The International Cessna 170 Association

I know . Should have said wheel Covers not hubcaps. The term hubcaps went out with wooden spokes.

I want to reinstall wheel covers C 170 with Cleveland wheels.

I have no idea where the original wheel cover screws are located in toolbox.

Can some one advise what is correct size Machine Screw is specified?

Is the JB Weld still the preferred fix for restoring threads?
I read some of forum post.

Clean out the hole and put a heli-coil in . The aluminium in the wheel hub is very soft and easily strips.sorry i remember what size screw used .

MoonlightVFR wrote:I know . Should have said wheel Covers not hubcaps. The term hubcaps went out with wooden spokes.

I want to reinstall wheel covers C 170 with Cleveland wheels.

I have no idea where the original wheel cover screws are located in toolbox.

Can some one advise what is correct size Machine Screw is specified?

Is the JB Weld still the preferred fix for restoring threads?
I read some of forum post.

Grady, I believe they are 6/32s

Are the wheels aluminum or magnesium?
I thought they were magnesium

Just a heads up. I went into our local aviation parts store, found a new Cleveland wheel and bought a number of the machine screws that fitted perfectly and were the correct match. At the field I took the new screws out and discovered that the previous owner (>20years ago) had already drilled out and retapped my wheels to the next size up. Now those threads are mostly stripped.

I was given one word of caution about the use of helicoils worth considering. A steel helicoil in a magnesium wheel presents the potential for corrosion as a result of the contact between dissimilar metals.

I still haven't fixed my wheels and I am now leaning towards cleaning out the holes, filling with JB Weld, and retapping.

bagarre wrote:Are the wheels aluminum or magnesium?
I thought they were magnesium

They can be either, Cleveland makes both. Amphib floats usually have the aluminum.

One way of testing whether they are magnesium is to try welding on them with an aluminum-wire MIG welder and enjoying the wonderful campfire.
Next time I do this I'll do it outdoors, tho'.

(For my "supporters" out there, we were making a go-cart using salvaged wheels.)

Here's another way to tell magnesium from aluminum. It comes from the Continental M-0 Maintenance Manual 12-4.3:

Magnesium parts resemble aluminum; non-ferrous, gray colored metal. To differentiate between aluminum and magnesium, apply a few drop of vinegar to the bare metal at a non-critical location on the part, such as a casting datum locator; do not test at a mating surface. Aluminum will not react to vinegar, magnesium will oxidize (bubble) and release hydrogen gas at the application site. Rinse the part thoroughly to remove the vinegar residue.