Bent Steel Wheel

Has anybody tried straightening a bent steel wheel with a big hammer?

Yep. Careful where you hit it... Take it to a tire shop, easy fix if you have something to spin it on like a balancer.

What parts bent? Aero wheels sells a tool for the lip and bead area.

http://www.cmwraceparts.com/proddisp.php?pn=AER54-500005

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I've had pretty good luck with a 4 pound sledge.

Tough to do if the center is bent. Easy to do if its just the lip. Concrete floor and a bfh will do the job.

I once fixed a bent rim on my F150 without even removing it from the axel. 4 lb hammer.

If it's just the lip a Crescent wrench (adjustable wrench) is your best friend.

I have fixed several with a little hydraulic jack. I'm bending back a motorcycle rim in the picture, but you get the idea. Works for me.

Yeah, side of the road, BFH. Still using it 15 years later.

Thanks all. I gave her 'ell today with my ball pein and some pipes and stuff. Its not perfect, but its better. It should at least get me to the junk yard while I search for a suitable replacement. I'm hesitant to run it too fast - it was a pretty hard hit with a curb / pot hole / ?? that caused this damage.

Looks fine to me. If it doesnt vibrate or lose air, I wouldn't sweat it.

Gasoline wrote: I have fixed several with a little hydraulic jack. I'm bending back a motorcycle rim in the picture, but you get the idea. Works for me.

Isn't that an aluminum wheel? I've done it, but the usual warnings apply because it's easy to crack it, and I'm 99% sure it seriously weakens it.

Steel, yeah, as others have said, hammer away.

Just be glad the rim isnt made of Magnesium....

I've done a cast aluminum wheel with a BFH successfully as well.

93gsxturbo wrote: Looks fine to me. If it doesnt vibrate or lose air, I wouldn't sweat it.

It never even lost air after the incident. However my repair isn't perfect - the picture makes it look better than it is. I'm going to check for a replacement at the junk yard tomorrow.

In reply to J308:

I also have to use heat to soften the aluminum while bending back. The MAAP gas is sitting next to the wheel, but I usually pull out the Ox/Ac torch. It is the same way the pro's repair wheels.

I have no doubt you're making a good repair, but it's a bit different than whacking a steel wheel with a 4lb sledge. Yeah, I see the torch now. I was so focused on that strap-rig you had there I barely even saw the wheel.

miataman86 wrote: Just be glad the rim isnt made of Magnesium....

Interesting fact: Magnesium, unlike aluminum, actually has a fatigue strength. It's around 12-14ksi depending on the alloy, but it's there.

I cracked a cast aluminum wheel by trying to straighten it with a hammer. Gasoline's method is the way to go. And I have beaten the snot out of more than one steel wheel with a drilling hammer, then drove away.

Drilling hammer:

Aim carefully.

Okay, I'll bite.......what's a drilling hammer ? Never heard that term before.

It's generally used for driving concrete nails and other stuff that require a really hard bang. IIRC the name came about back in the days when men drove straight metal rods into rock when drilling holes for setting explosives in mines, etc. Drilling hammers were used to start the rods (drills), then it was finished with a sledgehammer.

I got well acquainted with one of these a little while back.