What Cracked The Wheel
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Date: 2025-01-14
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Comments and reviews: 20
RussellBooth1977
When I was working at a timber mill over here in Australia (Tea Gardens, NSW) in 2011 2 of the alloy wheels on my 2002 model Holden VY SS Commodore got buckled because the council in the area was doing some roadworks & they didn't have any safety signs up saying stop or slow down.
There was a 300 millimetre (about a 1 foot) deep ditch in the road & I drove right into it at about 80 km/h (50 mph) & I had a tyre blowout on the right hand front wheel so I fitted the spare wheel.
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It's basically the same suspension setup as the Australian delivered Pontiac GTO & I replaced all of the struts which were blown out as well as the front strut mount bearings which were smashed to smitherines, I also replaced the rear shock absorbers, all 4 coil springs, front ball joints, front outer tie rod ball joints, & rear toe link rod ball joints as well as all of the rubber bushes which I replaced with polyurethane bushes to fix a pre existing problem where the left hand rear tyre kept scrubbing out because the OEM left hand Inner rear control arm bush was made out of nylon & it was distorted.
The right hand side inner nylon bush was o. k. but I replaced them as a set of 4 polyurethane bushes including the outer control arm bushes.
A few years later I noticed one of those rims was losing air & I kept on having to pump the tyre up, it came time after one of my nieces jazz ballet performances that it was almost flat again so I drove it to the nearest petrol station & pumped it up with air.
That night I took the wheel off the car then I got a paint brush then I made a very concentrated mix of dishwashing liquid & water then I brushed it around both sides of the rims & tyre beads.
It was on the Inner side of the rim that I noticed that it was blowing bubbles & I found it had cracked perhaps due to fatigue, right on the slight buckle so I think that fatigue caused the crack.
So I threw a spare alloy wheel onto the car (the spare rim wasn't buckled) & after some time I got a local tyre shop to send 2 of the rims away to be re rolled then the cracked one was welded up then machined on the tyre side of the wheel rim, they also fitted new tyres at a total of $380 AUD per wheel including balancing & the repair of the rims.
I have smoothed both rims out, filled any deep scratches & smoothed out the weld on the inner side of the rim with body filler, since quite a lot of the paint was chipped off on the inside of the rim I wire wheeled the old paint off using a circular brass wire wheel & cordless drill, then after I body filled the deep scratches, gutter rash & the scratched alloy rims I smoothed the body filler out & I scuffed the rim up with 240 grit sandpaper.
I prepped the rims with wax and grease remover then I applied etch primer to the rims because I had to go back to bare aluminium alloy on the inside of the inner side of the wheel rim.
I then applied several layers of filler primer to the wheel rims to fill in the scratches then I stencilled them with black spray paint to make sure that all of the highs & lows were filled in evenly.
I then smoothed the rims out with 400 grit wet & dry sandpaper, soap & water, I prepped the rims again with grease and wax remover, masked the tyres using masking tape & newspaper then I painted the rims with acrylic lacquer silver wheel paint & acrylic lacquer clear coat paint to bring the shine out on the rims which turned out pretty good.
The paint hasn't fallen off since 2023 & I have 1 more rim which needs straightening, 3 of them still needs to be painted, I just need a job so I can afford to do that!
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When I was working at a timber mill over here in Australia (Tea Gardens, NSW) in 2011 2 of the alloy wheels on my 2002 model Holden VY SS Commodore got buckled because the council in the area was doing some roadworks & they didn't have any safety signs up saying stop or slow down.
There was a 300 millimetre (about a 1 foot) deep ditch in the road & I drove right into it at about 80 km/h (50 mph) & I had a tyre blowout on the right hand front wheel so I fitted the spare wheel.
.
It's basically the same suspension setup as the Australian delivered Pontiac GTO & I replaced all of the struts which were blown out as well as the front strut mount bearings which were smashed to smitherines, I also replaced the rear shock absorbers, all 4 coil springs, front ball joints, front outer tie rod ball joints, & rear toe link rod ball joints as well as all of the rubber bushes which I replaced with polyurethane bushes to fix a pre existing problem where the left hand rear tyre kept scrubbing out because the OEM left hand Inner rear control arm bush was made out of nylon & it was distorted.
The right hand side inner nylon bush was o. k. but I replaced them as a set of 4 polyurethane bushes including the outer control arm bushes.
A few years later I noticed one of those rims was losing air & I kept on having to pump the tyre up, it came time after one of my nieces jazz ballet performances that it was almost flat again so I drove it to the nearest petrol station & pumped it up with air.
That night I took the wheel off the car then I got a paint brush then I made a very concentrated mix of dishwashing liquid & water then I brushed it around both sides of the rims & tyre beads.
It was on the Inner side of the rim that I noticed that it was blowing bubbles & I found it had cracked perhaps due to fatigue, right on the slight buckle so I think that fatigue caused the crack.
So I threw a spare alloy wheel onto the car (the spare rim wasn't buckled) & after some time I got a local tyre shop to send 2 of the rims away to be re rolled then the cracked one was welded up then machined on the tyre side of the wheel rim, they also fitted new tyres at a total of $380 AUD per wheel including balancing & the repair of the rims.
I have smoothed both rims out, filled any deep scratches & smoothed out the weld on the inner side of the rim with body filler, since quite a lot of the paint was chipped off on the inside of the rim I wire wheeled the old paint off using a circular brass wire wheel & cordless drill, then after I body filled the deep scratches, gutter rash & the scratched alloy rims I smoothed the body filler out & I scuffed the rim up with 240 grit sandpaper.
I prepped the rims with wax and grease remover then I applied etch primer to the rims because I had to go back to bare aluminium alloy on the inside of the inner side of the wheel rim.
I then applied several layers of filler primer to the wheel rims to fill in the scratches then I stencilled them with black spray paint to make sure that all of the highs & lows were filled in evenly.
I then smoothed the rims out with 400 grit wet & dry sandpaper, soap & water, I prepped the rims again with grease and wax remover, masked the tyres using masking tape & newspaper then I painted the rims with acrylic lacquer silver wheel paint & acrylic lacquer clear coat paint to bring the shine out on the rims which turned out pretty good.
The paint hasn't fallen off since 2023 & I have 1 more rim which needs straightening, 3 of them still needs to be painted, I just need a job so I can afford to do that!
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utidjian
I have seen cracked rims like that before. 99. 9% of the time it is right at the weld. Anywhere from the middle of the weld to either side of it. I can count on one hand the number I have seen crack like that. My tire machine guy said it was due to improper or complete lack of heat treatment after forming the rim. Steel wheels are amazingly tough otherwise. They need to be annealed or tempered after the forming process because a lot of work hardening and stresses get built up especially at the edges of the rim. I don't know what initiated it but it doesn't take much. a tiny bing, a tiny bit of corrosion, and cold weather. any of which could have done it. We have stainless steel pots, colanders, and bowls that have cracked like that (we do a lot of cooking at home) and it is always right at the edge. Cookware is made using the same processes as steel rims and almost never heat treated afterwards except during use of course.
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I have seen cracked rims like that before. 99. 9% of the time it is right at the weld. Anywhere from the middle of the weld to either side of it. I can count on one hand the number I have seen crack like that. My tire machine guy said it was due to improper or complete lack of heat treatment after forming the rim. Steel wheels are amazingly tough otherwise. They need to be annealed or tempered after the forming process because a lot of work hardening and stresses get built up especially at the edges of the rim. I don't know what initiated it but it doesn't take much. a tiny bing, a tiny bit of corrosion, and cold weather. any of which could have done it. We have stainless steel pots, colanders, and bowls that have cracked like that (we do a lot of cooking at home) and it is always right at the edge. Cookware is made using the same processes as steel rims and almost never heat treated afterwards except during use of course.
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russellstephan6844
I want to see the fix! Drill a hole at the end of the crack to keep it from growing, run the cutoff wheel whizzer through the crack, and MIG that baby up on both sides. Grind down the weld bead flush with the rim metal, a shot of spray paint, and send Ma & Pa Kettle down the road!
Oh sure, I'd do the repair to my rim. But, a customer's with all the liability that would entail Nope!
Back in college I was working at a full-service gas station. We did a lot of tire repairs. An Asian gentleman brings in a tire/rim for patching and I jump right on it. I remove the tire and find a FMJ. 223 bullet in the tire. I find the hole the bullet made.
I ask the guy, You got a lot of enemies as I hand him the bullet.
He looked a bit concerned.
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I want to see the fix! Drill a hole at the end of the crack to keep it from growing, run the cutoff wheel whizzer through the crack, and MIG that baby up on both sides. Grind down the weld bead flush with the rim metal, a shot of spray paint, and send Ma & Pa Kettle down the road!
Oh sure, I'd do the repair to my rim. But, a customer's with all the liability that would entail Nope!
Back in college I was working at a full-service gas station. We did a lot of tire repairs. An Asian gentleman brings in a tire/rim for patching and I jump right on it. I remove the tire and find a FMJ. 223 bullet in the tire. I find the hole the bullet made.
I ask the guy, You got a lot of enemies as I hand him the bullet.
He looked a bit concerned.
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firstielasty1162
Stress corrosion cracking is a thing. but you see all sorts of rusty steel wheels that don't do that. Some alloys are more prone to it than others. Seems like a steel car wheel would not be a very interesting steel alloy. Maybe a stress-relieving step was missed or went wrong after it was rolled into shape & welded.
Didn't look like it had anything to do with an impact to me.
I've seen motorcycle rims (for spoked wheels) do that. aluminum ones at the weld (some are 7075 Al and hard to weld) or steel ones at seemingly random spots. very straight like that. I think chrome plating in those cases, may have embrittled them.
I'd like to look at the edge of that Crack with a microscope.
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Stress corrosion cracking is a thing. but you see all sorts of rusty steel wheels that don't do that. Some alloys are more prone to it than others. Seems like a steel car wheel would not be a very interesting steel alloy. Maybe a stress-relieving step was missed or went wrong after it was rolled into shape & welded.
Didn't look like it had anything to do with an impact to me.
I've seen motorcycle rims (for spoked wheels) do that. aluminum ones at the weld (some are 7075 Al and hard to weld) or steel ones at seemingly random spots. very straight like that. I think chrome plating in those cases, may have embrittled them.
I'd like to look at the edge of that Crack with a microscope.
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oldtimefarmboy617
Today's tire machines are so much better than what I used in the 70s.
That is not a crack. Cracks are almost never straight and happen over time. That is where it just popped apart. Clearly some defect in the steel right at that point. Or a damaged point when the steel was being press formed because of a defect in the template used to press the steel into shape. Be interesting to know if they have a lot more rims where it pops apart at that spot.
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Today's tire machines are so much better than what I used in the 70s.
That is not a crack. Cracks are almost never straight and happen over time. That is where it just popped apart. Clearly some defect in the steel right at that point. Or a damaged point when the steel was being press formed because of a defect in the template used to press the steel into shape. Be interesting to know if they have a lot more rims where it pops apart at that spot.
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danielbyrd1272
Eric, I have a 2013 Lincoln MKZ with the 2. 0 turbo. It has a reslly weird intermittent stalling issue when its warmed up. If it is below 70 degrees outside, it will stall out after idling for longer than 10 minutes. It also will randomly stall out after reatarting when leaving a store parking lot. I have had the high pressure rail and all replaced, but no one can seem to figure it out. It only does it in colder ambient temperature when the engine is hot.
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Eric, I have a 2013 Lincoln MKZ with the 2. 0 turbo. It has a reslly weird intermittent stalling issue when its warmed up. If it is below 70 degrees outside, it will stall out after idling for longer than 10 minutes. It also will randomly stall out after reatarting when leaving a store parking lot. I have had the high pressure rail and all replaced, but no one can seem to figure it out. It only does it in colder ambient temperature when the engine is hot.
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danielbutler578
To me, that looks like a stress crack that sometimes happens near a weld when the steel is cooled too quickly. I remember seeing that happen to an oil pan that was welded without taking it off the engine. The welder sprayed it with water and it cracked about an inch from the weld. He welded the crack and let it cool slowly. It left the area near the weld soft enough that I was able to knock the dents out of it a few years later without it cracking again.
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To me, that looks like a stress crack that sometimes happens near a weld when the steel is cooled too quickly. I remember seeing that happen to an oil pan that was welded without taking it off the engine. The welder sprayed it with water and it cracked about an inch from the weld. He welded the crack and let it cool slowly. It left the area near the weld soft enough that I was able to knock the dents out of it a few years later without it cracking again.
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scudderville
Oh for the days when Mopar meant something and your 60s and 70s Dodges and Plymouths were decent American steel.
Learned to drive and tinker on Darts, Satellites, Monacos and Polaras with Slant 6's, 340s, 383s and 440s.
Then in the 80s I bought a Turismo and a few months later migrated to Toyotas and Subarus and never looked back except with a bit of nostalgia. (doing 120 down I90 in a 68 Monaco with a 440 4brl in full control)
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Oh for the days when Mopar meant something and your 60s and 70s Dodges and Plymouths were decent American steel.
Learned to drive and tinker on Darts, Satellites, Monacos and Polaras with Slant 6's, 340s, 383s and 440s.
Then in the 80s I bought a Turismo and a few months later migrated to Toyotas and Subarus and never looked back except with a bit of nostalgia. (doing 120 down I90 in a 68 Monaco with a 440 4brl in full control)
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EddieTheGrouch
Misdirection! it's obvious the damage was caused by a Coates Rim Wrangler 9000 running on 250 psi of Bad Air. Wheel. er. We'll never know since someone has already replaced their machine and disposed of the evidence.
Det. Grouch: I daresay the crime was committed by Eric O. in the kitchen with the spatula!
Eric: Wha. But.
Mrs. O: We weren't in the kitc.
Eric: . Quiet, wench!
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Misdirection! it's obvious the damage was caused by a Coates Rim Wrangler 9000 running on 250 psi of Bad Air. Wheel. er. We'll never know since someone has already replaced their machine and disposed of the evidence.
Det. Grouch: I daresay the crime was committed by Eric O. in the kitchen with the spatula!
Eric: Wha. But.
Mrs. O: We weren't in the kitc.
Eric: . Quiet, wench!
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donspringer8222
New tire machine seems like a back breaker!
The crack is most likely a material defect, or, less likely a road hazard (curb. I had a no rust 85 GM steel rim with a crack adjacent to one of the welds for the center hub in the rim. It wasn't in the weld, it was 1/4 inch away in the base material. 2 shops missed it, re-mounted the tire and sent the customer on her way without checking it.
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New tire machine seems like a back breaker!
The crack is most likely a material defect, or, less likely a road hazard (curb. I had a no rust 85 GM steel rim with a crack adjacent to one of the welds for the center hub in the rim. It wasn't in the weld, it was 1/4 inch away in the base material. 2 shops missed it, re-mounted the tire and sent the customer on her way without checking it.
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brianvarner
Eric, when breaking down the tire from the wheel have a lubricant spray bottle handy. Even if it doesn't break free it will easier with the juice next try. And it won't remount itself as easy. Always meant to mount a pressurized container near the machine with a sprayer hanging down on a coil hose. Would have made changing tires so much easier. 55 years of procrastination.
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Eric, when breaking down the tire from the wheel have a lubricant spray bottle handy. Even if it doesn't break free it will easier with the juice next try. And it won't remount itself as easy. Always meant to mount a pressurized container near the machine with a sprayer hanging down on a coil hose. Would have made changing tires so much easier. 55 years of procrastination.
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autorepair
We had this happen on an aluminum alloy wheel, but the stress fracture was in the inside smallest diameter portion, along the inner edge of the outer rim. The outer rim is thicker so the stress worked a hairline linear crack along the wheel arc. Tried welding it 3-times but the crack just continued along the same line. Too dangerous to try to save.
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We had this happen on an aluminum alloy wheel, but the stress fracture was in the inside smallest diameter portion, along the inner edge of the outer rim. The outer rim is thicker so the stress worked a hairline linear crack along the wheel arc. Tried welding it 3-times but the crack just continued along the same line. Too dangerous to try to save.
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MichaelSmith-hu5pw
When a tire is run flat and the side walls are completely wiped out you cant break the bead with a machine because there is nothing there to push on. I have used a cut off wheel to cut the bead like many others and to me it looks like this is what has happened here. Someone got a little greedy with their cut and got the wheel by accident.
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When a tire is run flat and the side walls are completely wiped out you cant break the bead with a machine because there is nothing there to push on. I have used a cut off wheel to cut the bead like many others and to me it looks like this is what has happened here. Someone got a little greedy with their cut and got the wheel by accident.
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joehartoebben9666
My two cents on the crack. It is not a crack. I have seen this before. The so-called crack may be a Sawzall cut. It happens during a tire change and the tech must cut the tire off with a Sawzall, because fix-a-flat or green slime has glued the bead to the rime. They over cut to release the bead. The rim is fixable by welding it.
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My two cents on the crack. It is not a crack. I have seen this before. The so-called crack may be a Sawzall cut. It happens during a tire change and the tech must cut the tire off with a Sawzall, because fix-a-flat or green slime has glued the bead to the rime. They over cut to release the bead. The rim is fixable by welding it.
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spelunkerd
There's something very appealing about being self employed, and maintaining the breadth of expertise where one will do complex diagnostics in the morning, and change a tire in the afternoon. I'm not sure I'd want all the customer interaction, but the challenge of keeping up would be more than enough academics.
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There's something very appealing about being self employed, and maintaining the breadth of expertise where one will do complex diagnostics in the morning, and change a tire in the afternoon. I'm not sure I'd want all the customer interaction, but the challenge of keeping up would be more than enough academics.
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aku2dimensional
I don't know much about metallurgy but that seems like a stress fracture that was in the rim after being shaped, but barely noticeable, and then over time the rust started weakening it until the weight of the car eventually stressed the rim and fractured it. That's just my guess.
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I don't know much about metallurgy but that seems like a stress fracture that was in the rim after being shaped, but barely noticeable, and then over time the rust started weakening it until the weight of the car eventually stressed the rim and fractured it. That's just my guess.
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adamtrombino106
In 30 yrs in the business, working for GDYR, General, and Firestone, the only times I've seen a steel wheel crack like that was from a really cheap aftermarket wagon wheel or generic replacement steel wheel. Never a factory wheel. I guess FAC really slung low on their suppliers.
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In 30 yrs in the business, working for GDYR, General, and Firestone, the only times I've seen a steel wheel crack like that was from a really cheap aftermarket wagon wheel or generic replacement steel wheel. Never a factory wheel. I guess FAC really slung low on their suppliers.
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paulstandaert5709
Guessing that it is a manufacturer defect. The steel may not have been hot enough or something when it was curled up and it was under tension and it just fatigued and broke. Those wheels DO flex with each revolution and it broke right at a stress concentrator / weak spot.
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Guessing that it is a manufacturer defect. The steel may not have been hot enough or something when it was curled up and it was under tension and it just fatigued and broke. Those wheels DO flex with each revolution and it broke right at a stress concentrator / weak spot.
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edwardlincoln5680
I own some Dodge caravans the steel wheels are a lot thinner than what older cars came with years ago. I hit chuckhole with the van and it puckered the rim and the tire went flat immediately. Straightened the pucker out with a hammer and the wheel is still on the car.
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I own some Dodge caravans the steel wheels are a lot thinner than what older cars came with years ago. I hit chuckhole with the van and it puckered the rim and the tire went flat immediately. Straightened the pucker out with a hammer and the wheel is still on the car.
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darreng745
Having managed to break steel and alloys I would lean towards a pothole with just the right amount of edge and depth as the primary factor added to the age of the wheel and possibly a manufacturing defect, just something that just needed the right circumstances to happen
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Having managed to break steel and alloys I would lean towards a pothole with just the right amount of edge and depth as the primary factor added to the age of the wheel and possibly a manufacturing defect, just something that just needed the right circumstances to happen
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