Technical Cracked spoke on 5 spoke et's

Guy here at work has a full set of et's 2 are cracked at the bottom of the spoke almost a hairline crack down where spoke goes into the outter part of wheel. . Would any of you guys fix em or walk away from them. Im going to for sure get all four of them but two are cracked. One crack per wheel. I figured if they are trashed i could make something out of them or yard art. I have no pictures.

 

I am no expert, but I have a friend who owns a machine shop who has repaired them before.

Here is some info that might be helpful

https://www.google.com/search?q=rep...8&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

 

Are they 2 piece wheel?,,photos would sure help.

How much does he want,,you could at least end up with 2 good wheels. HRP

 

I have had the same thing, and we ended up getting rid of the rims. The cost of fixing them at a shop was more than they were worth. If you have a Tig, or access to a tig, it may be cost effective to repair them, although you may well throw of the balance capability of the rims.

 

pro fix only...

 

can be fixed but as others mentioned, might not be worth the expense....if super super rare wheels that were correct / original for a historic, known gasser, id say dig in and have them fixed...but just some old style wheels for your hot rod, probably best to move on...

 

while i'm sure they could be fixed if done by the right guy , i would always be thinking about those repairs as i drove down the road at 70+ mph. and i'd be checking for cracks every time i stopped... for my peace of mind i'd pass on them.

now if Eric Vaughn fixed them , i wouldn't worry at all

http://www.ericvaughnmachine.com/

 

http://www.royrezentesdesign.com/clientspace/t3w/T3W2843_WebSiteRedesign/staging3/wheel_repair.html

I'd call ET and ask about their repair service.
List says 125.00 to fix a crack.

 

Yard art or static display only, IMO, You and your family's safety are to valuable to take a chance on wheel failure= disaster. John

 

a professional repair would cost more than the wheel is worth. I had some old Minilite style wheels on an OT car and cracked one hitting a giant pothole. found a wheel place that repaired it but it was like $150.00. my choice with these wheels were repair the one or buy 4 different ones and have all my newish tires transferred over since nobody made the wheel anymore and I couldn't just buy one good one.

your cracked wheel sounds like a good hose reel to me.

 

HRP I don't know the price yet i checked them out while back ago when i was looking at his 57 and just now got around to asking if they were for sale. The reason i kinda want to repair them they are the old ones i believe and 15s and are chevy bolt pattern.
STudeabaker eric. No i don't own a tig. Im going to check around when i get them to see if someone would take the risk and fix them or not. You know how buisnesses are today. The liabilities make them scared to take on tasks like that.
31Vicky with a hemi. Thanks for the info. if and when i get them ill see if they are interested in fixing them.

 

Try first. I know I'd want their opinion prior to purchase on repair, failure reason and the cost for negotiating.

 

Sure the crack isn't in the mold??

 

I'd be more concerned that the two good wheels are, or are about to crack. Was the set once on a truck that saw some heavy off roading?

I'd pass unless they're really cheap and/or you have a friend that can correctly (expertly) repair the cracked pair for a song.

Price the deal as if you were buying two good wheels-and having two junk wheels tossed in for free.

I would have a tough time speeding down the road on them unless I magnafluxed all 4 wheels to see if any of them are compromised further than the two obvious cracks.

 

Amen, they'd make nice hose reels.

 

There's a good chance that they can be fixed, but it's all pure speculation until we can see exactly where on the wheel the crack is, and what direction it's traveling in. Those two points right there will determine if the wheel is fixable.

I repaired one of my 15x8.5 ET wheels, but the crack was on the outer flange and relatively small. I stop-drilled the crack at it's outer edges, and then ground a trench and Tig'd it closed. Ground it flush to the surface and had it sent out to be re-polished.

 

If A Man made it, A Man can fix it !! Chris

 

up here there is a wheel repair service that does pick-up and delivery is used by the insurance companies,dealers, and body shops. they look like new when returned all this to say check with your local dealer or body shop for the phone #

 

A cracked wheel should be thrown in a big pile with other parts that should never be welded on like cranks, blocks, pitman arms, frames etc......

 

The issue of whether the other spokes are close to failing is intriguing.
Here's some 'light' reading...at least it pertains to the subject we need to solve!
The Alloy wheel type is shown on page 4.
http://www.idc-online.com/technical_references/pdfs/mechanical_engineering/Fatigue%20Analysis.pdf

 

When we talked it was as if he was going to give them to me for free. I would have no money in them so im more into getting them fixed. I would be ok with getting them welded professionally i know i can't do it. But would be good idea to check into getting the other ones checked for possible cracks. They look just like these two wheels and are cracked where the dark gray hits the outter part. Don't know if they are two piece but i don't think they are. When and if get them i will definately post some pictures for you guys and go from there. Thanks for info hambers.

 

...axle housings, bodies, fenders...

 

I am a licensed welder and have been TIG welding aluminum since the 70s. If a friend asked me to repair the wheel I would advise him to make a wall hanging or hose reel out of it. I know I could repair it, but the liability is just not worth the chance you take. Outer aluminum wheel rim, no problem, spoke, not me.

 

All great ideas.
Best one - send it to ET - team III for them to decide how to fix, test, repair, replace their own wheels. At a cost of 125.00 its a no brainer
Link provided earlier.

 

I can get behind this. I believe I would want them zyglow (sp?) tested after the repair. Surely Team III does this ? Basically like magnafux but for aluminum and mag.

I don't know what these particular wheels are worth, but I'm on the fence about the safety issues....Aluminum gets way soft when welded, but there are ways to deal with it.

Anyway, I totally agree that sending them to Team III for evaluation and possible repair is the obvious and smart thing to do.

 

My local metal recycling facility pays $40/wheel. Were they mine, I'd have $120 in my pocket.

 

alot of wheel repair guys will tell you repairing a crack at the spoke to barrel area is a 50/50 gamble. cracks to the barrel like posted above fixed like posted above is about 90/10 gamble.

look to see if there is any kind of date code stamped on them. i've been told more than once that the later runs of the ET 5 spoke are more prone to the cracking at the spoke/barrel area than earlier ones.

i've kinda been looking for a set for the unibody. Either ET or Appliance as i like their slightly different spoke than some of the others.

my problem is i either need 2 4 3/4 and 2 4 1/2 or unilug pattern or redrill front or rear hubs to fit the same pattern.

oh and i'm broke and need them cheap hahaha...ken....

 

Get me thier address. $.65/lb here. Makes for about $10/wheel.

I would not run wheels with a broken/repaired spoke. You have already have a 20% failure, you don't know when the next one breaks.

 

X2 They would be as good as new................or better!!

Frank

 

Welding aluminum will leave the metal soft even when you have a large heat oven to warm the wheel to around 700 deg and do the weld then keep it hot and cool it slowly dropping 50 deg every couple hours until they are cold. only an expert should attempt to do this work. me I wouldn't touch them. I am (navy certified) welder and I wouldn't do that job for anything .Life is worth more than a cheep set of wheels ...JMO