Re: 18" Wheel Caps - tutorial, no pix
i just got the SFR caps and replaced the flying H today. couple of notes for those who have yet to do/try this ...
you pretty much have to drill a hole in the back side of both SFR cap and flying H
wheel cover to get the existing stuff off.
the existing flying H caps have almost NO clearance between the
wheel cover plastic and the logo. if you are aggressive or use a very sharp bit, you'll perforate the H. i used a low drill rotation speed and started with a 1/8" bit for a pilot hole, then used a 3/8" metal bit with a very flat point to get thru the plastic. the last few drill rotations were done by hand to avoid puncture/distortion of the flying H.
for the SFR caps, there's around 1/8" between the back of the cap and the plastic, so you can be a little less precise ... but it's the same deal: do the last few rotations by hand to protect yourself.
the flying H caps should come off fairly easily after 60 seconds of heat from a hair dryer on high setting. apply heat directly to the flying H. as stated elsewhere, turn the whole unit upside down and use the
eraser end of a sacrificial pencil to push thru. the cover acts as a "holder". the tape for these is a donut (hole in middle) and can be preserved & reused if you're careful.
the SFR winged caps are another story - the wing caps are really stuck on the plastic. i removed the protective plastic film before putting heat directly to the wing surface. i used 3 minutes of high heat and it was still a bear to remove. i used the
wood end of the sacrificial pencil to push thru the drill hole, but i rounded off the corners of the pencil beforehand to keep from denting the surface of the wing from the rear while pushing thru.
to help direct the heat, i put each cap in a stoneware cereal bowl and blew heat straight down. this kept the cap from flying around due to air flow and focused the heat. i used some small pliers to grip the cap once heated; it was too hot to hold.
i used the pliers to grab tabs on the plastic back and used a thin screwdriver to slide along the outer edge until locating a gap. i then grabbed the tab at that gap, put the opposite cap edge on a counter and held the cap at an angle with the pliers while pushing the pencil thru the drill hole. the wing didn't come off all at once - i had to break one side free, and it took significant effort to get it to release.
to apply the released wing caps to the
wheel cover, i heated (separately) both metal wing cap and the sticky tape preserved on the cover, then gave 'em a good squeeze together for around a minute (gloves!) until i was sure it held.
i then filled the
wheel cover drill holes on the back with a dollop of RTV.
hope someone finds this useful.
