Rust on wheels

[cwest94]

I washed and detailed the heck out of the 4Runner the other day and now it looks like it belongs on the showroom floor.

But in the process of cleaning things up, I found rust spots on one of the wheels. The one wheel has little pitted marks and another one has the same pitted bubble marks and I can see rust under the bubbled up paint.

Is this normal or are the wheels defected in some way? Should I say something to the dealer or just forget about it?

I've got the Sport package. I can take pics latter and post if they are needed. I searched around the site before making this post and didn't find anything.

 

[audiqtr]

If you live in an area with bad weather or lots of humidity, this will happen if you or the previous owner doesn't take care of the wheels properly. The minerals, deposits, salts in the dirt, mud and sand from the road builds up and eventually eats away the clear coat on your wheels. There is a certain point you can recover from, but I think at this point the best you can do is to clean the rust spots and live with it. Fixing it will cost a lot of dollars....

In terms of cleaning, there are hundreds of products out there, but I recommend #0000 Steel Wool.

PS. If you have rust spots on your wheel itself, I would also consider taking your wheels off and maintaining your hub assembly as well. I suspect there will be more rust there. For the hub assembly maintenance, I would go ahead and use Emery Cloth.... Spray your lug bolts with WD40 and put some antiseize on them. I know this is extensive maintenance, but you will benefit from it in the long run...

 

[Methodical]

I've read that you shouldn't lubricate lug bolts in any way, because it'll increase the torque when you are bolting the wheel back on...... just throwin that out there.

I agree with the hub maintenance. It's something that a lot of people assume doesn't matter.

I personally believe one of the biggest culprits of warped rotors is a rusted wheel/hub. When the wheel is placed on the hub differently, the rust wont line up anymore and so the wheel won't sit perfectly flat on the hub. My crazy theory.

 

[audiqtr]

I've read that you shouldn't lubricate lug bolts in any way, because it'll increase the torque when you are bolting the wheel back on...... just throwin that out there.

I agree with the hub maintenance. It's something that a lot of people assume doesn't matter.

I personally believe one of the biggest culprits of warped rotors is a rusted wheel/hub. When the wheel is placed on the hub differently, the rust wont line up anymore and so the wheel won't sit perfectly flat on the hub. My crazy theory.

Yes, you don't lubricate lug bolts. WD40 removes most to all the rust, and antiseize...well...makes sure they don't seize after long times of being exposed to centrifugal forces, heat and moisture...