PA I R

INSTALLING ALLOY WHEELS

If the customer has aftermarket

wheels, check to verify that the

wheel load rating is proper for

the weight of the vehicle. Never

install a wheel that is under-

rated for the vehicle at hand.