Have you carefully inspected the remaining wheels? I would check the outside and inside of all wheels as well as the lug holes. There are crack detection spray kits available for about $100.
Low speed steel rim center failure / separation (how / why?)
- Thread starter SumGuy
- Start date
Theoretically a steel item that is not over-stressed has an infinite life. Not so with aluminum.
But a small defect in a steel item can result in a stress riser with localized over-stress, resulting in a crack propagating out of the area. And once you have a crack, all the bets are off.
Looking at the failed edge would tell you a lot.
But a small defect in a steel item can result in a stress riser with localized over-stress, resulting in a crack propagating out of the area. And once you have a crack, all the bets are off.
Looking at the failed edge would tell you a lot.
Don't think weather related temperatures would have anything to do with this failure. Heat treating that wheel (eg getting it cherry red) might even have been beneficial. But once you have a crack - all the bets are off.
The full story of this rim failure, with more photos, is here:
https://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopa...-factory-original-14-stamped-steel-rim.91189/
https://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopa...-factory-original-14-stamped-steel-rim.91189/
Thanks for the additional info.
I still think this is a fatigue crack. I would check the other wheels - mangniflux or some other crack detecting system.
Oh, and wheel failures due to the use of radial tires on wheels designed for bias ply tires? What I remember was rim flange cracks and increasing the gauge of the steel solved that.
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Wheel. The rim is part of a wheel, much like additives are parts of an engine oil.
I’ve had multiple trailer wheels break like that. They were marginally rated for the loads we were carrying. Upgrading to a bigger/heavier wheel/tire fixed the issue.
