Would this work to fix my wheel?

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 01/28/2015 at 20:20 • Filed to: None

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Wheel got fucked by a pothole. Cracked, bent bigtime, then cratered by the hammer I used to hammer it back relatively okay-ish. Holds air perfectly (what), but I want to fix it a bit better. My friend just got a welder that can handle aluminum, so I'm thinking of unmouning the tire, bending the rim the rest of the way into shape, then welding the crack and using the weld as filler for the nicks. After that, go nuts with an angle grinder to bring the welds back down to the surface of the wheel (would weld the crack from the other side, as well), then mount the bare wheel on my car while its up on the lift. Put car in drive and let it idle, then dry sand/wet sand/polish the rim back till it looks nice. I'd do the spinny-polish to my other wheels as well so they all look nice, but that's the general idea of how I'm thinking of fixing this mess.

I do think I'll need a blowtorch to heat up the metal so I don't get a cold weld due to the huge-ass wheel acting like a heatsink, but other than that I don't see why this wouldn't work.

lucky's pepper > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 20:25

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Isn't there a wheel repair shop anywhere near you? I admire your DIYness but I think I'd let the pros handle this.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > lucky's pepper 01/28/2015 at 20:28

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Since it's not leaking this is mostly an aesthetic thing, and I have access to the tools to do it, but I don't really have access to the money to get it done for me.

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 20:28

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I am 99% certain that you will save yourself a ton of headache by just getting another wheel. That thing is going to be miserable to balance when all is said and done and aluminum is a PITA to weld cleanly.

Hope it all works.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > lucky's pepper 01/28/2015 at 20:28

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2nd, a wheel is not something you want to cheap out on. For your sake and every other opponaught around you.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 20:29

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Those are probably cast aluminum, so ask a professional.

lucky's pepper > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 01/28/2015 at 20:31

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Exactly.

JGrabowMSt > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 20:44

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Welding that wheel is going to cause a big balance issue when you put it back on the car, possibly more so than any "normal" amount of wheel weights wont be able to help you with.

Let's keep you off of JRITS.

You don't have to have the wheel fixed professionally, but you may find that by getting an estimate, it could be lower than you think.

This is a bit of Apples vs Oranges, but I'm going to have all the Monoblocks refinished for the SL. The thing about doing that is the simple fact that refinishing all 4 monoblocks will be cheaper than finding even a single replacement wheel.

Big Bubba Ray > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 21:57

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Why not just new wheel?

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 22:14

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Aluminium is veey very hard to weld correctly unless you know what your doing. Also its probably cast aluminum which is even harder to get right. Save your time and just get a new wheel. It sucks and is expensive but its much safer and smarter than wasting your time

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 01/28/2015 at 22:19

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I can't figure out what these wheels are to get new ones. As near as I can tell they're knockoffs of... something. The only things I can find that are even close are $800 3-piece wheels.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Big Bubba Ray 01/28/2015 at 22:20

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1. Money

2. No idea what these wheels are. They're knockoffs of something, I'd assume. The closest thing I can find are $800 each 3-piece wheels.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > JGrabowMSt 01/28/2015 at 22:21

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How much are you being charged to refinish the monoblocks/what was wrong with them?

JGrabowMSt > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 22:52

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Roughly $100 per wheel, the finish is scuffed up with very minor curb rash, but it's got some minor flaking going on in surrounding areas. The "roughly" part is a general estimate, but each wheel will be slightly different depending on how much work they need.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2015 at 23:51

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Any logos on them? Maybe head to belle tire or discount tire and see if they can identify it

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/29/2015 at 00:42

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DIY this only as a last resort. Cast aluminum is incredibly difficult to weld. You could end up making the wheel worse. If your weld doesn't penetrate properly that while area will be super brittle and crack much worse than what you already have ad soon as you hit a hard edge on the road (like a bridge expansion joint). If you do it you will need to have it rebalanced when you're done.

FYI I used to do wheel repair when I first got out of tech school, we charged about $150 for something like this.