Chrysler neon 1997 Service Manual page 1578

SAFETY HUMPS FLANGE WELL TIRE
PL
DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION
WHEEL COVER (LOCK-ON) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
WHEEL INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING
TIRE AND WHEEL RUNOUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
WHEEL INSPECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
SERVICE PROCEDURES
TIRE AND WHEEL BALANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION
WHEEL INFORMATION
Original equipment wheels are designed for proper
operation at all loads up to the specified maximum
vehicle capacity.
All models use steel or cast aluminum drop center
wheels. Every wheel has raised sections between the
rim flanges and rim drop well called safety humps
(Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Safety Rim
Initial inflation of the tires forces the bead over
these raised sections. In case of air loss the raised
sections help hold the tire in position on the wheel
until the vehicle can be brought to a safe stop.
Cast aluminum wheels require special balance
weights to fit on the thicker flange of the rim and
special wheel clamps for the alignment equipment.
WHEELS
INDEX
page
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION
WHEEL AND TIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
WHEEL COVER (LOCK-ON) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
WHEEL COVER RETAINING NUT
SPECIFICATIONS
WHEEL SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The wheel studs and nuts are designed for specific
wheel applications and must be replaced with equiv-
alent parts. Do not use replacement parts of lesser
quality or of a substitute design. All aluminum
wheels use wheel nuts with an enlarged nose. This
enlarged nose is necessary to ensure proper retention
of the wheels.
Vehicles that are equipped with bolt-on wheel cov-
ers use large nose wheel nuts. The wheel nuts used
on a vehicle equipped with bolt-on wheel covers are
externally threaded so that the wheel covers can be
attached to the wheel nuts.
Before installing a wheel, remove any buildup of
corrosion on the wheel mounting surface.
WARNING: INSTALLING WHEELS WITHOUT GOOD
METAL-TO-METAL CONTACT COULD CAUSE LOOS-
ENING OF WHEEL LUG NUTS. THIS COULD
ADVERSELY AFFECT THE SAFETY AND HANDLING
OF YOUR VEHICLE.
WHEEL COVER (LOCK-ON)
For the 1997 model year, a lock-on type wheel
cover (Fig. 2) is used on certain models of this vehi-
cle.
The wheel cover is locked to the wheel using the 5
nuts located in the wheel cover (Fig. 2). The nuts in
the wheel cover thread onto a special externally
threaded wheel nut (Fig. 2). This is the method used
to retain the wheel cover to the wheel.
The wheel cover retaining nut (Fig. 2) is retained
in the wheel cover and will stay on the wheel cover
when un-threaded from the wheel nut. If required,
the retaining nut for the lock-on wheel cover can be
removed from the wheel cover and replaced as a sep-
arate part of the lock-on wheel cover.
TIRES AND WHEELS
. . . . . . . . . . 13
22 - 9
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