Bad 10 bad 10 why do you do me this way lol

Ok ... I have the lower ball joints in my possession and intended on starting my replacement project ... jacked up the truck , removed the front passengers wheel .... check the brakes ,,, ouch not digging into the rotors yet ,, but one more application of the brakes and it might explode ... went online and ordered pads from advance auto .. had no idea they had 2 stores on the same road about 10 miles apart .. went to the one I have always used ... wrong one lol had to drive to the other one ,,, well brake pads ,,, wrong ones , not for the front of the 2005 .. guy looked them up and ooops discontinues .... really ! Took the rest of the items I bought and went home .. went on line to search check a few sites .. 150$ ,, 177$ what the hell is that about ... ok so I went to old faithful zekhausan.com where I ordered the last set for the truck won’t be here till dec 3rd ... 112.xx including shipping .... these are great break pads .. it showed the last time I ordered them was in 2007 ...wow ! They lasted forever ... squeak free , dust free and high performance ,,, link below : https://www.zeckhausen.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=13_3576_405_14_209&products_id=87

so know I’m putting the wheels back on for the next free window of opportunity to get the ball joints and brakes done ..

But in the meantime before putting the wheels on I thought it was time , way past time to clean the inner rim . HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET THAT BLACK CRAP OFF THE WHEELS ! I tried dawn grease cutting soap , brakeleen, half a can . And only got it to the point in the pics below .... What will get that off , anyone ?

Try using Simple Green.

Viperidae said:

Try using Simple Green.

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I've used vinegar on some tough stuff, it dissolves alot of properties. I know it works great to flush a coolant system.

Viperidae said:

Try using Simple Green.

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I try it ...

AMS3 said:

I've used vinegar on some tough stuff, it dissolves alot of properties. I know it works great to flush a coolant system.

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Vinegar,, going to smell like a salad when I’m done .. but worth a try

Super clean, scotch bright pad and good ole elbow grease will take care of that. I’ve cleaned my rims, spindles with that and has never failed me. Give it a try.

Awesome cleaner is all I use. Inside of my wheels are all mint. But for cleaning cakedon oil or anything on my cars and bikes I use Awesome

Going to head to Walmart and get some of each .. won’t be till dec 3rd when my disc pads get here before I can clean them up

Brake dust is some bad stuff when it comes off your rotor at whatever temperature it reaches when it releases. I’m not sure you can get all of that off and still have any finish left on the wheel. If you do get it cleaned up good, you can use a wheel brush to run in there and quickly clean the wheel, caliper, and rotor every time you wash. Fairly quick and leaves it all nice and tidy not allowing the hot particles of brake dust to build up and corrode the wheel/braking components.

I know my wheels are black but you can see just after a wash the finish on the wheels and what you see on the caliper looks clean...

Never mind, that pic doesn’t want to show...

I've never cleaned inside my wheels. I think they were silver when I bought it new in 2005 but,
I like to keep everything original.

I did original for a while. I’ve had it for 7yrs and I’ve slowly changed a few things along the way. Really only as things started showing wear and tear or needed replacing. I daily drive it so the latest was a full repaint. I put it back original...

Maybe this pic will work the first time...

I was (more or less) kidding about the original grunge inside the wheels. I've done several powertrain mods and have zero regrets having done so. As long as I can keep those pesky Trackhawks in the rearview.

The sarcasm.... makes sense now!!

As a rule I always reach inside the rim as far as possible when washing the rims. If you wash on a regular basis and do not let brake dust build up or let pads wear down to where you get all the metal shavings from metal on metal then your rims should stay looking almost new. Also I never use anything but car wash soap which if done regularly is strong enough to break down brake dust on inside of rim. All those other cleaners I don’t care what they say will ruin clear coat over time. I change oil every 3k miles and when I do that I rotate tires which is also good time to really clean back side spots you can’t reach when just trying to reach behind spokes when wheel is on. I’ve been cleaning my cars like this for years and no matter how hard I drive them the rims sty looking new front and back as long as cleaned regularly

I use to reach all I could as well. I found the soft wheel brush to be very effective and quick. I think whichever way works for you is good. The main thing is the key word you mentioned, “regularly” cleaning them will keep it from building up.

Painting them with a quality gloss black keeps them looking good.

ckjarr said:

Never mind, that pic doesn’t want to show...

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Looks good ... just got all my parts in and will soon be dong the lower ball joints , rebuilding calipers and painting them along with new brake pads ... oh the pain for these old bones

rottenronnie said:

I've never cleaned inside my wheels. I think they were silver when I bought it new in 2005 but,
I like to keep everything original.

Click to expand...

Lol. I’m in the same category ,, yes they use to be silver