Dent in alloy wheel rim: Repairable?

[Barry]

Just had a call from Dad.

Seems the family dog carrier (V70 on 18in rims) has been picking a fight with a pot-hole.

The inside (so not visible usually) rim has had a flat bashed in that is about 2 inches across I gather, and is 'soft' in nature, rather than a very sharp shape. Tyre's had it of course.

What's the protocol with dealing with rim damage like this: would a company basically just knock it out, and true the rim on a lathe, or would it be a bit more high-tech? To put it another way, is it possible that I can take a load of suitably shaped dollies over there and get it back where it should be? They're on a bit of a budget, but would replace the rim at a push, but we'd much rather save it if possible. I know there are lots of men in vans doing refurb, but suspect that if they say they can deal with it on a mobile basis, they'll only be bashing it straight anyway.

Any thoughts, warnings or advice?

BTW, Unfortunately, it seems as though the guilty pot-hole is some way away, and it occurred a few days ago, so it's probably not worth the hassle of going back and getting the details for a claim, as it's almost certainly been dealt with now anyway.

Many thanks .

[Nige]

Bash, or shape it out if you can, smooth the highs out and use a metalised filler and paint up. Provided it's true and isn't damaged from a safety point of view, otherwise its just cosmetic is it not?!?

Having said that a man in van probably would charge well under a ton to sort it.

[Gary71]

If you bent it far enough to destroy/deflate the tyre then buy a new wheel.

I know it's the expensive option, but it's just not worth the risk.

[Sam]

I had a very slightly bent split rim on my car once that spat off a tyre at 80mph. It was messy.

What might you save by having it repaired rather than replaced? £100? £200?

Not worth the risk on such a critical item IMHO.

[Bertroex]

Breakers or an accidented car on the forecourt of the main dealers. Take your prettiest niece to the foreman, make her cry, and 50 quid in nicely folded for the friday fund will make miracles happen. With a bit of luck they will even put the wheel on the car for her. Job done.

I hear that those rims are really nice as a garden hose reel.



Bert

[mycar]

Take your prettiest niece to the foreman, make her cry,

Shameless

Mike.

[Tosh]

Take your prettiest niece to the foreman, make her cry, and ....
Bert

You're Andy Gray, aren't you?

[johndglynn]

I had a V50 on 17s for three years, killed 4 wheels on the roads around here in that time. Previous 940 on 17s also did a pair of wheels on potholes.

I don't know who makes the Ovlov rims but they do seem to give up easily. My A4 and Prius didn't mark a rim over the same roads and same length of time.

[Bruce M]

Not my car or photo but this was repaired ...



If it is much worse than this you need to worry about cracked alloy failing in the future. Given your experience in working metal, I think you will know yourself, if the wheel is beyond repair or not.

[cubist]

Sounds similar to my Brabus blade bend. Mine was on the inner rim. Had it fixed locally in Peterborough £40 and now truer than a largely honest true thing

[911ts3]

I don't think that you'll be able to knock a dent out of an alloy rim and true it up, like you would a steel rim. I think all you'll succeed in doing is to crack it.
We have an expert up here that has done a few for me in the past for the rally cars, and I know he used to do all the works Opel Rally Ascona / Manta wheel repairs for D.O.T. I've seen some done that you would never think were repairable.
Ian Jemison Engineering near York.
I don't know of any other alloy wheel repairer down your way unfortunately.
Steve
911ts3

[smallspeed]

might be worth a look on ebay; we picked up a wheel AND tyre for my dads old CL55 after he did similar things for £125. it was an imaculate wheel with a near-new tyre on it so saved him money over replacing the tyre alone anyway!

as others have said, its scary what people will repair; i know of a guy who knocked a spoke out of an alpina alloy wheel (similar design to the rover wheel above) and had it repaired.. scares me a bit when they'll fix that much damage

[Barry]

Thanks for all of the replies .

I've not seen it first hand, but understand that it's a 'soft' dent, i.e. no hard edges to it.

As it happens, I gather Dad has now been recommended someone with a good reputation for doing this type of work, and they're local too. I believe he was going to drop it down today for them to look at.

As he's a retired aircraft engineer (avionics) he can be relied on to tread a pretty careful path I think. I'll be very interested to see what they say as I've never had to deal with alloy wheel damage before.

I'll update on what 'they' say, and thanks again .

[Ian Donkin]

Ian Jemison Engineering near York.
911ts3

+1 for Ian - he repaired a wheel on my 530d that has taken one almighty bash and it was perfect once back on the car.

It did crack during the process (which he warned me about) , but his welding is pretty good too.

For the sceptics amongst us, he does wheels for numerous WRC teams and if it's good enough for them....

[stuby]

Tip - speak to the council, take pics of said pothole before they have chance to fill it in and claim for the damage ....#

(Google the following - www.potholes.co.uk )

Stu