M101A2 Spare tire

[uglysteve]

I need a spare tire for my M101A2. It as the 8 bolt 17 inch wheel. I just want to find a civilian wheel that will fit. Any recommendation for a year, make and model truck that will fit, so I can find one at a junk yard.
Thanks

 

[TIGERFANS2]

17" ?

 

[uglysteve]

I may not be measuring the correct part of the diameter. The outer diameter of the metal, where I start seeing rubber is 17.5".

 

[uglysteve]

I just looked at the tire size, and its an R16. So I guess it is a 16' rim. I should be able to find that wheel. I was having a hard time looking for a 17 inch wheel.

 

[blybrook]

I used the 8 lug 16" rims and tires off of my '92 F250 and they fit like a glove. Now I have spares for the truck and trailer without carrying another wheel around. The lug pattern for the Fords changed in the late 90's ('99 IIRC), so you'll want a pre 99 rim.

Others have utilized Chevy 8 bolts to match the MV trucks. The patterns are the same, it is the center hole that is a different size.

HTH

Bill

 

[uglysteve]

Thanks for the help.

 

[uglysteve]

Picked up a F250 rim and it fits. The whole in the center is slightly larger than the military rim, but it should work as a spare.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Flea]

Picked up a F250 rim and it fits. The whole in the center is slightly larger than the military rim, but it should work as a spare.
Thanks for the help.

May want to be careful about that. I think those wheels are hub-centric, and they rely on that hub in the middle to keep them properly centered on the axle. If the hole is larger than the hub on the trailer or the holes in the other rims, you might run in to trouble going down the road.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

Also, it should be just a GM 8-lug rim... see if you can find a junkyard to trade you wheels.

 

[blybrook]

May want to be careful about that. I think those wheels are hub-centric, and they rely on that hub in the middle to keep them properly centered on the axle. If the hole is larger than the hub on the trailer or the holes in the other rims, you might run in to trouble going down the road.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

Also, it should be just a GM 8-lug rim... see if you can find a junkyard to trade you wheels.

It may be hub centric, but personally, I have several trailers and other vehicles that utilize the ford rim, so that's why I went with it. If you look at the older vehicles, or even smaller 1/2 ton trucks, you will notice that the rear wheels don't typically have a hub for the wheel to rest on. It is the lug bolts only that hold it in place & they have no problems what so ever, providing you keep the lugs properly torqued.

Even a non-hub centric wheel will work, providing the lugs are torqued properly as the bolt spacing itself will keep the wheel centered; Ford, GM & Dodge utilized the same hole spacing: 8 on 6-1/2; only the center holes were different sizes.

A lug failure would spell disaster, but those are mainly caused by improper torquing or not checking the torque after it warms up to +30* after changing a tire at -40*; see attached photos for what can happen. This was done by a co-worker that borrowed a spare tire / rim from me to get his main tire fixed; this is what I found when he claimed to be hearing a clunk while going down the road.

 

[uglysteve]

That happened to me 20 years ago after I changed my first flat tire on a long road trip, when I was about 18 years old. A few weeks later I was getting a knocking noise and a wobble in turns. I managed to fix it before the wheel fell off. I learned to check lug nut torque again after driving a few miles.

 

[Wolf.Dose]

The M101A2 use the same rims as the CUCV series trucks with 8 bolts. So a Ford rim pobably has not the correct center bore.
Center bore centered rims should be used as such, else it might be possible (but must not) that they wear out the bolt bores. Always care for the propper torque of your bolt nuts. And this requires a torque wrench, but a qualified one. And these are not very cheep. A 20 Dllar device is good for junk for they may vary as much as 30 percent from the true value. I have two of them, both over 100 Euro or some 130 Dollars. And always check twice!
Wolf
Caution, overtorquing damages the nuts and bolts and makes then fail as to little torque!