One of my OEM alloy wheels on my 01 PT Cruiser has an inside dent. It is enough to give a measurable runout on the inside of the tire tread.
Is it ever OK to take a whack at the rim with a sledge hammer to work out the bend or is this always a death sentence for the wheel? (I know, I will pick up a replacement off e-bay, but if a whack will work I'll give it a try also).
Richard.
No problem with steel wheels. Bad with aluminum wheels. Aluminum castings don't bend, they break.
The manufacturers of aftermarket wheels know this which is why they mostly sell alloy wheels, and change the designs extremely frequently. They want to make sure you can't buy just ONE wheel when you run over a chuckhole, that you have to buy a new set.
(I know, I will
check your local wreckers first.
Ted
"Is it ever OK to take a whack at the rim with a sledge hammer to work out
Of course aluminum wheels bend. I have bent many over the years just by hitting a pot hole. I have yet to see one break from a pot hole hit. But your point I guess is that it may break if I try to hit it in an effort to take out the bend. Has anyone given that a try?
Richard.
Our Local Hub cap AAnnie fixes things like that,cracks and bent alloys.thay also sell a lot of wheels.
Aluminum will bend but if you try to bend it back it usually breaks. The pros that repair these thing use heat. Aluminum is not like steel it is not that flexible.
To see what I mean take a piece of sheet steel, like from a soup can. Now bend it sharply so that it creases. Bend it back, then bend it forward, then bend it back, repeat. Eventually it will snap. But you will be able to flex it quite a few times.
If you try the same thing with aluminum it will maybe go 2-3 bend cycles then snap, a lot fewer than steel. Of course if you heat it up with a propane torch (it is possible to melt aluminum with a propane torch) it will become very flexible and you can flex it quite a lot.
If your wheel has a pooched in area and it is not losing air, you can do more damage with a sledge than just leaving it alone. I would also guess that anyplace that could repair it would charge more than an Ebay replacement.
Since you said you had factory alloys you should be able to match them from a wrecker without a lot of trouble.
Ted
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