Surprised how fast & how severely this rusted:



Thoughts? Suggestions? I should have bought center caps I guess...

 

Yup, I grease or anti-sieze my hubs now and then at wheel swaps.

 

gotcha. i may try scrurbbing it out with wd40 and coating etc, and getting some damn center caps

 

I'd think you could also hit them with a coat of paint.

Just keep the lube off the rotor!

 

i've since come to learn this is a passivizing layer, designed to do this.

 

Get used to it because the protective layer has eroded away, some metals just rust no matter what including cutting edge warships. You can't beat nature at erosion!

 

Centercaps don't prevent rust from getting in the hub. Makes no difference.

 

Do you live in a place where it snows and they use grit salt to keep the road free of ice?

 

I've read that the surface between the rotor and hub, and certainly the rotor and wheel should NOT have any type of lubricant or antiseize on them as the lug nuts and studs (or lug bolts) squeeze everything together and the mating surfaces previously mentioned actually provide static friction to hold the wheel on. In other words you could lose a wheel if lubing those surfaces as the wheel could sheer off the studs without the necessary friction between the wheel and rotor. It kinda makes sense to me. I do think it's okay to lube or paint that little cup behind the wheel center cap to prevent rust though.

 

Hey! That looks like my wheel/hub... exactly. If you do nothing, it will look the same in 6.5 years.

 

Correct, but the do hide it from plain view.

 

Mine looks the same, it's gotten a little darker over time. The RPF1 center caps look pretty ugly, I'd leave it as is. I have RPF1s as well.

 

i found a solution, i'll post it pretty soon here

 

Gonna offer a differing view on anti seize, partially from a northeast U.S. perspective. We have always anti seized hubs, rotor/drum faces (where wheel presses along the lug ring) & lug threads & the cone that contacts lug hole on wheel. Lugs properly tighten better lubed than dry or rusty as their is no bind or fighting friction. Threads tighten by slightly stretching the fastener, not friction.

No fighting w/ galled threads or wheel lug holes, no jack handles, baseball bats or hammers to beat stuck wheels or rotors off the hubs. This is over 30 years & literally thousands of cars, not just personal experience. The only thing to fear anti seizing these components is putting too much on & having it sling onto the wheel.

As far as rusty hub I would clean it up & paint it, center caps or not so that it stays nice.