i have looked many times (since im a newbie i probably dont know the best places to go) but i need center caps for my 99 discovery series2 i have the eighteen inch wheels. ummm i came across them once on ebay but they were used and i dont really trust those types of things used. any help is appreciated! thanks

 

www.atlanticbritish.com
These guys have anything and everything for your trk.

 

Make sure to use a small amount of clear silicone glue when reattaching the caps, otherwise you stand a chance of loosing them again.

 

Speaking of which, I already lost one of them that came on the 16" lighting wheels I just got. I traded a guy for my old 18's and got these 16's. I then went and had new tires installed. A couple days later I notice one of the caps is missing. I know it was on there when I did the swap. I can see that the cap, and some of the other remaining wheels are/were held on with some kind of adhesive.

Is this normal? Do they not clip on mechanically?

I'm not sure if the shop knocked them off to get them on the balance machine, and didn't secure them properly, or what.

 

When ever I go to the tire store and the wheels come off, I take the caps and later I glues them on with a little silicone glue, otherwise you'll loose them and at about $18 a piece, don't need to loose any.

 

I bought center caps for my 98 wheels from L/R. They were $4.95 ea.,no shipping. They snap on really, really tight (on my wheels), I can't imagine they'd just fall off. More likely, when you get tires changed or rebalanced, they remove the center cap so they can put the rim on the balancer (or some tire changers) and it gets broken or mis-installed afterwards.Tire shop techniciansthat I've seen/known are very un-gentle to put it mildly. Therefore,I'm one of those guys that almost always takes my rims off and hauls them into the tire shop in the back of my truck. I've had too many screw-ups over the years in terms of tire shop monkeys bending or damaging hub caps, wheel covers, over tightening lug nuts (warping my rotors), vehicle scratches, and the list goes on. Heck, just zipping on/off the lug nuts on your L/R with an impact wrench will eventually distort and loosen the stainless caps. Then they'll fall off and you'll need to replace. Dropping them will result in dents. At $15 per lug nut, it's worth taking care when handling them. Hang around and you'll see these guys tossing aluminum wheels on/off the changer and balancer w/o much regard to the wheel finish. A tremendous amount of damage gets done to wheels by sloppy and inconsiderate tire installers. If the finish gets chipped, it'll lead to ugly corrosion in a couple yrs.

Those times when I don't/can't remove the wheels ahead of time (or get any mechnical work done), and even when I do take the rims in,I stand right there and watch them do the work. I try to build up some repore with the techs and they will go the extra mile for ya. It's not that hard for me since I'm kind of a mechanic myself (on weekends anyway). I always wear my dirty jeans and shirt too. I suggest this is a very good approach because there are just so many things you can suggest or offer that will help your vehicle look/last longer (like taking care to hammer on weights, valve stem types/lengths, etc). They will be a lot more careful with your wheels and do a better job. In fact, the last time I had tires changed on my car, the guy was having a hard time balancing one tire. He had what looked like 4 ounces of weights he was getting ready to put on the rim. Obviously the tire was out of round. I stopped him and asked him if that was the best approach and if it might be worth breaking the bead and roatating the tire on the rim90 degrees and seeing if it would balance out with fewer weights (often it will).Since I had built up some repore with him, he offered to do it, and I was happy about that. It didn'tget any betterand he was getting ready to hammer on the weights. I suggested perhaps another tire might balance out better. He paused like he was in suspended animation for a few moments, then suggested he'd try another tire. It balanced out with hardly any weight. Left unchecked, this would likely have led to a vibration down the road. Things like this seem to happen every time I watch tire guys work.

I'm getting a little off-topic here, but when you get tires done, take the time to remove your center caps andinvest a little time towatch/visit with mechanics, get to know them, listen to their problems. You'll find that they're great people and you'll get a better product and fewer suprises. I know in some cases mechnics need to concentrate on getting work done, and you have to back off, go somewhere else for a whileand let them do it too. Personally, I would never go back to a shop that wouldn't let me watch/visit with the technician.