How To Fix a Cracked Rim? (Without Welding)
A cracked rim can no longer hold air and it doesn’t matter how little the crack is. It’s both dangerous and annoying and you may think about the possible solutions to fix it.
In this article, I’ll tell you how you can fix a cracked rim without welding. I’ll also discuss the major causes of a cracked rim and how you can avoid them. You’ll also find some safety hazards linked to a cracked rim and the possible failure of some important components of a vehicle.
What Causes a Cracked Rim?
The harsh truth is that a rim can be cracked at any time even though it is made of metal. Rims aren’t indestructible and vulnerable to several hazards related to roads and highways.
A cracked rim makes it difficult to roll evenly on the road. Let’s discuss elaborately the causes of a cracked rim.
- Potholes
Even a car with low speed on the speedometer can significantly damage its rim by meeting minor depressions in the roadway. The right amount of force applied on the rim by hitting a pothole can also bend and twist a rim which may lead to a crack.
- Driving on a Flat Tire
Flat tires or tires of thin profile can’t significantly absorb the impacts while driving on the road. In this situation, the bounce factor isn’t enough and something hard will hit your rims. This can cause a crack in the rim.
- Corrosion & Salted Roads
If you drive your car regularly through corrosive substances and chemicals, the rim can damage itself because of corrosion. It’s dangerous to run over salted winter roads as it’s terrible for most surfaces including the roads and wheels of your car. Salt and corrosive substances cause fatal damage to the rim that may lead to cracking over time.
- Curb Damage
The rim of your vehicle can easily damage by taking a very sharp turn against a curb and getting bumped. Parking your car alongside a tall curb can be hazardous as the cement of the curb will put a noticeable scratch on your wheels.
- Driving Over Broken Pavement
Sometimes being too careful about the curbs isn’t enough to make the rims of your vehicle safe. Driving over broken pavement is similar to driving over a curb, which can also cause a crack in your rim.
Also read: Are Cheap Tires Worth it? Are They Safe?
How To Fix a Cracked Rim Without Welding?
Even a small crack in the rim is a matter of worry. Replacement can be a good possible solution but it’ll cost a lot more money. If the crack is small enough to be fixed and go for some days, repairing it can be a cost-effective solution.
Welding over a crack for fixing it isn’t safe as the surface suffered from corrosion will remain and make it the weakest point of the wheel. For forged aluminum rims, welding reverts the properties of the rim that can’t be restored anyway. Furthermore, a welding process to fix a rim leads to some other potential safety hazards.
It’s possible to avoid welding to fix a crack. Following the steps stated below will help to improve a cracked rim without welding.
- First, park your car on a smooth and flat surface. The car should be arranged in a proper position which will allow you to access the crack of the rim easily.
- Remove the rim from the wheel for a better working experience. Then locate the crack very carefully and work with a wired brush in the affected area. Make sure that the brushing covers some extra surfaces from the crack.
- The next step is to remove paint, rust, and dust from the brushed surface. Then wipe clean the brushed surface and then apply rubbing alcohol after making it dry.
- Now it’s time to prepare the epoxy. Mix the resin and hardener and stir it with a stick until the mixture of epoxy turns into an even color.
- Now apply the epoxy mixture on the cracked surface. It’s wise to use a flat scraper and apply force to down the scrapper while releasing the epoxy over the cracked surface.
- The next step is to dry the treated surface carefully as ignoring this step can result in poor performance when the concern related to a proper repair comes.
- Fix the rim back to your wheel.
- Finally, have a proper final inspection to see if everything is okay. Take the driving test to see how all of your efforts work.
Tips To Prevent Cracks From Appearing in Your Rim
Driving on roads having cracked rims should strictly be avoided as the minimum influence can cause a blowout that may result in an ill-fated accident. An extensive amount of cracks pose several safety hazards and small cracks grow day by day to form larger and more dangerous ones.
So, a vehicle needs to drive without any crack on the rim. Following some useful and effective suggestions will help you to prevent cracks from appearing in your rim.
- Never drive your car with an underinflated or flat tire.
- When driving on roads and highways, avoid potholes.
- Avoid salted winter roads and surfaces with chemicals that may lead to corrosion.
- Don’t drive too close to the curb of the roads.
- Never drive on damaged pavement.
- Remove brake dust from the wheels regularly.
Also read: Low Profile Tires for Off-Roading: Pros and Cons
What are the Safety Hazards Linked With a Cracked Rim?
It’s never a good decision to go on with your vehicle having one or more cracks in the rim. A lot of safety hazards like tire blowouts, alignment issues, difficulty in steering, unfortunate accidents due to loss of control, and vibrations are related to a cracked rim.
A tire blowout is one of the most notable dangers of a cracked rim. You’ll lose control of your car because of a blowout that may lead to a fatal accident, causing harm to your life.
Because of a cracked rim, the handling experience of a car changes dramatically. You’ll feel difficulty in the steering system as it won’t work properly. This kind of situation leads to unwanted accidents.
Loss of vehicle control and excessive vibrations make it difficult for a driver to drive a vehicle properly.
Which Other Components Can Fail if You Keep Driving With a Cracked Rim?
Keeping driving with a cracked rim can cause damage and failure to other important components of the vehicle. The steering system, suspension system, tire, wheel, and in some cases the whole vehicle can fail or crash because of a cracked rim.
Blowout of the tire can happen in the surrounding of the damaged rim. Tire blowouts at high speeds may lead to a condition where you have little or not at all control of your vehicle.
The cracked rim also has a significant effect on the steering system of the vehicle. The control of the vehicle gets lesser and unwanted vibrations make it difficult to drive the car properly. A cracked rim also compromises when the concern related to the overall integrity of the vehicle comes. It leads to alignment issues and damages the proper functionality of the suspension system.
