Experience with wheel spacers?

UPFord · Nov 12, 2016

I have a 1989 445C industrial with one piece rear wheels with 16.9 x 24 R-4 tires. In the normal position, the tires outside width is 75" and there is 3/4" clearance between the inside of the tire and the loader frame, which is not enough for my Duo-Trac tire chains. Last winter I switched the tires to opposite sides and gained 5" inside clearance per side, outside width was 85", a little wider than the 83" wide bucket.

I would like to have about 2" inside clearance with an outside width of about 78". Does anyone have long term experience with wheel spacers on a heavy (8800 pounds total, 600 pounds of iron and 600 fluid on each tire) loader tractor?

I can find hub centric steel or aluminum spacers for about $450 a set. Also considering searching for Ford 15" x 24 cast centers with 6 loop bolt on rims. This would give me a lot of adjustability on width. I would need centers with the 3 weight bolt holes to use my 300# one piece wheel weights, two per wheel, one inside and one outside.

Thank you for any feedback.

Destroked 450 · Nov 12, 2016

Which side of the wheel loops are the rims? There's lots of adjustment available in different combinations you can get by moving the wheels around on the rims.
Rim dished in, wheel with loops to the out side, rim out side the loops is narrowest setting, moving the rims to the inside of the loops widens the rear track about 4 inches, then you can turn the wheels around on the rims and get two more withes.
Turning the rims around with the dish out allows for four more different track with adjustments giving eight different track withes all together.
You should be able to find a combination that will work for you without using spacers.

Sean in PA · Nov 12, 2016

(quoted from post at 19:25:42 11/12/16)
Which side of the wheel loops are the rims? There's lots of adjustment available in different combinations you can get by moving the wheels around on the rims.
Rim dished in, wheel with loops to the out side, rim out side the loops is narrowest setting, moving the rims to the inside of the loops widens the rear track about 4 inches, then you can turn the wheels around on the rims and get two more withes.
Turning the rims around with the dish out allows for four more different track with adjustments giving eight different track withes all together.
You should be able to find a combination that will work for you without using spacers.

The original post said that he currently has one piece wheels, so no adjustment available other than dishing them in or out. I think he is asking for recommendations between wheel spacers or buying replacement 2 piece wheels.

markct · Nov 12, 2016

No loops on ONE PIECE wheels, you have
in and out by flipping them left to
right, that's it

M. Doud · Nov 12, 2016

I put steel spacers on my 250C (very similar to yours) from
www.motorsport-tech.com

He actually made them to fit and custom ordered studs for it to fit as it took longer and heavier studs then tractors typically have.

Got 2.5" steel spacers so I could run chains. Very Very happy with the whole process and the quality of the process.

UPFord · Nov 13, 2016

Thanks;

I have a quote from Len Stahl from motorsport-tech for a set of 2" steel spacers with the 3/4-16 studs. Glad to hear that they are a good product. Spacers would be less work than finding a set of 6-loop wheels and remounting my new new tires.

Guy

Texasmark1 · Nov 13, 2016

I just put spacers on my 2000# tractor. I made a template that matched the wheel hole and lug bolt dimentions. The ID of the pipe to fit my application was 8" and length I wanted was 8". Per the www mild steel has a 36k psi yield strength and ultimate tension of 58-80k psi. I used ?" stock and sch 40 pipe.

The materials cost about 40 bucks. I took the outline drawing and steel plate to the local machine shop where they made me 2 plates for a hundred bucks. I made the plates about half an inch wider than the pipe so that I had a nice welding surface at the interface.

Seems to me you could do likewise to suit your dimensions and be within your weight constraints with half inch plates and still using sch 40 pipe of your required diameter.

Texasmark1 · Nov 13, 2016

Edit: They made me 4 plates, not 2 for a hundred bucks and each pipe was cut at 4" making the total spacing the 8" mentioned.

Kirk-NJ · Nov 14, 2016

I've used these with 1200 lbs of weight on my four cylinder pre 1965 fords. I,m not sure if they would fit your tractor. They are 8 bolt.

Kirk

UPFord · Nov 20, 2016

Thanks I have 8 inch diameter bolt circle with 8 bolts (wet brake double reduction axle) Looks like you have 4" of spacer, i,m looking for about 2".

Experience with wheel spacers?

UPFord

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Destroked 450

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Sean in PA

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markct

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M. Doud

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UPFord

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Texasmark1

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Texasmark1

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Kirk-NJ

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UPFord

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