so use metal impregegnated filler if need be, powder coat is what they use at the factory and they don't bake them hot enough to anneal the metal

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to check in to what it will cost to refurbish these tomorrow, but I'm also considering just buying these replicas I came across on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-17...-/251034119919

 

I've been looking at those wheels and trying to decide if I should buy one of the aluminum or steel wheels to replace my stolen spare.
The cheapest FX4 wheel I've found is about $159 refurbished.

 

Roadie, that sucks your spare was stolen! I don't think I've ever had mine off the truck.

Sometimes I wonder if my alloy's were soaking in salt water at some point. I bought this truck from a local dealer on Dec 28th, 2004. Hurricane Ivan was in Sept of 2004. It's about the only reason I can think the clearcoat and aluminum would look the way it does now.

Anyway, I just ordered these replicas. I'll compare them to the oem wheels when they get here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221104748462

 

my FX4 rims have the same corrosion issues. Not the same beat-to-crap issues on the face but definitely the corrosion around the edges. Instead of stock replicas, I went and bought Ion Alloy 171's, size 16x10 on ebay for about the same price as your new rims. I'm having trouble sourcing 33x12.5 tires for a good price so I'm kinda wishing I had the stockers refinished. Also, I'm having second thoughts about the upkeep needed on the unfinished Ion alloy wheels.

Let us know how your replicas work out.

 

Figured I'd post up some pics of the new wheels I ordered off of eBay. Just arrived this afternoon via UPS. Made in China (of course) and supplied by LKQ Corp here in the states. http://www.lkqcorp.com

They look a whole lot better than what I have on the truck now, but time will tell. They came with some black center caps so I'm not going to have to order Ford caps. Although, I do like the look of the OEM caps better than the black so I may end up ordering a set. I'm missing one now or I'd probably clean them up and swap them over.

Next up, finding tires. I forgot how pricey they are.



Surprisingly little protection for these things, but they were undamaged. I opened all 4 of them while I was BS'ing with the UPS guy. Turns out he's a car nut and a pretty cool guy.



Would love to know if the aluminum alloy is the same as OEM.

 

I like those, and they don't have the FX4 cast into 'em like the stockers do...

 

Hey tarajerame, I've got the stock alloys on my truck and I've never noticed an FX4 anywhere. What am I missing, lol!

 

I bought one of those eBay FX-4 rims 2 years ago to replace a rim that I had cracked.

The finish is holding up alright. There's only a small scratch on the inside of the rim after 2 years of regular street use.

 

The new rims and tires turned out nice. I did a lot of shopping around online for the tires. I've used Tire Rack for the last 12 years or so for my truck and my two other cars and I don't know what happened with their shipping costs but they wanted $110 to ship 4 tires from South Bend, Indiana to the Cincinnati area where I live. Ouch. I googled the mileage and did the math and I could drive my truck up there, pick up the tires myself, and drive back home for almost exactly the same amount in gas. I have to think they are getting a heck of a volume discount from UPS so I'm not sure why the high shipping cost. Anyway, I ended up buying these from Sam's Club for $157.56 each special order with no shipping. Took 2 days to get to the store and they mounted, balanced, and swapped them out on my truck for free. While I was waiting I picked up some replacement Alpine 6x8's for the front speakers. Nice difference in sound quality for sure! New a/c compressor, drier accumulator, and orifice tube is in store for tomorrow and I'll be ready to hit the road for a 1 month road trip to SC, Destin, the Gulf Coast/New Orleans!

I think I'll throw my stock rims on Craigslist. Anyone have an idea what they might be worth in the shape they are in?

 

They look fantastic!

I assume you checked to make sure they are completely round and run true. I was about to buy some aftermarket aluminum wheels one time and they were not round! I was surprised when I saw the tire face rise up and down on the balancer and they shook on my car. New Michelins were mounted on those new rims. The dealer took them back. So, I rode away on my old wheels and tires vibration free.

 

oh that's just clear coat failing? that's an easy fix. They just need recleared after the old is stripped off.

 

You might be surprised at what your old wheels will sell for on ebay. I looked hard at buying one of those for my spare and they are not that cheap.

 

On those center caps, you should just be able to pop out and reuse the OEM Ford ones and put it in the new rims. I did that on my rims I bought for my Mustang because I liked the factory tri-pony center caps better.

 

Thanks Roadie! Man, I didn't even think to check if they were round and true, but I'm going to have to assume the guys that mounted them would have said something. I asked them to put the weights on the inside of the rim. No vibration or anything that I can detect when I'm rolling down the road, but I'm going to crawl underneath and take at look and make sure there isn't like a pound of lead in one of them or something, ;-).

Where were you at the beginning, lol! Seriously, I looked in to having them beadblasted and re-coated and I was looking at $350 for all 4, not to mention the hassle of putting the truck up on stands and finding someone else with a truck to get them to the re-finishing place, etc. These replicas were $459.95 shipped and appear to be identical to the stock alloys.

Hey Roadie, I remember reading that someone stole your spare. That sucks. I actually checked to make sure mine was still on the truck. ;-)

I'm glad you mentioned it though because I might take one of the old rims and have my spare mounted on it. Are you still looking for one?

SuperLariat, I would have probably popped my old Ford center caps into the new rims but they are kind of sun faded, and somehow one disappeared on me. I think when I had my tires rotated last year when I was down in South Carolina. So I was down to 3 anyway. BTW, I had a heck of a time hunting down the part number for the Ford alloy wheel caps. It's 2L3Z 1130 AB just for reference, and the cheapest place I could find them was online via Tousley Ford. Their online price is $14.39 each plus shipping. So 60 something bucks for center caps all around. So, even though I actually do like the caps with the Ford logo, I'm going to stick with the plain black that came with the new wheels. For now...