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Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: pauls on 04 April 2015, 18:31:18

Title: alloy wheel welded
Post by: pauls on 04 April 2015, 18:31:18
I buckled a wheel last week on my travels tried to straighten it but it split about 2inchs on the inner edge. I found a place that would weld it up for me. Picked it up today and all looks good.

question is anybody had one done and did it last.
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: 05omegav6 on 04 April 2015, 18:40:59
There is a question mark over the longevity and the rights and wrongs of welding a wheel back together... but it does depend very much on the quality of the weld and the damage involved :-\
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: TheBoy on 04 April 2015, 18:49:13
I'd always use a specialist to straighten the wheel in the first place. It will most likely need specialist rolling to get it straight anyway.
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: serek on 04 April 2015, 19:04:20
I buckled a wheel last week on my travels tried to straighten it but it split about 2inchs on the inner edge. I found a place that would weld it up for me. Picked it up today and all looks good.

question is anybody had one done and did it last.
I weld wheels every day, do you know if they cut where was cracked or they just weld over crack and then grinded off? if they only weld over then will crack soon again
main problem is piss poor alloy quality what they use for wheels

Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: pauls on 04 April 2015, 19:35:14
It was a place that only does alloys and repairs so looked good. I dont know how they welded it. Only thing I did notice when there fitted it back on was the amount of weights on it. I am going to take it to my tyre man and see what he thinks
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: chrisgixer on 04 April 2015, 19:55:02
I'd personally never "fully" trust a welded wheel.


By that I mean, trust to the fullest extent of the performance of the car. I hope you understand the wording, if you know what I mean.

I'd happily use as a spare or up to sensible speeds though, if I had seen or fully trust the repair/repairer.

For me, it's like a repaired tyre. The plug "could" fail at anytime. But won't if driven sensibly. :)
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: Andy B on 04 April 2015, 22:09:42
I'd get A N Other wheel  ;)
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: hawke113a on 05 April 2015, 22:52:29
i had one done on my old escort cossie....lasted till i got rid a couple of yrs later.... :y
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 08 April 2015, 16:50:56
As long as the end of the crack was drilled, the crack ground out and then TIG welded on both sides, no issues at all with a welded alloy for me.  :y
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: chrisgixer on 08 April 2015, 17:47:39
Yes I've seen Serek Tig weld wheels. He leant me a mask so I could see the technique. And clearly molten alloy is molten alloy. Be it wheel or welding rod. They become one and the same. So the theory is sound, and I 've learned from watching him it is obviously a perfectly acceptable process.

But for me, there's that Niglling doubt, however unreasonable,  at the back of my mind. As said for normal use, no problem. But any more than that....

Purely a personal thing, and not a reflection on the process in any way.

Serek does a good job if you ever need a wheel welded. :y
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: Nick W on 08 April 2015, 18:13:20
A properly welded repair isn't a problem for me, although my alloy welding isn't good enough to count.
I would need to survey the rest of the wheel to decide if it's worth repairing. After all, if you've hit it hard enough to crack it, that's unlikely to be the only damage.
And on a common readily available wheel, would usually replace it.
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 09 April 2015, 12:39:27
Yes I've seen Serek Tig weld wheels. He leant me a mask so I could see the technique. And clearly molten alloy is molten alloy. Be it wheel or welding rod. They become one and the same. So the theory is sound, and I 've learned from watching him it is obviously a perfectly acceptable process.

But for me, there's that Niglling doubt, however unreasonable,  at the back of my mind. As said for normal use, no problem. But any more than that....

Purely a personal thing, and not a reflection on the process in any way.

Serek does a good job if you ever need a wheel welded. :y

Nothing to fear  :y

Thing is there could be an inclusion in the casting of a brand new wheel which would be far more structurally damaging than a weld.  :y
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: Freebird on 10 April 2015, 11:40:36
I have welded several cracked wheels over the years, so this does not be a problem to me. The crack needs to be fully ground out, and then welded.  ;)
Title: Re: alloy wheel welded
Post by: 05omegav6 on 10 April 2015, 11:45:17
The critical point is to drill the end of the crack, as it's the only way to stop it speading. That applies whether you weld or plate the crack :y

Obviously you won't be plating a wheel to repair it...