FACTORY ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

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JAMES399
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FACTORY ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

Post by JAMES399 »

My 2003 Hilux 4x has factory aluminum rims. When I bought the truck the center caps for the wheels were missing. I priced a set at the dealer, but they were way too pricey (135,000 Colombian pesos - $35 USD each). Couldn't find an aftermarket set here, so ordered a set from a China seller on Ebay for $13.99 USD/set of 4. Trouble is ... the only ones available are for 4x4s with auto locking front hubs and mine are manuals. So I had to mod two of the center caps to make them fit. Finished caps look factory and really cleaned up the look of the wheels.

I decided to post a how-to in case someone else wants to give this a try.

The wheel rim w/o the centercap
8 no cap.png


The stock cap. Free shipping from China to Colombia only took a week!!
1newcap.png
1newcap.png (343.42 KiB) Viewed 3622 times

I used a tool for cutting sheet plastic to make a deep score around the center of the cap
2cutting center.png
2cutting center.png (333.28 KiB) Viewed 3622 times

Then I drilled a hole pattern in the center, removed it, cut it into pie-shaped sections and CAREFULLY snapped each piece out
5 remove center.png

The cap with its center removed. The rough edge needed to be cleaned up and enlarged to fit over the manual hub.
7 cleanup rim.png

Installed center cap fits perfect and looks as good as the factory cap at less than 1/4 of the price.
9wheel w cap.png
9wheel w cap.png (297.8 KiB) Viewed 3622 times


This mod was fun and pretty easy. Only took about 2 hours to do both sides.

- JAMES
Last edited by JAMES399 on Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mcw
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Re: FACTORY ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

Post by mcw »

looks good great job

Martin
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Re: FACTORY ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

Post by Mud Dog »

We don't get caps for the manual hubs here AFAIK and we're used to the look as in your "before" pic. A neat enough job, James, but I'm still trying to decide which looks better, with or without. :D:
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JAMES399
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Re: FACTORY ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

Post by JAMES399 »

MUDDOG -

To tell you the truth, I really don't think they look that much better myself. But cleaning the wheels around the lugs was a PITA without the caps.So for that, it's worth it to me.

- JAMES
Mars
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Re: FACTORY ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

Post by Mars »

No I like the look. Looks more finished. Nicely done!!
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Re: FACTORY ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

Post by ROOFER »

nice Job James
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