broken beadlock bolts cause?

[muddogbob]

The results after a couple hrs on the highway @ 65mph on a 90° day with tires at 37psi cold.

Bolts were torqued evenly to 13 lb-ft while lying flat on a bucket.

What went wrong? Is 37psi too much?

[Chris Johnson]

I believe Allied reccomends a max pressure of 25 psi. Also be sure your outter locking ring is evenly seated on the wheel rim. The thickness of the beads varies from each manufacturer. Somtimes I use washers between the outter ring and wheel sheel to allow the ring to seat flat. It's also an option to remove the threaded 5/16"-18 inserts and replace all the bolts with 3/8" harware. Really depends on the weight of your rig. Chris

[theydontstop]

Originally Posted by muddogbob

What went wrong?

It's not on a trailer...

[RedBullJeep]

That tire has a thicker bead than many tires out there...how wide is the gap between the rim and the beadlock ring?

[HAPPYJOHN]

Originally Posted by Chris Johnson

I believe Allied reccomends a max pressure of 25 psi. Also be sure your outter locking ring is evenly seated on the wheel rim. The thickness of the beads varies from each manufacturer. Somtimes I use washers between the outter ring and wheel sheel to allow the ring to seat flat. It's also an option to remove the threaded 5/16"-18 inserts and replace all the bolts with 3/8" harware. Really depends on the weight of your rig. Chris

x2, except for removing the inserts. ( I'd need to see the rim without the ring in place first ) the bead on the tire is stopping ring before it bottoms on rim.
this causes the inside (center ) of the ring to angle towards rim, putting
a torsional load on the bolts that exceeds design parameter. larger bolts would just move the stress/breakage point.

[Chris Johnson]

Originally Posted by HAPPYJOHN

x2, except for removing the inserts. ( I'd need to see the rim without the ring in place first ) the bead on the tire is stopping ring before it bottoms on rim.
this causes the inside (center ) of the ring to angle towards rim, putting
a torsional load on the bolts that exceeds design parameter. larger bolts would just move the stress/breakage point.

You're right John. The larger bolts won't cure the problem. It's first important to determine if the locking ring is square to the rim shell. We often use the larger bolts on heavy rigs. Say 7k or heaviver. I think the main point here that's being overlooked is the pressure. They are only rated to 25 psi. This guy is lucky in my opinion.

[howyadoin]

Originally Posted by muddogbob

Bolts were torqued evenly to 13 lb-ft while lying flat on a bucket.

What went wrong? Is 37psi too much?

Is 13 ft/lbs. what Allied recommends? I typically torque from 20-25psi. What are they on that requires 37 psi?

[howyadoin]

Originally Posted by theydontstop

It's not on a trailer...

There's always that too.

[mr overkill]

we've seen this happen on many different beadlocks. You MUST make sure that you tighten the ring down evenly. The bolts need to share the load exactly. 5/16" bolts are plenty strong for a heavy rig, but if the ring is installed uneven (warped), there is too much load on too few bolts causing those to shear. I see it mostly on beadlocks that are not retorqued on a regular basis, although improper initial installation can cause this as well.

[RedBullJeep]

Also, remember that the hardware may be junk...the bolts that come with many f these sets of beadlocks can be far from a true grade rating.

I have no clue if the hardware Allied uses is good.

But again, how large is the gap???

[jeepmauler]

I would contact Allied and see if the offer "Bolt flange spacers".....they should. Same idea as puting washers BETWEEN the clamp ring and the wheel to take up the gap of a coning ring.....except it is all one piece and a million times easier to setup.Typically they come in .125 thickness so if your gap is .25 ,with the wheels torgued, you need 2 spacers per wheel......duh. Also 13ft lbs of torgue on the clamp ring bolts is pretty light....unless the hardware is from Taiwan.....then it's probably too much.

[muddogbob]

Ring was installed per Allied dealer's spec to 13 lb-ft.

Gap is around 1/8". I will confirm this evening.

Vehicle is a 5000lb+ Land Cruiser

[onetoncv]

Personally I'd not run that much pressure that's the largest force that could cause that- or get a trailer - Jess

[muddogbob]

I'll drop the pressure down to 30.

The game is 1/8"+. Anybody have a link for those ring spacers? It would be way easier than using a bunch of washers...

[howyadoin]

Originally Posted by muddogbob

I'll drop the pressure down to 30.

I'd say 20-25 fwiw.

[jeepmauler]

I know of a beadlock wheel Mfg. that ships wheel/tire combos ,inflated and balanced, to a DO
D contractor @ about 3X the OP's stated pressure....so IMO air pressure is NOT the issue......................

[lt1yj]

Air pressure is not the problem, the gap between the outer bead lock and the rim is the problem.

Easy way to tell if your bead lock rings are installed incorrectly is if there is a gap on the inside of the bolt head/washer or if the outside of the bolt head/washer is biting into the ring.

The true problem is the bolt is in bending and sees a cycle with each tire revolution. The bolt preload goes down with each revolution because the joint slips infinitesmally and this causes the bolt to either loosen or fatigue. It's really a crap shoot which will happen loosening or breaking. Once one bolt goes the two adjacent become overloaded and they start to unzip around the circumference. The failure accelerates as the number of bolts holding the outer bead lock ring on goes down.

You really need to get the spacers that match your bead thickness. If you put too thick of spacers in you risk slipping the tire on the rim because you'll have too little clamp load on the bead. If you go too thin you put the bolt in bending which causes the failure you just experienced.

[muddogbob]

So what are you guys using for spacers?

[RedBullJeep]

1/8" or bigger gap is the problem. Call Allied and speak with them about this.

[DRM]

Originally Posted by muddogbob

So what are you guys using for spacers?

I've seen cut down accessory (fan) belts used with success.

[UGET IT]

I have the same tires and TG Alum Bead locks and have not had an issue. Because mine are Load Range D I fill them to 25psi and not over...........

[freds40]

I have the same wheels with my Iroks. I run my tires about 22 Psi and drive my rig (probably 5000 lbs. anyway) daily depending on the week. I haven't had an issue with the bolts at all. My gap is minimal if there is a gap at all.

[muddogbob]

Originally Posted by freds40

I have the same wheels with my Iroks. I run my tires about 22 Psi and drive my rig (probably 5000 lbs. anyway) daily depending on the week. I haven't had an issue with the bolts at all. My gap is minimal if there is a gap at all.

We've got the same rig Fred.

Sounds like the bead on the Pro Comp XMTs are thicker than most.

[the glassman]

get a fan belt that is either the same diamiter as the bead lock ring and put it between the b/l/ring and the rim.....


your breaking bolts because the ring is leaning in towards the center of the wheel when you torque down the bolts

instead of washers use the belt to fill the gap between the ring and the wheel to help keep the lock ring level....problem solved.....

[BigRed05]

I have the same wheels on mine. The bolts they came with on mine popped off all the time. When I went from 41s to 42s I replaced all the bolts with ones from fastenall. Allied says between 12-15 ft/lbs. Torque them down to 15 and ditch the stock bolts. I have not had a problem since. When torqued down to 15 ft/lbs the ring will sit almost flat and give the bolt head more area to seat onto instead of pushing on just 1/4 of the bolt head.