I just purchased aluminum rims that were damaged on the lip.
Would it be possible to weld a lip back on it? The chip is not that big,
about half an inch. There's also a few small dents on another rim.
I will get a pic tomorrow.
I'm currently in school doing a year Welding course. I may get my
instructor to help me with the aluminum welding.
I thought about bringing the rims to a place that fixes rims, but that could
get expensive.
Thanks,
Steve
"VW Golf Cart" wrote: I just purchased aluminum rims that were damaged on
the lip. Would it be possible to weld a lip back on it? (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I did that once on an aluminum drive pulley to a Judson supercharger, and
I'm not even that good a welder. But next to my office was a machine shop
full of friends. After you weld, chances are you will need to mount the
wheels on a lathe and trim off the excess weld bead. That could cost you
more than the welding, if you have to pay to have it done.
VW Golf Cart wrote in article
...
Obviously, you've never seen the result of a damaged wheel flange letting
go under pressure.
There are people in this world who are now known as "Lefty" due to a
damaged/poorly repaired wheel exploding as it was being inflated....
There are also people who have left this world for the same reason..
If this lip is the part of the rim which holds the tire on then
welding may weaken the aluminum at the heat affected zone. The rim may
then fail at speed while you are driving. This may then cause the tire
to come off. If it was for a car I wouldn't do it. A golf cart though
would be fine. But maybe it can be weld repaired and nothing will
happen. I guess it's up to you.
ERS
Bob has got a point. Even though most of the hazard is in truck
split rims letting go, there is still a hell of a lot of force stored
inside a car tire and rim. I wouldn't try welding on one either - a
new rim is cheaper than the hospital bills.
Google on wheel rim separation explosion and you'll get a whole pile
of dead and seriously injured people. Hell, there have been people
killed with a wheelbarrow tire & rim exploding, let alone a car tire.
-->--
Greetings and Salutations...
Yea...it is amazing how dangrous that
pressurized doughnut can be. I remember a woman
who went to one of our mission churches for a bit,
whose husband had gone through a LOT of reconstructive
surgery when the tire he was re-inflating at a gasoline
station blew up in his face. Peeled a LOT of his
face right off...
And isn't THAT a pleasant picture to have
in your head? Made ME real cautious about where
I put myself when inflating the tires ever since.
Regards
Dave Mundt
"Orrin Iseminger" wrote: I think you might be surprised at how many
professionals there are on this forum.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah, but how many of them are called "Lefty."
I'm a licenced mechanic
ontario cert#'s:
310s212447
310a212447
and interprovincial ( Canada wide )
693169
Guess that qualifies me as a professional
Pat
Pat, I understand that in Canada, you must be licensed to work on any
rotating part of a wheel/tire. Is this correct. If so can you point me
to the language of the law. I think it is time we consider that in the
States. Particularly in light of several runaway truck wheels.
ASE Master Automobile Tech (retired)
Not qute true, Pat.
A PROPERLY repaired rim would get past you with no problem, as the
repair would be completely invisible.
Cosmetic repairs are done on a fairly regular basis by several fairly
reputable wheel restoring companies. If the actual bead retaining lip
of the wheel is damaged, I agree - no way to fix it "properly" but
curb rash and chipped outer rim edges (where the balance weights clip
on) can be repaired safely and legally
Clare Snyder
310A 063844 IP # 009276
There are many reasons why a car may be required to undergo a safety
inspection, one of which may be the neighbourhood vigilante who you
reported for a wild party and tossed bottles when their son celebrated
his girlfriends loss of virtue when they weren't home three years ago.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada
As I understand it, in Ontario ( a province, sort the same as a state), any
work done for trade is supposed to be under the supervision of a licensed
trades person. I have a class A license for both cars and heavy trucks, that
allows me to do anything, then there are "lower" classes B for body, c for
brakes ( like speedy muffler shops)...
there are some details at
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