Cracked Wheel.... to use or to not? (1 Viewer)

[bryson]

...
Thats my thought, I am just afraid of it coming apart on the highway at high speed. But so far it doesnt sound like anyone has had bad luck with a welded wheel.
...

You don't hear about the ones that had bad luck with welded wheels, because they didn't live to tell about it.

In all seriousness though, I would not ever trust that wheel again. Ever.

And, I've got to think that that repair cost you nearly as much as another set of cheap Chinese wheels...?

 

[Nay]

You don't hear about the ones that had bad luck with welded wheels, because they didn't live to tell about it.

In all seriousness though, I would not ever trust that wheel again. Ever.

And, I've got to think that that repair cost you nearly as much as another set of cheap Chinese wheels...?

A set of 4 was $500.

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

You don't hear about the ones that had bad luck with welded wheels, because they didn't live to tell about it.

In all seriousness though, I would not ever trust that wheel again. Ever.

And, I've got to think that that repair cost you nearly as much as another set of cheap Chinese wheels...?

I sorta got lucky. Due to the lack of communication they charged me $100. I feel like that was very fair for the resources and labor that was involved

 

[bryson]

I sorta got lucky. Due to the lack of communication they charged me $100. I feel like that was very fair for the resources and labor that was involved

I believe 100% that $100 is a great deal for the amount of work they did, and it was good of them I suppose to give you a deal after their mixup.

But, I still think you could find a replacement wheel for <$100. What are the exact wheel specs? I'll see what my google-fu can come up with. If a replacement can be found, maybe the repaired one could be used for a spare?

 

[BILT4ME]

Unless they did a heat-treating of the wheel (IE Oven at the proper temperature) to de-stress the wheel, the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) will be very brittle and more crystallized next to the weld. Will it fail before your other wheels....yes. When? Who knows. Personally, I wouldn't drive on that unless it was my ONLY spare and all I had. I would consider using it ONLY as an emergency spare and not over 30 MPH on highway and only enough to get me to the tire shop to get the other one repaired.

Aluminum is much more brittle to impact than steel, and based on the alloy, it could be a major difference in the actual metal used in the welding process that ill be much softer than the alloy in the wheel itself. Being softer, it will flex and deform more and may cause a sooner failure.

Too many risks for me. Throw it to the recycler and get $20 for it.

 

[nemoblackdog]

If this were on a farm tractor, that's one thing. Something that's going down the highway at highway speeds - not something I'd want to do. Welding cast aluminum is something to be very wary of in a high-speed & structural component. This isn't something like a xfer-case housing where the worst that happens is you're stranded on the side of the road.

 

[jonheld]

Correct. Will post pictures of the caliper when I get home no crazy signs or wear. It was not rubbing on the wheel for very long I think I caught it pretty quick. I think the job was performed pretty well you think the wheel is worthless?

Well, it's worthless to me in my opinion. Even if 1 wheel costs you $1000, that is a small price to pay when you consider the possibility of failure. Best case scenario, you're sitting at a red light and the wheel separates and cuts through the tire. I don't even want to consider the worst case scenario. Is that something you're comfortable with???

 

[LC4LIFE]

I worked collision repair for about a decade at a previous part of my life and it was just fine to have and use wheels after being repaired. If it is a reputable shop and they offer a warranty, I'd run it.

Okay, after seeing the extent of that repair in the picture I may give second thought to running it. At least as a primary wheel for everyday. That is a pretty in depth repair. I would be a bit more worried about the brittleness of the wheel too. These trucks are heavy.

 

[VacMan]

No way I run that wheel, especially one that's questionable strengthwise to begin with.

 

[Nay]

I believe 100% that $100 is a great deal for the amount of work they did, and it was good of them I suppose to give you a deal after their mixup.

But, I still think you could find a replacement wheel for <$100. What are the exact wheel specs? I'll see what my google-fu can come up with. If a replacement can be found, maybe the repaired one could be used for a spare?

Your google-fu will need to be strong. I looked everywhere last night.

It’s MB Wheels TKO 17x8.5 6x139.7 -6 (offset)

I run this same rim. I also don’t have a spare rim - my spare is an old Trxus on a stock rim - or this would be easy.

Looking at the rim, which is sitting in my driveway, it looks like they choose to bead the entire circumference even though it wasn’t cracked all the way around.

Is there a theory to this in rim repair?

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

The wheel was not cracked all the way around. I believe it through the cracks were so spread out around the wheel it just made more sense to perform a 360-degree weld. Here is the caliper.....

 

[Golgo13]

You mentioned the threads were stripped. Time-sert Big-sert is a great repair method. Toyota recommends time-sert for engine block head bolt thread repairs.

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

You mentioned the threads were stripped. Time-sert Big-sert is a great repair method. Toyota recommends time-sert for engine block head bolt thread repairs.

Yes the threads are stipped. I ordered a helicoil kit that just came in today I wasn't aware of the Time-sert. Is the helicoil an acceptable repair method?

 

[inkpot]

Yes the threads are stipped. I ordered a helicoil kit that just came in today I wasn't aware of the Time-sert. Is the helicoil an acceptable repair method?

Have repaired several caliper bolt holes with Heli-coils. They torqued up to spec just fine and they have been on the road for a couple years with no problems.

MB wheels are usually available thru Discount Tire. NOrmally $125, but on sale for $100 occasionally. Sell yours to Nay for spares cause he needs them and go get another set. I am on a similar set of MBs for 5 years/80,000 miles with no problems Mine are DOT-T rated/truck.

 

[60wag]

That amount of welding must distort the wheel and at least put it noticeably out of balance. How much weight does it need to make the vibration tolerable?

 

[BILT4ME]

That amount of welding must distort the wheel and at least put it noticeably out of balance. How much weight does it need to make the vibration tolerable?

Not to mention the run-out and out-of-round due to poor heat distribution during the welding process.

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Guess we will find out today.... I’m putting it on in hopes I can use it until Memorial Day when everyone has there Memorial Day sales. Hopefully I’ll pick up some new ones then. In the meantime hopefully this holds up. I am doing a trip to grand junction to go off-roading at the end of the month and just hope I can have some new ones on it by then. This thread has made me come to realization new wheels are the new number 1 priority.

 

[-Spike-]

Guess we will find out today.... I’m putting it on in hopes I can use it until Memorial Day when everyone has there Memorial Day sales. Hopefully I’ll pick up some new ones then. In the meantime hopefully this holds up. I am doing a trip to grand junction to go off-roading at the end of the month and just hope I can have some new ones on it by then. This thread has made me come to realization new wheels are the new number 1 priority.

If I were doing this I'd overfill it with air once, that should put more stress on the wheel than any driving, jumping, etc.

 

[VacMan]

After giving this more thought, as long as they knew what they were doing I'm certain you'll be fine. People split and widen wheels all the time. The biggest concern to me is the quality of the initial wheels.

Wheel widening Another Happy Weldcraft customer

Welcome to Weldcraft Wheels | Weldcraft Wheels

 

[inkpot]

Discount Tire will often wheelndeal on package purchases of both wheels and tires. Have seen MB’s priced @ $75 each on a few packages.