Chevy & GMC Vans

Yeah ... When I look at them now with rubber on, I really like what I see. Very clean and sharp. It was a good decision.

I found out the hard that they have the wrong bolt pattern, out in the middle of nowhere, in the snow. They were advertised as 5x5, but the spacing was too small.

uhm.. they are up to 2002? when they switch to 6 bolt afaik. are the rims really 5x5?
that's pretty shitty if the rims don't fit you didn't get stranded or anything did you?

You're right I am supposed to have 5x5 (I must have measured wrong. I corrected my post). So that means these alloys must be something smaller.. I'll have to re-measure.

I hit a rock hidden in the snow about 50km from the nearest town...



Bent the steele rim pretty bad...


I had one of the aluminum rims from this post mounted as a spare (with my new Cooper tire rubber on it), but it wouldn't go on.

So, I tried to hammer the steelie somewhat back into shape...


I tried to re-inflate it, but I found a cut in the sidewall...


So I spent the night there, and started driving back towards town on the flat in the morning at about 10km/hr. I made it about 10km along the snowy gravel road, but eventually the tire warped and wasn't cushioning the rim anymore. When I got to an incline before a bridge, I couldn't get up. The tire started sliding off the rim and I was going all over the place. A hunter was walking by and offered to help, so I helped him load a buck into his truck. We loaded my broken wheel and the spare and headed back to town, but no shops were open. I gave him some cash. His friend drove me to the next town (Whistler), so I filled up his car with gas. The guy in the shop there hammered and pounded the rim back into shape, welded a crack shut, grinded it, balanced it, replaced the valve that fell out, and mounted the tire. He asked for $40 cash but no receipt, but all I had on me was $30 which he gladly took. Then we went all the way back to the bridge, and I was able to go home to Vancouver about 200km away. Thank goodness for kind people like the ones I met that day.

Needless to say, there's an ad for set of nice polished aluminum billet wheels going on craigslist, and a wanted ad for 5x5 rims.

Well doesn't that just blow (pun intended)! How fast do you drive on these roads? Seems like that amount of damage to 2 wheels/tires, you must be hauling. Might be time to slow down some.

Only about 50 clicks max. I was doing fine for about 15km but suddenly veered off track. What I thought was a snow drift was a rocky burm with scattered rocks. Clearly this van wants to be driven less like a jeep and more like a city car.

timelessbeing wrote: So I spent the night there, and started driving back towards town on the flat in the morning at about 10km/hr. I made it about 10km along the snowy gravel road, but eventually the tire warped and wasn't cushioning the rim anymore. When I got to an incline before a bridge, I couldn't get up. The tire started sliding off the rim and I was going all over the place. A hunter was walking by and offered to help, so I helped him load a buck into his truck. We loaded my broken wheel and the spare and headed back to town, but no shops were open. I gave him some cash. His friend drove me to the next town (Whistler), so I filled up his car with gas. The guy in the shop there hammered and pounded the rim back into shape, welded a crack shut, grinded it, balanced it, replaced the valve that fell out, and mounted the tire. He asked for $40 cash but no receipt, but all I had on me was $30 which he gladly took. Then we went all the way back to the bridge, and I was able to go home to Vancouver about 200km away. Thank goodness for kind people like the ones I met that day.

It's the Canadian way...no one will leave you stranded if they happen across you and you need assistance. But that hunter? What a dick for accepting money. His friend, sounds like you hired him to go out of his way and taxi you around???, then monetary compensation seems reasonable.

Sucks to hear about the new rims. I don't mind the style...plus you have the mounting expense invested. Bummer. The rims are probably for the S10, etc...(5 x 4 3/4)

How was the adventure? Good for the soul right?

Yes the trip was a bit of an eye opener. First of all I was in such a rush to get out of the city, I forgot my down sleeping bag, my cooking pot and my shovel was missing from my van. Second, when buying things from Craigslist, be critical of advertised descriptions and check everything. Third, this town always seemed very unfriendly to me, so these guys really made my day.

I offered the hunter money because he took time out of his day, which happened to be the last day of hunting season. He waited while I removed my wheels, and we looked around town for a shop, so he deserved a bit of compensation. His friend had something to do in Whistler anyways, so it wasn't a wasted trip for him either, but he did wait while my wheel got fixed and drove me back out to my vehicle. I also gave them the rest of my beer.

The rims really grew on me and I was getting excited about putting them on. I remeasured, and yeah they're 5x4.75. Hopefully I can fetch a good price Craigslist.

The experience was a bit humbling.

I bought a set of used aluminum rims other day, and I'm a bit choked. They're 15x7" and came from a GMC pick-up. This time I test-fitted them to make sure they work.

Someone started painting black on the outer edge of one wheel, then must have decided it wasn't a good idea and stopped. There was also a bit of crud from where there were weights before. The guy said they could be quickly cleaned with some lacquer thinner and polishing. I should have been suspicious right away that he hadn't bothered to do this before selling them, but it was dark and I couldn't see well. When I looked at them in full daylight, I discovered the wheels have a lacquer finish on them. What a pain in the butt! And the finish was chipping and peeling around the centre of one of the wheels.

Any suggestions on how to fix these up, short of stripping them down and refinishing?

TLB...you're dead on about why factory aluminum rims start to look like crap after a few yrs...they are clear coated! As that coating gets chipped, it allows corrosion to start and dirt to sit in the edges. You can clean up those rims reasonably well with steelwool...just buff all the "wounds" until they are clean and from 10ft away, they'll look 100% better.
If you want them to be really nice, you'll have to strip them..but DO NOT re-clear coat them! Just polish and wax.
You can also paint them. There are some nice charcoal greys and silvers available.
For black in a nice mild "crinkle" finish...EZ-Liner at Lordco/Canadian Tire. It sprays and sticks really well...2 cans = 3 coats.

It does look like you have quite a bit of staining by the way. It's not uncommon for people to grab an aluminum wheel cleaner(which is meant for raw aluminum) and spray the rim, staining the paint.

Photos of the replacement rims on my van




Yes, those are GMC centre caps, but I think they match well.