Welding Tips and Tricks

Whats the best filler rod for unknown grade aluminium rim repair? This is not something i would normally do, but its for my friend and he asked me to try just to see how it goes

Dan_Deflavis wrote:Whats the best filler rod for unknown grade aluminium rim repair? This is not something i would normally do, but its for my friend and he asked me to try just to see how it goes

Sometimes the material grade is marked on the wheel--not often, however.
..and is wheel cast or wrought?
...and pics of the break?
...and does wheel show signs of distortion?
roundness
face runout
lateral runout
radial runout
....and are very low profile tire mounted on wheel (which is cause of most wheel breakage today)?

wheel is a stock 2005 trailblazer wheel, crack isn't too bad from what im told, when i get the rim here later ill post pics.

If it's wrought, 4943 is a good option. If it's cast, 4047 is a good option. You'll get better information when we see it.

Steve

Not to derail the original question, but how "safe" is it to weld cracks on a aluminum wheel? I am not being a "safety nerd" or suggesting we all cower in fear or liability, etc. I'm genuinely asking the question out of my own ignorance of the matter. I would not do it myself and have no plans to as I'm not a very proficient welder so tend not to attempt critical stuff and I know people DO, in fact, weld damaged auto wheels.

I'm just curious how difficult this is and what is involved. Is there any particular protocol to test the resulting weld, are there specific procedures involved, etc?

Just curious really.

Also curious.

I've had many opportunities and requests to repair (motorcycle) rims and have always said 'no', as I am concerned that a failure at the track could be very dangerous and I am not particularly savvy regarding metallurgy/annealing/fatigue failures of these critical parts.


Moz

clavius wrote:Not to derail the original question, but how "safe" is it to weld cracks on a aluminum wheel? I am not being a "safety nerd" or suggesting we all cower in fear or liability, etc. I'm genuinely asking the question out of my own ignorance of the matter. I would not do it myself and have no plans to as I'm not a very proficient welder so tend not to attempt critical stuff and I know people DO, in fact, weld damaged auto wheels.
I'm just curious how difficult this is and what is involved. Is there any particular protocol to test the resulting weld, are there specific procedures involved, etc?
Just curious really.

MosquitoMoto wrote: Also curious.
I've had many opportunities and requests to repair (motorcycle) rims and have always said 'no', as I am concerned that a failure at the track could be very dangerous and I am not particularly savvy regarding metallurgy/annealing/fatigue failures of these critical parts.
Moz

You are both correct. There are situations where you should NOT weld damaged wheels (unknown material, performance environment, lack of protocol, etc). However, if you can eliminate these variables, then it is perfectly reasonable to weld broken things. But you MUST know many technical aspects of the material, metallurgy, annealing, heat treatment/normalization, etc that may be required to return the item to original condition. If in doubt, DON'T. That's the easiest rule to follow.

There is no way I'd personally weld anything that someone else's life depends upon. Not because I can't weld properly, but purely because I don't have the professional certifications to defend myself if a problem occurs. I can certainly do it to the standard, but without the paper, I won't touch it. Without a Liability Policy to protect me should a problem occur, I won't touch it. And that policy requires I have the certifications. So there's the lay-person answer to a reasonable question.

It certainly can be done safely and properly, but that is a risk assumed by the welder to assure hisself of having done it properly.

I know a bit of the theory behind wheel repairs although I am an absolute novice welder, just bought myself a razorweld ac/do .
I have some wheels to repair myself when my welding gets good enough..

When wheels are cast the rim creates a kind of tension, you have to recreate this as best as possible or it will most likely fail again quite soon.. Put up a pic and I might be able to help more..