Project 6 from d3javoodoo * Alloy wheel repair*

[Legacyartist247]

Last week I had to do a quick litte repair on one of my wheels. On my way home from work some idiot whose load wasnt secure dropped all kinds of crap on the freeway causing damage to too of my wheels...







one of which I had to take to a shop & get pressed hydraulically, the other seen above required a little welding... It's the last thing in the world I'd want to experience, however owning my own tig turns situations like this into a thing of the past...











Luckily I only had to relace one tire.

[DaveO]

Dang, looks like the guy was hauling tank traps, or something. Very cool that you're able to repair it for yourself. A couple of guys on the forum are doing this kind of repair as a sideline business.

[jakeru]

I have a wheel in for welding repair that has damage to the outer lip that looks very similar to your wheel damage. I was totally scratching my head about how it got that way too.


So the damage on yours was caused by driving over debris? I'm surprised the tire didn't protect the wheel from this kind of damage, but I guess I could see it happening if the wheel lip were protruding out past the tire sidewall far enough.

The wheel repair place I do the welding work for has a jig they use to measure the runout of the surfaces of the wheel the tires mounts on (and can also straighten the wheel to fix any problems with the runout, as needed.) Yours may benefit from this kind of "roundness checking" / straightening procedure after the welding work.

PS - I dislike working on chrome plated wheels the most. All those thick layers of plated metals that need to be removed in the weld area (if not potentially melted into the weld bead...) My favorite are the unpainted/bare aluminum wheels. ...Easy weld prep! (Most wheels are painted, though.)

[Oxide00]

Wow d3javoodoo those look expensive!!! Being able to repair them is a great skill to have!!!

[Legacyartist247]

I was not thrilled about having to do it.... but it beats paying someone else to do what only took me an hour or so....

No Pain No gain...

[Legacyartist247]

@ Oxide00

At the end of the day, it's all just metal.... If you work hard, you MUST play hard......