Welding Up a Cracked Rim

[MMH]

I just purchased a used 4500 JD. It has R4 tires. Thought I had a flat, but when I went to get it fixed found out that the rim is cracked. I have a mig welder and am debating welding this up. I would weld a series of tacks then use a needle scaler to beat back down. This would be done to both sides of the crack. I would finish off by grinding/emery cloth to smooth out. Finally, would install a tube so that I would not have to worry if the weld was airtight or not. Of course, the other option is to spend $189 on a new rim.

Comments?

 

[kennyd]

Sounds like you have a good handle on it, go for it :thumbsup:

Take pictures

 

[topbuilder]

Could be the cracks are from fatigue, if so they may reappear. I'd weld it and run it.:thumbsup:

 

[beenthere]

Would appreciate a pic of the rim with the cracks.

And welding sounds worth a good 'ol college try. Nothing lost but the experience for you and all of us.

 

[crash325]

I'm not a safety nut or part of the safety police.

But its a bad idea to weld it up. You could have a real failure that happens almost instantly. Like a small explosion.

Could happen first time you air up the tire or months later, just sort of a time bomb waiting to go off.

 

[kennyd]

I'm not a safety nut or part of the safety police.

But its a bad idea to weld it up. You could have a real failure that happens almost instantly. Like a small explosion.

Could happen first time you air up the tire or months later, just sort of a time bomb waiting to go off.

Dude, he said he was going to tube it

 

[crash325]

Dude, he said he was going to tube it

DUDE !!!!!!!
Tube makes absoluty no difference. Do you know anything about Split Rims?? They are all tubed and also have a heavy Liner that goes against the rim.

After they are put together, for safety they are aired up in a safety cage. I have fixed lots of them and never had 1 blow. But do know folks that did.

The part of the rim that gets welded will not have the same temper as it originally did. Harder, softer, brittle, stronger, weaker ????? Who knows.

I would not want to stand beside that tire and rim at any time.

In my world DUDE is an insult. Maybe you want to change you tone and language.

 

[megaboz]

MMH, the tube will have no strength what so ever. As for the other comment about the heating making it weaker, that is a valid point, may not make it weaker but without knowing for sure, it definitely could be weaker.

 

[wdchyd]

Hey, for $189 I'd weld it too.......if it was on my truck towing a boat going down the interstate then I'd op for a new one, but if it was a tractor, what's the worse case......a walk back to the barn..??

 

[MMH]

Allot of good comments. Thanks to all that replied. Tire will definately be off of the rim, so no pyrolysis. Crack is across rim, approximately 1" long, and not in circumferential direction (not in direction that would promote splitting if weld failed). Will drill small hole at base of crack to stop further crack migration. Will weld w/ series of small tacks, so heating will be localized. Original rim construction was rolled steel & welded. Cannot believe that rim was heat treated after welding as this would increase strength (and brittleness) but not toughness. As rim in this area is already annealed, further welding will not reduce the strength in this area any more. Maximum tire pressure is 45 psi. If rim fails, I would expect localized failure of repaired area, not catastrophic split rim failure where where pressure created sufficient force to push apart the two sides of the rim. This failure mode should not be significantly different that a flat - a hole will appear & the air rush out.

Maybe I'm wrong on all of the above. Would still welcome comments/discussion.

 

[LD1]

Allot of good comments. Thanks to all that replied. Tire will definately be off of the rim, so no pyrolysis. Crack is across rim, approximately 1" long, and not in circumferential direction (not in direction that would promote splitting if weld failed). Will drill small hole at base of crack to stop further crack migration. Will weld w/ series of small tacks, so heating will be localized. Original rim construction was rolled steel & welded. Cannot believe that rim was heat treated after welding as this would increase strength (and brittleness) but not toughness. As rim in this area is already annealed, further welding will not reduce the strength in this area any more. Maximum tire pressure is 45 psi. If rim fails, I would expect localized failure of repaired area, not catastrophic split rim failure where where pressure created sufficient force to push apart the two sides of the rim. This failure mode should not be significantly different that a flat - a hole will appear & the air rush out.

Maybe I'm wrong on all of the above. Would still welcome comments/discussion.

Go for it. I was reading through everything and saw no-body mentioned drilling a hole. Until you last post that is. Good Idea:thumbsup:

And 45PSI you must be talking a front tire???? So it isnt a really large tire. It sounds like a good plan to me:thumbsup:

 

[Ductape]

Weld it, and take a few pics. :thumbsup:

 

[crash325]

Allot of good comments. Thanks to all that replied. Tire will definately be off of the rim, so no pyrolysis. Crack is across rim, approximately 1" long, and not in circumferential direction (not in direction that would promote splitting if weld failed). Will drill small hole at base of crack to stop further crack migration. Will weld w/ series of small tacks, so heating will be localized. Original rim construction was rolled steel & welded. Cannot believe that rim was heat treated after welding as this would increase strength (and brittleness) but not toughness. As rim in this area is already annealed, further welding will not reduce the strength in this area any more. Maximum tire pressure is 45 psi. If rim fails, I would expect localized failure of repaired area, not catastrophic split rim failure where where pressure created sufficient force to push apart the two sides of the rim. This failure mode should not be significantly different that a flat - a hole will appear & the air rush out.

Maybe I'm wrong on all of the above. Would still welcome comments/discussion.

I don't want to sound harsh or mean. But had you said that the crack was across the rim up front, it would have saved a lot of the time and worry.

A little note on Heat Treating. Chances are the rim was heat treated once all welding was done. Heat treating is used for more than hardening. Heat is used to anneal (Relax & soften) to hard and brittle and all things in-between.

I got some front rims for an old Ford tractor at $55 each. You might look around on the net and see what you can find.

 

[burnieman]

Just weld it dude before some of these guys kill each other. Weld everything. If it breaks after you weld it, weld it again. If that doesn't work buy a replacement. That's my life.

 

[MMH]

A little note on Heat Treating. Chances are the rim was heat treated once all welding was done. Heat treating is used for more than hardening. Heat is used to anneal (Relax & soften) to hard and brittle and all things in-between.

Could be. When I use the term "heat treatment" I use it in a very generic sence, meaning that it may involve heating, quenching, tempering (reheating, holding at a specific temperature for a specific time, and then controlling the cool down rate), etc. Note that depending on what is being welded, letting it air cool can be considered a quench process. If tight cooling control is necessary then heating blankets are requried.

I'm not an expert on wheels, but do know something about welding. I assumed (and I may very well be wrong) that the wheel was not heat treated because any additional steps cost money. I assumed that these were not high performance rims and that a low carbon steel & welding process would have been specified that did not require additional post-weld heat treat. Again, I am not an expert in this area and may be very wrong.

 

[Soundguy]

Hey, for $189 I'd weld it too.......if it was on my truck towing a boat going down the interstate then I'd op for a new one, but if it was a tractor, what's the worse case......a walk back to the barn..??

yep.. an automotive rim I wouldn't weld.. a tractor rim... for sure... BTDT