Badly cracked wheel rim

C

Commander Toasty

Member
OK so I got a flat while out of town yesterday but no big deal, since it was a slow leak I pumped it up and made it home without a problem. Jacked it up and figured I'd pull the tube with the wheel mounted. Now my vision is fair without 'readers' and so when I am polishing and such I don't normally wear glasses, which means I can't see fine detail. Looking for the puncture I put on my glasses and really got an eyeful - of a badly cracked rim! Five very fine cracks originating at the spoke in each case, not from the lug hole. The location of the these cracks is such that a full failure would have been catastrophic with the entire rim separating from the lug portion, and leaving the vehicle.

I assume this is simply age and fatigue. My other four show no sign of this failure. But the cracks are extremely fine and very difficult to see. My point being friends - go inspect yours now!
 

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I bought a rim with a spoke crack in it and had it welded up. Gound it down and then had it powder coated, she works fine.

Mike
 
Which brings up a good point ... I am reluctant to have this repaired. Maybe it was a bad welding day at the factory or a bad metal run but whatever I think I'd prefer to replace the wheel, get it powder coated to match, and not have any worries. But - what are wheels going for these days and what are some sources? It's a 21".
 
Lucky man ,,as you said if the entire rim separated when driving.... The man upstairs was watching over you...[ i would not repair it] seems metal is fatigued...It will be on your mind when driving....if you try to fix it.
 
My main concern is why it happened. Any chance you are running hydraulic brakes without the correct spacers? Any chance you have an AR drum (or wheel)?

Charlie Stephens
 
Mechanical brakes. And the brake drum is correct and without damage.
Who knows the history of this 81 year old wheel? It may have been on many cars in its life, swapped from car to car and driven hard. Or simply a bad day at the factory. Plus who knows how long it may have been like this? If not for putting on some serious magnifier glasses I would not have seen it, and it may have been in this condition for a long time. I'll tell you one thing I do know - from now on I am making a point of wearing said glasses for an overall detailed inspection a few times a year!
 
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I have had similar experiences with the 21 inch wheels. I one case, a wheel cracked while in (very) cold storage. Since then, I do a through inspection of the wheels in the spring as I am doing my "annual" inspection and servicing. It is my feeling that cracked wheels should be discarded, not repaired. Gar Williams
 
Cracking around the bolt holes is the usual result of using a late wheel
on an early drum, while cracking in from the spokes can be the result
of an early wheel on a late drum. Easy to spot the later, as there will be
a visible gap between the wheel (where yours are cracked) and the
brake drum.
The wheel should contact against the drum at this edge as well as the
bolt circle when the wheels are tightened.
Is it possible for a thick coating of powder on the inside of the bolt circle
to change the wheel contact?

Regards
Art
 
I just boght a used original 21" rim to use as a spare. After cleanup, I found it has similar cracks, but they only go from the spokes to away from the hub. I am not sure if I am getting it fixed or replacing as it is only rthe spare (mostly for show) and I do not drive very far from home.
 
Many 21" rims are cracked from the hub edge to a spoke. I inspected about 100 of the ones I have and found 37 that were not cracked. IMO it is a design flaw of the 21" wheel. I have seen plenty of 21" rims repaired and not give any further problems after 20+ years after the weld. I would take it to a certified welder and have it welded, and then only grind down the inside of the hub and leave the weld bead on the outside, have the wheel re-coated and put back in to use.
 
I do not think this problem is isolated only to 21 in. wheels. I was getting a set of 19 in. together to be powdercoated for my '31 and found two that were cracked in the same manner. I V'ed them out and Tig Welded them. I finished them on the outside but left plenty of weld on the inside. I am not concerned about them re-cracking but I do keep an eye on all the wheels, watching for cracks.

Chris
 
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