Cracked Rim Repair (the truth)

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ive also had several alloy rims welded on the inner lip and didn't have a problem.
its when it cracks through a spoke that its dangerous and best off to get a new rim.

 

[HamaTime™]

Just looking at the repair, in theory (assuming a competent and experienced welder) it should be as good as if not better than the parent material.

100% truth.

My old man is fairly into the historical Victorian Railways society with all the old Steam Trains and stuff, I remember going down to the Steamrail workshops in Newport and getting shown a Steam Locomotive chassis which had an enormous crack right through the main left rail of it (the major strucutral component of the train).
They had a mob come in and do a 'stitch welding' job on it, whereby I was told that the actual welded area was now the strongest part of the chassis. If anything was to crack or break on the chassis afterwards, it would be in a different area of the chassis.

So Reap is correct, a competent welder should technically make the welded area the strongest localised area of the rim in OP's case.

 

[Jecs]

mine are made from steel

you are aware steel rims can still fail

 

[BookMe]

My weld Draglites are welded together.

So I'm sure your rim will be fine.

 

[Darren_L]

wheel repairers have to abide and repair by Australian standard AS1638
You might get some dodgy shops around, but any reputable repairer won't repair a wheel unless it's safe to do so. They can't risk the liability.A good weld will often be stronger than the surrounding metal it's welded to.

If people are worried about rims cracking, then half the owners of cars with big 20 inch wheels on this site should park their cars. At least HSV/ROH wheels are ADR approved. Most aftermarket big wheels are cheap **** China products that aren't ADR approved and therefore aren't even allowed to be fitted to a road registered vehicle in Australia. I've seen the centres completely snap out of them.

 

[timbo888]

i bought a set of used (from someone i knew) 18" mags once that had been repaired similar to yours. after 3 years the weld 'opened' enough to let the tyre lose pressure.. went back to same shop and had the wheel re-welded for under $100. lasted another year or two before i sold the car.

 

[AirStrike]

mine are made from steel

You downgraded wheels on your car?

 

[Troy711]

you life mate. just hope you don't hit me if you have a rim failure.

It's almost as if you think that if it fails the results will be catastrophic, similar to a nuclear blast. Not so, at worst the crack will come back and the tyre will deflate.

 

[Husky]

Even if this is safe, your insurance company will use it to avoid paying should you crash for other reasons. You said it yourself the car is unroadworthy.

 

[Jecs]

Even if this is safe, your insurance company will use it to avoid paying should you crash for other reasons. You said it yourself the car is unroadworthy.

this is correct. but once road grime and brake dust build up over the sanded area it will blend in with the rest of the rim.

so id think if the accident wasnt cause by the rim it wouldnt be something throughly checked over.

its hard to say what could or could not happen as each case is different. but mainly set this thread up as you hear people always talk about cracked rim repaired but none have actually experienced it them self. this is just a better indication for people like i said, who cant afford a new rim (some new rims are worth $1000 for a single rim) but they need to get by until they can

of course the safety of other road users is always a high priority