Hub Caps

[saulsse]

Ok, here is a headach that I am having with my 2500HD.

The Plastic Hub Caps that have those plastic black caps that are supposed to screw over the lug nuts, are giving me fits.

 

For all appearances the Plastic Hub Caps do go over the area where they supposed to, but the plastic screw on nuts which are supposed to screw onto the lug nut themselves are acting like tthey don't even belong on them.

 

Is there a secret to getting these things onto the truck and keeping there or are there any aftermarket hub caps that I can optain to replace these plastic wanna be's that do not want to stay on the truck.

 

At $28 per cap they do not want to stay on.

 

Thanks for any help or ideas.

[saulsse]

An update to the wonderful world of the Center Cap and the Chrome Rims.

 

After a bit of effort I got the Center Caps into place and I hoping that they will stay on at least for a bit.

 

For all intents and purposes the plastic make believe nuts look like they are a bit too short and should be longer so that they screw down completely on the wheel.

 

I know I asked before, but are there any snap aftermarket center caps available.. So far I have not been able to locate any aftermarket stuff that might work.

[MountaineerTom]

I don't know of any aftermarket snap on ones, but I do know those little plastic caps can be a pain sometimes.

 

They may be cross threading.  When I deal with those things, I turn it backwards until I feel the threads "click", or line up properly.  They usually go on a lot easier for me after that.

 

Another think to look at, is make sure the assembly is lined up properly.  I have different wheels than yours (I think, from your description) and there is a little plastic tab on the center cap that lines up with a notch on the wheel.  On mine, if those are not lined up correctly, the center cap won't go on like it's suppose to.  Again, I don't know if yours are like that or not.  ???

 

Good luck.  

[Shaners]

Since they are plastic, make sure you don't over tighten them.  They just need to be snugged up.

 

If you look at them, they have a very course thread, and it wouldn't take much to overtighten them and strip them.

[saulsse]

Those plastic screw on thingies are going to be the biggest pain in the butt when it comes to "adjusting them correctly".

 

 

I have tried the reverse till I hear the snap then tighten, but then as I work my way around the cap, alternating in true fashion in hopes o keeping things even, I get the old "oh no it done slipped out of alignment and pop goes te hub cap into my lap.

 

I now have a nasty blister on my right thumb thanks to the cranky plastic nuts that are supposed screw onto the main lug nuts. (Dear GM Design Team... Please make plastic securing nuts longer)  :baa:

Or make snap on caps like Dodge or Ford.. so that we do not have to watch in embarresment as set of hub caps go zipping past the truck after hitting a rough section of road.

 

Chasing after the $28 hub caps is not my idea of fun. And no I am not gonna change the wheels on the truck.. I wanna keep the plain jane look.

[MountaineerTom]

That's wierd.

 

It wouldn't happen to be under warentty would it?  If so, take it to the dealer and see if they will get you a new one.  Make sure you SHOW them what is happening.  If you leave it up to them, you may get the dreaded "could not duplicate".  

[saulsse]

The truck I bought used from a GM dealer. She currently has 13375 miles. There was one hub cap missing when I took delivery and I did have the dealer order me another one.

Must to my disbelief I lost a second hub cap and went to the local Chevy dealer who was able to get me two more of the caps the same day.

 

The loss of the caps can be duplicated, it is just a matter for GM engineers to go out to a test track and give a 2500 HD a good run and wait for the cap to go zipping past the truck.

 

It is the plastic nut caps themselves that are the source of the problem There should be no need for anyone to work with a very tiny section of the cap. The nuts should fully extend onto the main wheel nuts. As it is the plastic wheel nuts that hold the cap onto the truck in the first place are about 1/2 in too short.

 

Which gives me an idea :exclaim:

If I can find some longer plastic nuts to replace the current ones that hold the caps on in the first place I can utilize those. After all the plastic nuts can be popped out from the  caps themselves. I did actually take one out and screw it onto the lug nuts to see if there was evidence of cross threading.

 

The only thing I did see was that the things that secure the caps are too short.. it looks like I'll be off to auto part stores just to see if I can find replacements.. 32 plastic nuts is all i need.

[MountaineerTom]

32 plastic nuts is all i need.

LOL.

 

I don't know that you'll find any at a parts store.  I've never seen them anywhere like that.  You may want to try a salvage yard though.

 

Did they give you any type of warantty whe you bought it?  If they did, and it's still covered, they should fix it, or at least see why the plastic caps are too short.

 

This may be kind of "out there", but is there a possibility the actual lug nuts are the wrong ones?  Maybe not long enough?  Might be worth looking into.  ???

[pullinpower]

Just add alittle clear silicon to the inside of the plastic nut and that should keep it in place.

[Colorado Kid]

I believe I remeber reading somewhere that the PYO Forged Alluminum wheels and the PY2 Chomed Steel Wheels used different but identical looking center caps, and that the difference was in how far the little black caps could reach.  Mismatching one way resulted in rattling center caps that stay on, but the other way gave the trouble you are having.  See if you can't find a truck at the dealer that has the same wheels as yours, pull a cap and see if it really is identical.  You may end up out $28/cap times 4, but at least the new ones will stay on!

[saulsse]

Thanks to the forum for providing the RPO numbers.

 

I have the PY2 Rims and the PO3 Hub Caps.

 

Looks like another visit to the Chevy Dealer. I had purchased it used from a local Buick GMC dealer, but since the Chevy folks were nice enough to help me out with the Flying Hub Caps I'll go back to them.

 

I'll have to tell them that it is the different hubs I guess.