How to fix stripped 17mm wheel hex?
 

Can anyone help me, I really dont want to pay 30 bucks for 2 wheels-

My one rim is all but completely rounded on the inside- i have tried making "spacers" i would call them that attempt to rebuild the hex shape..they ended up wearing out..(probably from backflips) :oops:is there any way to fix the stripped hexes?



-Can you heat the rim to reform the hex?

On 14mm traxxas wheels I would just jb weld the hex to the wheel, but the hexes are plastic and cheap to replace.

Buy new wheels....

put the hex in there and use a 2 part epoxy to glue it in place and fill the gaps. (it'll still be able to be pulled out later).
Worked for my 14mm RPM Wheels...(Metal Hex)

He said he didn't want to buy new ones. I'm sure he's short on cash and wheels can get pricey.

That's the best bet, IMO. You should still be able to get the wheel off later and it should hold plenty strong until it needs to come off. Either that or find a nut that will fit properly over the hex and glue that nut in. If you can't find a nut that'll fit, get a 17mm socket (should be able to find a cheap one) and cut the end off and glue that in.

You guys advocating gluing in the hex...17mm hexes on truggies don't just come off the truck for you to glue the hex in there.

yeah, the hubs are keyed in such a way that they do not come off with the wheel nuts.

Honestly the best thing to do is buy new rims . I know you said money is tight . But that really is what i would recomend .

I like the cut off 17mm socket idea... Good stuff!

but how would i attach it to the rim? it sounds like a good idea tho.

How about a pic of the inside of the rim.

I have never managed to round out a wheel hex...you got loose nuts? (there ya go linc)

Adhesive won't hold it.... Most of my wheels are rounded... so what I did was... I drilled/threaded an M3 hole on the hex... then used a solder gun to melt a grooved inside the wheel hex on the rims... put an M3 screw on the hex and fit it in the groove on the wheel... pretty much all of my 15mm wheels are like this... Maybe my explanation sounds a bit confusing...

could I get a picture?

Google does wonders :mdr:
I typed in Bens picture, and this came up, HAHA
http://www.makewish.org/atf/cf/%7BA9...%20splash6.jpg

:lol:

IM not saying to ca the thing in place. the epoxy acually fills the gap and when cured should form a nice hex shape, if you dont go overboard on the stuff and cake the whole hex then you will be able to get it out.

to each his own.:smile:

http://www.makewish.org/atf/cf/%7BA9...%20splash6.jpg

I am guessing this pic was before Ben got on that "tanning" kick... He looks a bit darker now IIRC!

I epxoyed one of my 17mm rim hexes that was rounded about 3/4 of the way into the wheel (nut came loose and only rounded part of the rim). I put a film of grease on the wheel hex so the epoxy wouldn't stick to it and I could pull it back out of the rim easily.
It worked well for me, but maybe if yours are badly rounded put some grooves in the rim a bit like aqwut did, then the epoxy should have more chance of holding onto the rim. Does JB weld work on plastic? Maybe that is stronger than epoxy.

my last name is White remember?

Thats what i was thinking - does the grease on the hub affect the epoxy?
Would wd-40 work as a release agent?

can you see what I did. it worked, and been working for a while now...Attachment 7185

Attachment 7186

I dont follow.

the moral of this story... don't let your nuts get loose:lol:

your just waiting for someone to jump on that arent you?:lol:

Jump on you nuts? Ouch...

not mine, yours.

if you were looking at the side of the hex, not the face, maybe it would be clearer. If you looked at a wheel mounted on your truggy, you would see the 17mm nuts face.

Now, looking at the side of the hex on the truggy, drill and tap an m3 hole. You would be drilling and tapping the round part, not the flat part. Now make slots on the wheel that an m3 screw will go through and thread into your newly tapped hole on your hex.

something something loose nuts blah blah whatever:whistle:

still lost, do i want a hole or slot for the screw to go into?

you want a hole in the hex and a slot in the wheel.

(and your loose nuts off the floor)

depends on your wheel. the mushroom farmer used a slot.

So basically, your doing a hex, and a pin style, like a pin on an evader car. I get it.

In the second picture you can see the screw head sticking out of the hex and through the slot in the rim.

If you are using wheel hub/hexes that have no extension, you can use a longer pin that holds the hex to the axle (drill bits work if you can't find the right pin). The part of the pin sticking out of the hex goes into the rim to do the same job as the screw aqwut used.
If you are using extended hexes then the pin will miss the rim and you would have to drill into the hex like aqwut.
Even if you slot the rim to put a srew or pin in personally I would still use the epoxy for extra strength.

i've used drill bits, jb weld, two part epoxy. Your best bet is new wheels. You could make it work, but only for so long. Keep your nuts tight and you won't strip a hex. I know you said it was due to cartwheels or backflips or drug muling from el salvador or something but 17mm wheels just don't strip with tight nuts.

I have 17mm stripped and I just glow the hub in the rim lol
is there any alloy wheel for e-maxx?

Yeah, I stripped a couple out too. My E-Revo wheel nuts came loose, before I grooved the nuts to bite into the wheel better, and no issues now. Here is what happened to mine:

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...C/IMG_4226.jpg
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...C/IMG_4225.jpg

I ended up taking a scrap 17mm hub, coating it in cooking spray (dont tell mom :lol: )
setting epoxy on the rounded portions andpressing the greased hub into place, displacing the epoxy to fill the holes. Who knows how it will turn out.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...0531091931.jpg



Rim before epoxy... perfectly rounded.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...0531091922.jpg

Hard to tell from pic, but it looks like the epoxy overlapped the hub a little bit. No problem, just cut the excess epoxy from around the top of the hub before pulling it out, otherwise not even mom's cooking spray will help get it out.

^^Exactly, should last a while.

Should have used jbweld, the clear crap is too flexible IMO.