MTFCA Forum

I acquired a Torpedo last fall with Buffalo wheels. I would like to dismount the wheels to touch up chips on the paint. I did an hour search on the forum before making this plea for help. I understand the caps are left and right side specific as they say so. Does the wrench activate the cap release? These notched tabs already look in or released. Are these wheels in danger of coming off on their own? I wanted to understand the process before placing a wrench to them. Also the spare tire wheel cap doesn't have a release or tab mechanism. I thought I would start a discussion first, I can submit photos too. Thank you ahead for your wisdom and time.

Are they "buffalo" wheels? Buffs have a side tab that gets depressed with a special large wrench.
Budds have a tab that gets lifted by a large wedge shaped wrench, so pix would be in order to know what you actually have.

Here is the right rear

Back side

Do you have a proper wrench for the cap? If not, you can order one from Kevin Pharis. Be certain that the latch is released before trying to unscrew the cap. The wrench should fit snug enough on the hex that the latch is depressed when the wrench is in place, as the latch surface can wear over time. It the latch is worn, you will have to slide or wedge a small screwdriver blade or strip of metal between the latch and the wrench flat. I prefer to use a large dead blow hammer to tighten and remove the cap. In additiion, I put a light coat of never-seeze on the cap threads and also on the tapered area of the cap when assembling. Always check your caps for tightness when starting out on a trip.

Thank you Dan. I have the Buffalo wrench. Slipping it over the nut is unlocking the ratchet fine. I found when getting it close to tight I switched to a large Cresent on the flats not containing the ratchet. Then you can hear the pawl snap into place in the inside notch.

What I do is use a 12 point 2" socket and push in a short piece of a cotter pin to release the lock.

You really want to use the Buffalo wrench and tighten the cap using a hammer so that the hammer blows tighten the cap. Seems a 12 pt socket would beat up the cap hex due to the reduced contact area but........... if it works then..........

As an aside:

I'm not sure the locks are necessary anyway, as the knockoff style caps- even original ones, don't have any locking provision, and as long as they are tightened sufficiently, they don't come loose in my experience.

Many times the original hex cap locking mechanisms will get hung up and not return after being depressed. The locking tab does not protrude much, but spring pressure should force the ratchet pawl to make contact at the top of the groove. Try depressing your ratchet tab even further, if it stays down, you have work to do once you get the cap off. Make sure the ratchet pawls operate freely before replacing the caps.

If all your hubs, caps, and wheel centers are in good shape and make solid contact, there is little need for the ratchet mechanism. I and many others have run wing caps with no locking mechanisms for many years. The secret is using good parts!

I would also like to refine Dan’s comment above; Please DO check your caps periodically to ensure that they remain tight. Please DO NOT additionally tighten your caps when checking! Repeated additional tightening will eventually lead to thread failure or wheel center distortion… either can lead to wheels falling off! I stand on my cap wrench (200 lbs on a 10” long wrench) to tighten. Drive around the block and tighten again, mark the wheel and cap with a sharpie for visual reference later. Enjoy!