Bent Rim?

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Drove wife's car and noticed shimmy in the steering wheel. I told her to get the tires balanced. She brought car to walmart and technician stated that front rim was slightly bent, so they put wheel on rear. Do I get a second opinion being she brought it to Walmart? Rim is not noticably bent from visual inspection. Figured it doesn't have to be a major flaw to notice wheel shimmy. Hate to spend the money to find out there is nothing wrong with said rim. Thoughts?
 
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Is it front or rear wheel drive? You can get it bent back but it'll probably cost you especially if it's an aluminum rim. They're about $115 around here to bend it back. Not sure about your car so it might be cheaper to get a used one from a junkyard. If it looks just a little bent, that's enough to cause a vibration. Anyway, you could jack up the car and throw it in drive and watch the wheel spin, if there's any kind of wobble, then it's bent.
 
The tech could probably see that it was bent when he had it spinning on the balancer.
 
Originally Posted by linuxology
Drove wife's car and noticed shimmy in the steering wheel. I told her to get the tires balanced. She brought car to walmart and technician stated that front rim was slightly bent, so they put wheel on rear. Do I get a second opinion being she brought it to Walmart? Rim is not noticably bent from visual inspection. Figured it doesn't have to be a major flaw to notice wheel shimmy. Hate to spend the money to find out there is nothing wrong with said rim. Thoughts?

Jack it up and spin it by hand. Put something close as a reference point so you can see if it wobbles.
 
Originally Posted by philipp10

Jack it up and spin it by hand. Put something close as a reference point so you can see if it wobbles.


Just to add: Most of the time the bend on on the inside bead.
 
Both an out-of-round tire and bent rim will wobble on the balancer. Instead spending time (and $) going to another shop, just jack up the car, move the suspect wheel back to the front and carefully watch it spin with the car in drive. If the rim stays put and only the tire wobbles, then the tire's out-of-round.
 
Originally Posted by chainblu
Originally Posted by philipp10

Jack it up and spin it by hand. Put something close as a reference point so you can see if it wobbles.


Just to add: Most of the time the bend on on the inside bead.


Thanks much. Confirmed that there is an ever so slight bend on the inside bead in a single area. Guessing this is enough to cause front steering wheel shimmy even though it is unnoticeable in the rear. If I don't need to get a second opinion based on the confirmation, where do I get a second hand OEM rim for a 2009 Mazda 5 17" rim? Can be used and lightly scratched. Just need it to be true.
 
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car-part.com covers lots of local junkyards.

Good on the tech for letting you know. Many techs get complacent because almost no customers care.
 
would you take a chance on this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mazda-5-17-Aluminum-Wheel-2008-2009-Used-OEM/123465777404?hash=item1cbf2240fc:g:N50AAOSwB5tbM6DP:rk:56:pf:0
 
I would not buy a wheel off Ebay! I have and it was also BENT! I had to pay the return shipping. I strongly suggest face to face from a salvage yard if at all possible. Keep in mind that most salvage yards won't refund your money, only replace with another part, or parts credit from the salvage yard. Only buy from a yard with multiple wheels!
 
Originally Posted by zrxkawboy
The tech could probably see that it was bent when he had it spinning on the balancer.

Exactly. Just replace the rim and move on. No rocket science here. The Walmart guy has nothing to gain.
 
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