Welding aluminium wheel, cracked spoke

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Hey guys.My brother recently bought a set of cast aluminium wheels for his car and later noticed that one of the spokes has a crack right through it. The rims arn't damaged at all execpt for the cracked rim so I guess there must be some casting defect.Anyway, are damages like these repairable? (click on the pictures to make them bigger)Do you guys have any tips on how to repair a damage like this? (I have acess to a 300A Tig)Best regardsErik
Reply:sorry to tell you but you have a huge paper weight now, wheel is not repairable  The rim itself is no longer safe because the structural integrity of the wheel has been compromised The slightest bump could cause the wheel to break more and then would potentially cause an accident! so please replace the wheel.
Reply:Your friend gets to chalk that up to educational expense!...from now on, he should inspect things carefully before buying them.   That should have been easy to spot! There are companies that specialize in doing these repairs...but I personally wouldn't want to be running around always thinking about "that wheel"., plus the repair and shipping could equal the cost of a new wheel.  He'll have to buy another wheel...or turn around and sell the three good ones...because there is someone else out there who has one damaged as well, and looking for a replacement.  List them on Craigslist, and maybe ebay, being sure to have first checked the oremaining ones for true and warp, and have clear front and back of each (with atag on it identifying "wheel 1, 2, etc." so the buyer can see exactly the wheel he is buying..Disappointing, I know...but not all sellers are going to be truthful or forthcoming, so.."Let the Buyer Beware!"Last edited by hillco; 04-05-2009 at 09:12 AM."Good Enough Never Is"MIller AC/DC  ThunderboltHobart HH180, 125EZRiland Cut 40 Plasma oxy/act  outfitTons of "stuff", all treasures to me!
Reply:Get with a member here named Castweld.  He is an expert cast aluminum tig repair welder, seems to do it just about every day on all sorts of different items and can tell you exactly how to go about repairing it.  I have repaired aluminum wheels by grinding out the crack in a 'V' and welding in multiple passes with ac tig.  I am no expert on it though.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:ive welded a few wheels before. when ive done it i have drilled holes at the ends of the crack (when possible) gave it some preheat and welded with a 4043 filler. never had a problem. might have to sand the weld down because they need to be balanced. ive never had a complaints from the few ive done. i have noticed that when they crack they also bend. might have to do some hammering too. overall its prolly a bad idea to do it? id check it from time to time if you decide to do it.but i cant imagine your wheel just exploding when youre goin down the road because you welded it.only thing worse than an ugly woman is an ugly weld
Reply:Wheels are repairable but this one is not!!!!!!!!! any cracks nears spokes or on spokes  please dont attempt it this is a safety issue.
Reply:There are spun aluminum wheels, cast aluminum wheels, and forged (cold and hot) aluminum wheels.Don't think they are all repairable!That said, I'm no expert aluminum weldor, but I've HEARD that the cast and spun wheels are not safely repairable.
Reply:Thanks for the fast replies!So it's basically a no-no to repair this rim?Personally I'm not to keen to take on these kinds of repairs, where lives migth be at stakes if something goes wrong, as well as I feel that I lack the experience. But I promised my brother to at least ask.RegardsErik
Reply:Stay away from it....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:You could call these guys    http://www.fixrim.comWe ran against a team they sponsored, I have seen some of the carnage that happened to the aluminum wheels they have fixed, they would be able to tell you if it can be fixed, and do it for you, most likely cheaper than a new wheel.Yup
Reply:Eric,First you'd  have to find out the specific alloy and manufacturing process used to make the rim.  Without knowing, let me emphasize KNOWING, exactly what the rim is made of and how the rim is made, you would just be guessing.The alloy could be an unweldable alloy, the rim could be heat treated (which means it is then unweldable unless you can redo the heat treatment after a possible weld repair), the rim could be forged or cold-worked which means it is then unweldable, etc, etc, etc.And guessing when life or limb is involved ...  Maybe it could be repaired.  Maybe it can't.Best and easiest and safest 'fix'?  Replace it.Oh, and "not damaged"?  Not true, the spoke is cracked!  And the cracked spoke has a chunk missing, which could have happened first and then acted as a crack initiation site.By the way, your English is excellent.    The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Originally Posted by MoonRiseEric,First you'd  have to find out the specific alloy and manufacturing process used to make the rim.  Without knowing, let me emphasize KNOWING, exactly what the rim is made of and how the rim is made, you would just be guessing.The alloy could be an unweldable alloy, the rim could be heat treated (which means it is then unweldable unless you can redo the heat treatment after a possible weld repair), the rim could be forged or cold-worked which means it is then unweldable, etc, etc, etc.And guessing when life or limb is involved ...