My 2009 Clubman has Style 98 2-piece wheels that have a lot of curb damage. it would be much easier to fix them if I took the centers out. Has anybody disassembled these? Any surprises or gotchas I need to know about? Thanks

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ead-bolts.html

 

Thank you ECS! Very helpful.

 

I just bought a set of these wheels and need to refinish the barrels. I've taken apart a set of BBS RK 2 piece wheels in the past so suspect that these are similar. The only question I have is that if I break one of the bolts off is there a way to get it out or is the barrel "done"? (the bolts, after all, are titanium so drilling them isn't going to be simple!)

I'm in the midst of making up an attachment for my propane torch that has the tripple-square bit in it so that I can heat up the bolts before trying to take them out. Any other suggestions?


Thanks

 

Glad to help, i remember a bunch of guys doing this to R90 and R98 wheels back in the day to paint them.

 

What's the best way to get the bolts out without breaking them?

And if I break one is that the end of that wheel?

 

I seen people just use that tool but and back them out. I guess setting them in the sun might help get the metal warm.

Post #17 here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...el-thread.html

 

Well, I've gone and done it. I've broken two of the first 4 bolts that I took out of one of the wheels. now I'm trying to figure out if I can even drill the titanium bolts to get the remnants out or if the wheel is "done". I sprayed them with penetrant and let it sit for a week before I even attempted to get them out.

i've decided to not think about the rest of the bolts

 

I broke the first bolt I tried to remove on my R98s. I stopped there and did the refinishing with them assembled. I only needed to sand and clear coat the outer rim though. The spoke section was fine. I was thinking about painting the spoke sections a different color but the broken bolt ended that thought. If you are going to use clear I highly recommend a 2k paint. I tried using a standard automotive clear but it chipped off very easily with my finger nail.

As far as drilling out the bolt... I did some research and learned that Titanium requires a special angle on the tip of the drill- 135 degree tip. Also a cobalt bit is better for titanium. I found some on ebay. I don't remember the diameter. I have to admit that I took the wheel into work where a machine shop guy offered to drill it out and tap it for me. I would recommend a drill press at a minimum to keep the drill straight and aligned.

There is also a process called metal disintegrator for burning out broken bolts and taps. I had a broken tap removed from an exhaust bolt hole on the head of a motorcyle engine with one of these. It worked well. I also was able to get this done at the machine shop at work.

I bought some replacement bolts on ebay.

 

Did you try to heat the bolt prior to removing. They're likely treated with threadlock and the heat will aid removal. I have a set of BMW style 42 wheels and have read many posts regarding removal of the center of the wheel by heating the (many) bolts.

 

I would think you would want to heat the barrel, not the bolts... In my mind, heating the barrel will help it expand away from the bolts, aiding in removal. Heating the bolts would make them expand inside the barrel, and make them more difficult to remove...

 

You would think that but the reason for the heat is to melt the threadlock compound. You're not dealing with steel here so minimal heat is needed.