how dangerous is a hairline crack on the inside of my front rim.

[holden j caufield]

Some how my car lost 7 lbs of pressure in about 5 days. Pulled off the wheel and didn't see any nails then spotted a hairline crack on the inside of the rim near the lip. I poured water on it and there were no air bubbles seeping out of it. So I think only if there is load or pressure on the wheel the tire will slowly leak.

My problem is I've got about a 115 mile trip or 230 round trip tomorrow so this kind of concerns me. Thanks

 

[power_hour]

Slow leak is not that bad but the integrity of that wheel is of great concern. I would get up real early and call around used tire shops for a replacement. Even if its another style, as long as the weight is the same who cares. Or rent a car. I wouldn't go far on that wheel.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Wheels are kind of important. I'd hit the local mr tire or wherever and see if you can get a replacement for cheap. You dont know how deep the crack is or its size below the surface.

Driving on it is likely to cause it to grow (fatigue) and once you hit a certain crack length the wheel will fail (fracture). If your wheels are cast, their fracture resistance is not nearly as good as forged wheels.

Ignorance may he bliss, but it won't be blissful if your wheel fails at 75mphh on the highway. Be glad you caught it now rather than later

 

[jlee]

I would not drive on it any faster than I'd be comfortable having it completely fail. Which is..not very fast. Do you have a full size spare?

 

[holden j caufield]

the donut is tiny but I think I'll just switch the good rim to the front and the bad rim to the rear (less weight near the trunk for my fwd car)? I'll go but it might be tough to find a rim that fits that early.

 

[manimal]

I wouldnt risk it though I have seen people drive off with worse. If you can handle a rear tire going at 70 mph then you should be ok.

Not worth it to most sane people.

 

[yhelothar]

JB Weld it?

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Do not jb weld a wheel crack WTH.


I personally would not even drive on it. I've seen a wheel separate, and it is NASTY.

I would probably call junkyards etc and try to find a wheel. What make/model?

Barring that, buy a cheap steelie from pep boys and have the tire moved over until you can find a wheel.


Barring that, IMHO the "donut" is safer than a cracked full size wheel.

 

[halik]

no full size spare?

 

[holden j caufield]

no full size spare. Hairline crack on the inside of the lip about 1 inch.

 

[holden j caufield]

I think my spare is rated for 60 miles.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I think my spare is rated for 60 miles.

How fast do you think a cracked wheel is 'rated' for. I wouldn't drive 60mph on it.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

the donut is tiny but I think I'll just switch the good rim to the front and the bad rim to the rear (less weight near the trunk for my fwd car)? I'll go but it might be tough to find a rim that fits that early.

Put the donut on the back. Check the pressure, they're usually 60psi or more.

 

[holden j caufield]

so they had a steelie with the right lug pattern but my calipers are huge and it didn't fit. Is the donut the less worse option. Or moving the bad rim to the rear on a fwd car.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Wonder how long it's been like that? Me personally wouldn't see myself dramatically altering my plans to change it today. Yes after I was done. I'd probably order a replacement on Ebay and drive it on the back till then.

 

[holden j caufield]

thanks for advice, appreciated. I don't know how long but I noticed it pulling to the left one day and checked the tire pressure. It was 25 lbs which from ~32 ish lbs I didn't think much of at the time, plus we had some really cold weather the last 2-3 months. Put air in to 32 lbs, went out of town for about 10 days and I come back and see it looks low. It's 20 lbs, that's when I took the wheel off looking for a nail but couldn't find one and had to really look hard to just barely spot the hairline crack.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Are you sure it's a crack and not a scratch? Put the wheel on the car and then run some soapy water over the crack to see if you see any bubbles while the car is on the ground.

If it is cracked it might be repairable but I'd take it to a wheel repair place to see for sure.

 

[JCH13]

Are you sure it's a crack and not a scratch? Put the wheel on the car and then run some soapy water over the crack to see if you see any bubbles while the car is on the ground.

If it is cracked it might be repairable but I'd take it to a wheel repair place to see for sure.

This. There are other ways to check for cracks too (google FTW).

If it is a crack, do what JLee said, anticipate immediate failure at any moment. That is what will happen, soon. Crack growth rate in aluminum is exponential, if it's already 1in long, that's scary as hell.

However, if it is cracked through any structural part of the wheel, you need a new wheel. There are no practical repairs that I know of that will make it okay again.

 

[holden j caufield]

I put water over it and there were no bubbles, it drove good and I just drove a little slower than usual. I'll try the soapy water. I'd submerge the entire thing but I don't have a container big enough for the wheel.

 

[phucheneh]

Generally if a crack appears in a non-edge section of an aluminum wheel, it's accompanied by aluminum that has been pushed up in the surrounding area. As in, from an impact.

I would carefully inspect a 'crack' that appears only as an intermittent jagged line or whatnot. It's probably not a crack. Either that, or holy-shit-stop-driving. There's not much room for inbetween with cast aluminum. Steel wheels sometimes develop slow leaks around welded areas. Whereas aluminum wheels are typically one piece. And brittle.

 

[power_hour]

I put water over it and there were no bubbles, it drove good and I just drove a little slower than usual. I'll try the soapy water. I'd submerge the entire thing but I don't have a container big enough for the wheel.

I hope you got that wheel replaced or at least off the car.

 

[Zorba]

Cast Aluminum has horrible damage tolerance, meaning a crack will grow very quickly and you will have a sudden brittle failure.

If you aren't 100% sure if it is cracked you can try do a DIY Fluorescent Penetrate Inspection, or by the dye from a local weld shop. You can also inspect it with a magnifying glass with good local lighting (flash light) and should be able to tell if it is a crack.

 

[Midwayman]

I've seen aluminum wheels fly apart at the track. Its not pretty.

 

[Rifter]

Well, working as a tow truck dispatcher and see'ing the end result of vehicles that loose wheels at highways speeds on a faily regular basis i can tell you one thing, I wouldnt be caught dead driving on a cracked rim.