Cracked A3 Wheel

[welldigger]

So today I was inspecting my A3 wheels I plan on using to convert my deuce to super singles. I was removing the valve stems, old o-rings, and knocking out a couple of bad wheel studs that hold the 2 halves together. I was also sand blasting some rust off in preparation for the wheels to be powder coated. During my inspection I noticed a small crack along the bead area of one wheel half.

My question is could I have a professional welder fix this crack or is this wheel now a large paper weight? Also the crack appears to have formed along the seam where the wheel hoop was welded at the factory.

 

[DUG]

I would replace it. You trust your life to it.

 

[welldigger]

Well I have 7 wheels and I was thinking of using this as the spare. However I do agree I have never been fond of welding on wheels.

 

[wreckerman893]

Welding a rim is a DOT no-go. You can be placed out of service (your truck ain't going nowhere until it's replaced) if you were caught in a roadside spot check. I know you are not commercial but if you are in a truck and they want to pull you over who has the law on their side? I would replace it. By the way.....I have four brand new 395's mounted on A3 rims for sale and I'll be coming to Tim's rally. They won't be cheap but they have never been on the ground.

 

[DUG]

Well I have 7 wheels and I was thinking of using this as the spare. However I do agree I have never been fond of welding on wheels.

I've used my spare four times now. And once I put it on, I fix the problem tire (tube swap, tire swap, whatever) and that becomes the new "spare" while the other stays on the truck.

How much can a replacement rim cost? Can't be much more than having it welded. And even if it is a lot more, what's peace of mind worth? It has one crack now, there might be more lurking.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I don't think it would be bad welded, if done professionally. Take it to a machine shop and see what they say. There is a company here in Cincinnati that repairs wheels as their business.

 

[welldigger]

I've used my spare four times now. And once I put it on, I fix the problem tire (tube swap, tire swap, whatever) and that becomes the new "spare" while the other stays on the truck.

How much can a replacement rim cost? Can't be much more than having it welded. And even if it is a lot more, what's peace of mind worth? It has one crack now, there might be more lurking.

Pretty much what I was thinking. O well I guess I got some spare lock nuts, studs and a valve stem for $200...hey wrecker what tires you have mounted to those wheels cause 395s is what I'm going with but I haven't ordered tires yet.

 

[welldigger]

I don't think it would be bad welded, if done professionally. Take it to a machine shop and see what they say. There is a company here in Cincinnati that repairs wheels as their business.

It almost looks like you could mount a tire and it wouldn't leak. That being said I would never run a wheel I knew was cracked. I think there is a place here in Shreveport that repairs wheels. The big question is I can get another from the same guy for $200. Maybe a bit less since this one was damaged. How much would a repair cost vs. getting another wheel....after I inspect the living.....out of it.

 

[gimpyrobb]

No clue on costs, I just know there is a company near me that does it. Where that crack is, shouldn't be exposed to high stress, I would think it would be ok, but I would let a pro look at it, or at least call and ask. They might say no way and save you a trip. I bet emailing that pic would go a long way too.

 

[welldigger]

Ya there's a guy here local I know who is one **** of a welder. I talked to a buddy who has extensive experience fixing aluminum wheels and he says give it a try. I'm gonna bring the wheel half and see what the pro welder says. I don't trust my own welding skills enough.

 

[gringeltaube]

....... Where that crack is, shouldn't be exposed to high stress.....

Not sure I can follow you here.... every time the crack is at the 6.00 O'clock position that area is pushed up by a force equivalent to half of the load (on that tire). During normal use - and load-depending- the whole bead flange certainly sees a lot of flexing, radially. Once a crack starts there, it will continue inward, for sure.

Since this is not a crack along the bead flange, but across it I don't see a real risk here, of a tire/wheel waiting to blow apart. More like the fact that it won't hold air for much longer this way...
This crack possibly developed from a defective weld seam, at the time of manufacturing. Not really a frequent problem I would say, but it happens... like once I had a HEMTT wheel (brand new!) which was leaking air right there at the joint. Fixed easily, via some grinding/re-welding.

A good (MIG)welder should be able to repair that wheel permanently AND finish the surface in such a way that you couldn't even tell.
Of course, the question is always cost of repair (plus maybe owner's peace of mind, too) vs. replacing it.


G.

 

[welldigger]

Well g your advice is always appreciated. I'm debating on attempting to groove out the crack and have it mig welded or tig welded. I could possibly mig weld it myself but I have never used tig. However I know some people who are masters at tig and mig welding. I'll probably leave the welding to them. I can weld OK but in this case OK isn't good enough.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I would have thought that whatever weight the wheel/tire sees, it sees the whole time(six or twelve position). Anyhoo, we see it the same way, the rim can be fixed and be trustworthy.

 

[welldigger]

Well $35 and 20 min with my angle die grinder I'm good to go.

 

[JasonS]

Welding a rim is a DOT no-go. You can be placed out of service (your truck ain't going nowhere until it's replaced) if you were caught in a roadside spot check. I know you are not commercial but if you are in a truck and they want to pull you over who has the law on their side? I would replace it. By the way.....I have four brand new 395's mounted on A3 rims for sale and I'll be coming to Tim's rally. They won't be cheap but they have never been on the ground.

http://www.metallurgist.com/html/TractorTrailerWheelFailure.htm

 

[trukhead]

I think drilling a hole at the end of the crack and a hole where the crack diverged from the straight radius line crack would alleviate the tendency to crack. Grinding the crack to depth and then brazing it would also work. Brazing is lower temp and some alloys have almost as much tensile strength as weaker steels.

 

[welldigger]

I appreciate the concern fellas but this was a small crack repaired in the factory weld. If this would have been in the wheel center then I would have scrapped the wheel. The crack was grooved out and welded by a professional welder. Again there are businesses that specialize in welding cracked wheels. I'm confident this wheel is perfectly safe. I will keep an eye on it but I doubt it will be a problem. And if it is then I will scrap the wheel.

 

[73m819]

Still a cracked wheel is a cracked wheel, if you could fix them SAFELY, there would NOT be DOT regs against it, there is a reason for these regs, "someone DIED because of a repaired wheel", not ALL repaired wheels will fail but why take the risk knowing that it can happen and if it does, maybe hurt/kill somebody. and if it does you will lose a LOT more then the price of a replacement wheel.

 

[gringeltaube]

Jason and others: nothing against DOT regulations or experts like Mr. Jerner...!
I am very far from being a metallurgist but clearly these are two very different situations, wouldn't you say so? And probably we are even missing part of the story...? (Someone explain to me how the whole hub could come off the trailer axle, with an inner wheel cracked that way, if the outer wheel was intact and still bolted in place...???)

If the OP came with a cracked wheel center I would have said, scrap that wheel! The same, if there was a crack running parallel to the bead flange. That would be from fatigue, of course, and NOT repairable!

In this particular case, if that weld doesn't hold, that crack will soon develop again and be visible from outside at least; eventually start leaking air - nothing else. Still time to look for a replacement, then...

Just my

G.

 

[welldigger]

Jason and others: nothing against DOT regulations or experts like Mr. Jerner...!
I am very far from being a metallurgist but clearly these are two very different situations, wouldn't you say so? And probably we are even missing part of the story...? (Someone explain to me how the whole hub could come off the trailer axle, with an inner wheel cracked that way, if the outer wheel was intact and still bolted in place...???)

If the OP came with a cracked wheel center I would have said, scrap that wheel! The same, if there was a crack running parallel to the bead flange. That would be from fatigue, of course, and NOT repairable!

In this particular case, if that weld doesn't hold, that crack will soon develop again and be visible from outside at least; eventually start leaking air - nothing else. Still time to look for a replacement, then...

Just my

G.

As G said in this case the worst that's going to happen is the wheel leaks air. I take the safety of myself and those around me very seriously. My wheel center is not what is cracked and a chunk of the wheel isn't going to break off. It will leak air long before a catastrophic failure happened.