Riddle me this: Bent aluminum rim, best way to bend back??

[Positive Vibes]

I let a lady friend drive the truck at Hollister over the weekend. She bent my Weld aluminum 15" rim in a few places. Any tips on pounding it back or tools to use?? Really any info or ideas you have would be great. This is all new to me and I would hate to fubar the rim if its still usable. Most the people who looked at it said it is salvagable.

 

[spindlecone]

I let a lady friend drive the truck at Hollister over the weekend. She bent my Weld aluminum 15" rim in a few places. Any tips on pounding it back or tools to use?? Really any info or ideas you have would be great. This is all new to me and I would hate to fubar the rim if its still usable. Most the people who looked at it said it is salvagable.

I a place here I San Jose that straightens rims, almost needs to be pro done to get perfect, I had one done last year, about 50 bux

 

[IZwack]

you cant really "pound" directly on aluminum as it will just make even more dents and pounding is really innacurate cauz u never know how much force will be applied with each strike. a nice slow pressure applied to the area thats out of spec is probably the best way to do it. depending on how bent the rim is, u might have to heat up the aluminum a bit to prevent it from fracturing

IMO, i'd get it professionally done unless this is purely a trail rig and u dont really care about balance and being within exact specs. .

 

[TSTONE]

I a place here I San Jose that straightens rims, almost needs to be pro done to get perfect, I had one done last year, about 50 bux

what he said - don't try to do it yourself

 

[Positive Vibes]

Thanks people. Thats what I needed to know.

Peace, love and granolla!

 

[mac66]

Actually if you heat the rim up with a propane torch, (try not to burn the tire) you can usually bang the dent back in with a hammer. I bent a rim on my 92 Expl a couple years ago and banged it back. It still holds air. I also just bent a rim on a pothole in my Ford Focus a couple weeks ago. Banged it back and its held air. Just got to be careful you don't break the aluminum.

 

[briwayjones]

Isn't there clearcoat type finish on the rim you will ruin trying to heat it up with a torch?

 

[Doug]

If you're going to pound it back, heat it up and pound with a brass or plastic mallet. A hammer will just dent it and F it all up. Even so there is still no gauruntee it'll work it could very well crack when you try to bend it back. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't aluminum is brittle.

 

[Blee1099]

Your better off breaking the bead if you can before doing it.. Pull the valve stem core, run over the tire to break the bead or just remove it entirely and heat it up with a mapp gas torch, propane doesn't get it hot enough. Then beat it till its somewhat straight.

 

[spindlecone]

Bottom line is: How much is the Rim worth,Barnyard mechanics may work to a point.
My Kiddlette bent one of my front Moda R7s #1 they were 220 bux each,#2 they do not make them anymore.
Off to the rim shop, they chuck the rim on a huge lathe, put a dial indicator on it, than using a hydraulic Ram persuade it back to being perfectally back to spec.
Cost was 50 bux to get it back to norm, plus having all force balanced again, about 75 bux total.
If your rims are clearcoated, what will happen with a torch?
If you can get a new one for less than a hun, is not a bad deal to just buy a new one.
Or just start wackin it with a sledge hammer, good luck

 

[Crankcase]

Be very careful if you decide to do it yourself. Inspect the back carefuly for cracks, you do NOT want it flying apart at 55mph!

 

[Positive Vibes]

Thanks people for the input. My buddy who owns a service shop is stopping by tonite. I will post what we figure out and the end result.