3piece splits, tear down guide

[Alan B.]

okay, so this is something that comes up a lot and i only just took apart a set of wheels so what better time to post a guide then now.
its nothing too difficult and im sure a lot of people would say its easy why bother with a guide, but for those that want clarification, here it is.

these are the wheels im starting with.


they are Work Ryvers that i got off carpo a while back that i've been waiting to fit to my s14. they are 3 piece splits, made up of and inner barrel, an outer dish, and a centre section.
some wheels go together differant to others, these ones, if you sit the wheel face up, are put together barrel on the bottom, the the dish on top, then the centre on top of both.
other wheels sandwhich the centre between the inner and outer.
you'll see what i mean in the pics that follow.

first thing ya need to do is see what tools ya need to take the wheel apart.
two ratchets, 2 deep sockets, and an extension or two.
in most cases you'll need an 8 and a 10 or a 10 and a 12 multi spline socket.
smaller for the bolt and lager for the nut on the back (obviously)

first thing to do is lay the wheel face up, and crack open each bolt the whole way around. if you try go at it with both ratchets you'll be all day at it and will get nowhere as the wheel will just be all over the place.
so crack open each bolt from the front first, grab the wheel on your lap and open the bolt furthest from you and move the wheel around. better leverage that way with the ratchet further from you.


when ya crack open all them bolts,
turn the wheel on the side, then use both ratchets to go around each boltand remove them.
do it carefully so you dont strip out the threads.

put the nuts back on each bolt so ya dont loose anything


when ya remove all the bolts, flip the wheel face down on a pillow and give it a rap to release the centre without damaging it.
this works because the dishes are joinded with sealant and the centre bolts on top instead of being sandwitched in between with two sealant beads.

you can see here where the inner and outer sections are in contact.
and a pic of the centres edge so ya can see how it looks out of the wheel.





the last 3 pics should explain why ya cant always just reverse the wheel face to change the wheel et.
they simply dont always fit any way other then the original way.

now take a sharp thin blade, like a surgical or hobby blade and slice slowly into the silicone working your way around the wheel.


start in the centre, then go at it again at an angle to cut a wedge out of the silicone.

if thats enough to free up the joint, skip the next bit, but usually it wont be.
if not, use a blunt object like a hard plastic toothbrush handle snapped in half to gouge the cut silicone out.


when most of the thick silicone is out, you could run the blade around again if you couldnt get it in deep enough the first time to loosen it up.

now if your wheel comes apart like mine, use a paint scraper, to push into the joint between the two parts. then as the gap opens, use a plastic wedge/screw driver/stick or whatever you have, to slowly prise the wheel parts apart. it will be harder if the wheels where never split before but once it starts to seperate, it'll come apart no bother.


the other way is to use a rubber mallet and hold the rim on one half, and bate the other half off from the inside.
a rubber mallet wont damage the edge of the rim but make sure you do it over something soft so it doesnt damage when it hits the floor.

and thats it.
then ya need to strip off all the old silicone sealant from all the parts. a thin blade and or a nylon drill attachment will scrub off the sealant quick enough.

there are loads of ways to do each step, but thats how i done it.
stripping out the sealant is the part that takes the longest.

when my wheels come back from powdercoating i'll post a rebuild thread too.
but basically, its a case of dry loose assembly, then running metal silicone sealant between joining faces and bolting everything as fast as possible, then running another thick bead on the inside of the joint
(area thats under the tyre)
and smooth it out with a wet finger.
(water, not a damp yoke) allow to set.

[copeyhagen]

very good write up.

now comes the sad part.

what happens when your WORK 3 piece split rims have actually been factory welded?

then work can go suck my ballbag

[Alan B.]

theres no straight forward way to take em apart.
if the welding was done right, they shouldnt come apart at all so cutting welds isnt really an option.

[200sx]

Thats very good info there,im absolutely useless when it comes to wheels and stuff...so could you buy a new dish piece and bolt it back on?a bigger dish obviously...is that easy do or what way is that done?are dishes hard to get?

[copeyhagen]

theres no straight forward way to take em apart.
if the welding was done right, they shouldnt come apart at all so cutting welds isnt really an option.

i know but i have seen factory welded, cunts.

Thats very good info there,im absolutely useless when it comes to wheels and stuff...so could you buy a new dish piece and bolt it back on?a bigger dish obviously...is that easy do or what way is that done?are dishes hard to get?

work sell outers themselves, as do image.co.uk

[Alan B.]

i couldnt find anything from work selling dishes.
was told they could make any set of wheels up ya wanted but they didnt supply dishes on their own.
dishes can be got most of the time alright. sometimes they need to be custom made.

[200sx]

i couldnt find anything from work selling dishes.
was told they could make any set of wheels up ya wanted but they didnt supply dishes on their own.
dishes can be got most of the time alright. sometimes they need to be custom made.

Ã*re they dear roughly?just curiouse!

[Alan B.]

depends completely on the size and iff they can be got off the shelve or need to be custom cut.
80-120 a dish roughly

[jdmjimmy]

very good write up.

now comes the sad part.

what happens when your WORK 3 piece split rims have actually been factory welded?

then work can go suck my ballbag

wouldn't that mean their 2 piece??

[Alan B.]

it would actually mean they are one piece.