tpolley
Well-known member
Like rthe title says. I've got a wheel off a crown vic that's cracked and leaking. Can I safely weld the crack?
is it safe to weld a wheel
- Thread starter tpolley
- Start date
tatra
Well-known member
no......................why take the chance?......course, used ya never know what ya got happening either..........i wouldn't ........what's a replacement worth?.............
MottsRods
Well-known member
Well, depending on your welding skills................i would suggest Tig'ing it only, and then have it balanced without a tired on it to see how much weight you added. If it's way off, throw it away and go to the junkyard and get another, most are 15 to 20 bucks.
benjamming
Well-known member
Do you have a way of verifiying the weld? Dye penetrant?
FoMoCoPower
Well-known member
Steel or aluminum? Really just depends on your welding skills,many people even make their own steel wheels.
Zrexxer
Well-known member
This is another one of those "if you have to ask" topics...
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
Pretty much what I was going to say. I've done it, and I've had it done. I never once questioned the safety of the repair.
You have to decide for yourself if you feel the same way.
rsanter
Well-known member
yes you can
you should have a good reason to do it if that is the plan
bob
you should have a good reason to do it if that is the plan
bob
bimmer1980
Well-known member
keep in mind guys, it really depends on where the crack is and what the material is. Remember that aluminum loses about 1/2 of it's strength when it is welded.
Ive seen it done many times, especially on those 20"+ wheels that cost more than the vehicle. It HAS to be done by someone that knows what he/she is doing. Considering this is just a stock crown vic wheel, a junkyard is probably cheaper than what a pro would charge to do it.
Mr.Nutcase
Well-known member
liability comes to mind........ cover your ***.....
arkangel06
Banned
what would your insurence company say if it caused an accident
T56 Impala
Well-known member
I've had mine welded. Only to add back what was removed by curbing them though! They were then reshaped and re-coated. All by a professional wheel repair shop. They will even split a wheel and widen it if you want, but they have all of the proper equipment to do such a task. I would NEVER try to repair one at home even if I could weld.
cwstevens92
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2009
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Joe69
Well-known member
Never weld a wheel with a tire mounted on it. It can explode with deadly force.
Joe
Joe
e-tek
Well-known member
Duuuuh - really!?!?
You guys are such a bunch of namby-pants "the sky-is-falling" types. What ever happened to: "try it and see"? What about: "I can do it myself"?
As for the insurance company - as if they'd check that! I've been in plenty of accidents and seen a lot of adjusting and - unless YOU make a claim that something like that CAUSED the accident - they wouldn't look for it.
I've welded and re-bent wheels, frames, tie rods, axles and more. Some worked better than others, sometimes the car wasn't quite the same afterwards....but I learned and kept the car on the road. I say go for it....but, ya, take the tyre OFF first!!!
speed bump
Well-known member
This made me think of a safety video I saw when I was working this summer.
my suggestion is steel wheels are really cheap so unless you really really feel good about welding it then skip it or have a professional wheel shop do it.
my suggestion is steel wheels are really cheap so unless you really really feel good about welding it then skip it or have a professional wheel shop do it.
GN4WHLN
Well-known member
An aluminum wheel has too many possibilities to make it worth the risk. When you weld aluminum, you set its hardness back to T-0. The HAZ can develop cracks, and if the wheel was artificially aged, that process has been screwed up. Most steel wheels are 1010 and 1020 which is easily weldable, Al can be all kinds of alloys and have had any number of either hardening or annealing process applied during manufacturing. The only way I'd weld or use a welded Al wheel is if it were a one off wheel, a valuable OE wheel, AND on a trailer queen that is worshiped but not driven.
This is a lot like the PVC v copper air line discussion. You may get away with it for the next 20 years, or you may have it explode at a bad time.
This is a lot like the PVC v copper air line discussion. You may get away with it for the next 20 years, or you may have it explode at a bad time.
bimmer1980
Well-known member
Duuuuh - really!?!?
You guys are such a bunch of namby-pants "the sky-is-falling" types. What ever happened to: "try it and see"? What about: "I can do it myself"?
As for the insurance company - as if they'd check that! I've been in plenty of accidents and seen a lot of adjusting and - unless YOU make a claim that something like that CAUSED the accident - they wouldn't look for it.
I've welded and re-bent wheels, frames, tie rods, axles and more. Some worked better than others, sometimes the car wasn't quite the same afterwards....but I learned and kept the car on the road. I say go for it....but, ya, take the tyre OFF first!!!
Seriously???? I'm ok with welding frames, but tie rods?? a major no-no. I'm really surprised E-tek. I'm all for welding any of that stuff for a moch up or prototyping, but aluminum wheels and heat treated steel tie rods are not to be messed with by an hobbiest.... Maybe back in the day when the traffic speeds were slower and the roads were not as busy and the liability lawsuits were not as extreme.....
On tie rods and wheels, you have to consider the dynamic loading. As mentioned earlier, aluminum requires special heat treating to obtain it's strength. You can have a great looking weld, but it will still fail much earlier than the surrounding material.....
