Is this steelie wheel repairable? Pics

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The driver side of the car went over the curb at about 20mph. It damaged the inside of the steelie as you can see in the pics. Tire leaked a little air, so I will get a new tire.

Someone at a tire shop said he can fix it on the side, no guarantee and can't come back.

What do you think? Better to get a new wheel?





 
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Easy fix prob no harm but not worth it, weaken the wheel and it could fail when you need handling the most (in a wreck)
 
A little patience with a copper hammer will have that back to round in no time. If it balances without too much weight throw a tyre on and leave it for a week. If its held pressure it's good
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
A little patience with a copper hammer will have that back to round in no time. If it balances without too much weight throw a tyre on and leave it for a week. If its held pressure it's good
smile.gif



It definitely still has a lot air in it.
 
I absolutely would not fix it. You've exceeded the yield strength of the material. Bending it back requires further yield strength excursions which will work harden the material. Work hardening may sound like a good thing, and in some instances it is, but not here. It makes the material harder, stronger, more brittle, less ductile and less tough. The more brittle less ductile and less tough is the important part to focus on here, especially in a part that sees impact loading and cyclic stress. All of those factors can lead to high cycle fatigue stress failure in a brittle material. For the small cost of a replacement steel wheel I think bending it back is penny wise and pound foolish. If it was a farm truck or a low speed implement where failure is a nuisance and unlikely to cause loss of control or additional damage and injury then sure. In a passenger car, not a chance.
 
Definitely repairable. Hit it with a torch and then quench it in hot oil when alls said and done.
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Definitely repairable. Hit it with a torch and then quench it in hot oil when alls said and done.


Oil quenching of this is neither needed nor desired. It will only make the metal even more brittle than working it cold. I refer back to my previous post for concerns about making the wheel more brittle than it was.

If you're going to work the metal either do it cold, or if you do it with heat allow the material to air cool to prevent embrittlement of the base material through rapid cooling (quenching).
 
Definitively fix it. My family owned a heavy collision and wheel alignment shop for 46 years, my grandpa straightened many wheels in his day. Never had a return for anything.

Unless the tire has clear damage, I wouldn't replace it. It probably just lost some air once you hit the curb and the tire sealed against the bead again. It's probably fine.
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Definitely repairable. Hit it with a torch and then quench it in hot oil when alls said and done.


Oil quenching of this is neither needed nor desired. It will only make the metal even more brittle than working it cold. I refer back to my previous post for concerns about making the wheel more brittle than it was.

If you're going to work the metal either do it cold, or if you do it with heat allow the material to air cool to prevent embrittlement of the base material through rapid cooling (quenching).
Thanks for your informed and erudite response. My amended recommendation is to take the tire off, cold work the wheel to make it true, heat it up to incandescence and let it sit and air cool. Then repaint it and motor along. (and thanks for your service to our nation)
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Definitely repairable. Hit it with a torch and then quench it in hot oil when alls said and done.


Oil quenching of this is neither needed nor desired. It will only make the metal even more brittle than working it cold. I refer back to my previous post for concerns about making the wheel more brittle than it was.

If you're going to work the metal either do it cold, or if you do it with heat allow the material to air cool to prevent embrittlement of the base material through rapid cooling (quenching).
I was suggesting cold working it, and then heating it up and stress relieving with the quench with the gentle hot oil process. You disagree? Okay


The quenching is the part I disagreed with, both from an engineering and metallurgical standpoint both of which I'm trained in. Additionally as a trained aviation mishap investigator I've dedicated a lot of time and energy to understanding failure modes and post failure analysis.

Your understanding of quenching as a means to stress relieve a part is flawed. Quenching a part is actually the polar opposite of stress relieving the part which is generally accomplished by tempering a part.
 
I'd beat on it with a hand sledge with the tire still mounted. Nothing is going to fail. It may still leak a bit, but keep working on it until it quits leaking.

Steel is not going to work harden in 2 cycles.
 
Waste of time that's a standard OEM wheel and nothing special to begin with. $20 in a junkyard. You've got better things to do with your life than hop down the road cursing that tire you wasted an hour trying to fix..
 
Originally Posted By: Driz
Waste of time that's a standard OEM wheel and nothing special to begin with. $20 in a junkyard. You've got better things to do with your life than hop down the road cursing that tire you wasted an hour trying to fix..


A few whacks vs spending time calling junkyards, dealing with the grumpy old types that run them and driving out there?
 
Assuming like other steelies, I could find a good used one for $20, I'd probably replace it. I might try to fix it in a pinch until I had a good replacement to run.
 
If you have a full size spare that uses the same wheel, I'd fix it and swap them out and use the repaired one for the spare.
 
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