I have one center cap on my 72 442 that is a little loose and squeaks as I am driving. What is the best way to fix - do I have to remove the entire wheel?

 

Take the wheel off the car and tighten the bolts that hold the center cap on from the rear. I've never tried to reach them with the wheels on the car, but I imagine it would be difficult if not impossitble.

 

If you happen to have the newer snap on center cap wheels you may have a different problem. Years ago I had a 1976 442 and while driving at low speed under an overpass I realized it was making a really strange noise. The spring steel of the snap on center caps is harder than the steel of the wheel. Somehow it had worn notches in the wheel, and at low speeds you could hear the center cap rattling as it wobbled back and forth. If that's your problem then your wheel is damaged. I don't know the best fix as it still had that problem when I sold the car. Please tell us if you have bolt on or snap on center caps. John

 

Sometime cheap replacements just squeek ...

Pics plz ...

 

If this is the clip on cap, just pop the center cap off. There are 5 small bolts inside that hold the spring clip in place. They are loose. You might want to take the bolts out and put a dab of locktite on them to keep them from coming loose again. I had exactly the same problem you are describing with my 78 Calais. Didn't even know it was doing this until I was driving real slow down the alley one day with the windows open. This is a couple of minutes to fix. Never had the problem again with that car. BTW, all 4 of the wheel caps should be checked to make sure they're not loose. You can't always tell just by wiggling the cap.

If your wheel has the bolt on center caps, follow Jamesbo's advice. He's right, there're no easy way to get to those 5 bolts without taking the wheel off.

 

These are bolt-ons, originals. Thanks for the advice; next stop is taking the wheel off. I just replaced the fender braces today - the ones that support the front fenders that have the small piece of rubber in the shape of a rectangle. One was pretty easy. The other had a bolt that was rusted and did not want to move. Finally got it!

 

I just remove the bolt and put lots caulking or silicone on the threads and replace the bolt...