"Leaking" hairline crack in alloy wheel

I think I have a leak in one of my alloys (17" rear OEM for NA2). Had it fixed once before - I had it welded on the advice of a tyre fitter. It was a hairline crack through the metal near the rim (not "on" the rim like a badly "kerbed" wheel).

That was about 2 months ago and it has come back and the tyre has deflated. Pretty sure its not a puncture.

My plan is to take to a specialist wheel reconditioning garage who will get it welded and then blast and respray it - the finish is recently in bad shape - maybe due to the previous welding.

All in this should be £100ish but obviously a lot less than writing off the wheel. Three questions I guess...

1. Is this safe to weld an impaired wheel?
2. Is a full blast and respray necessary or just patch up the section where the finish is flaked? Probably only save £20 so I assume not.
3. Anyone else had this problem and found a better solution?

Thanks for any tips,
Chris.

Hi Chris,

I think a repair is possible. I lightly mangled a split rim a while back and it was repaired to such a high standard you couldn't see the repair. However, you'll need someone good to do it. Additionally, it's unheard of to get this issue on an NSX wheel, so it will need careful examination.
Regarding repainting. If you want to do it properly, you may way want to paint both wheels on that side, in order to get the colour match right. Normally around £50+ vat per wheel. Even then, depending on the overall condition of the set, it might be worth biting the billet and getting all the wheels done at the same time. Around £250.00 a set plus repair.

Cheers.

If its peace of mind you are looking for, there is a guy on eBay selling a brand new 02+ rear wheel. He wants £900 or offer so could be worth throwing an offer his way. Personally I don't think it's worth more than £500. Otherwise you could be throwing good money after bad...

Hi Chris

There is only one person I would recommend to do this work, he did some Jag tyres for me after I hit a very big pot hole a few years back. He does the wheels for nearley all the Ferrari, Lambo, Bentley etc garages in the south east. Based in Kent 10 mins from Jcn 4 or 5 of the M25.

Paul

Hi Chris,
i had the same problem 4 years ago rear wheel (17") a hairline crack that gave the immpression of a slow puncture.
you could only see the leak when the wheel was immersed face down in a tub of water.
had iw welded and powder coated and had no problems since.
Chris

Thanks all,

Sounds like this is rare but not unprecedented, and can be fixed. As per the comments, I agree that I should get this one welded by an expert, and then get the whole set re-coated. The inside of the rims are getting pretty shoddy on all the wheels.

Will post y'all an update with the before and afters. Now time to go find the user manual and figure out how to fit the space saver!!

Chris.

A good reputable alloy wheel expert should sort this as well as do a proper paint job ... Great place over here is Nu-Look wheels in Carrickfergus, N. Ireland.

i could do with getting my rx8 wheels freshened up, where are they andrew?

Err, Carrick mate ... Real easy to find ... On the rhs prior to the r'about @ the castle.

they are pricey, but they do a full work over on all your wheels and the whole wheel is fully powder coated. U pay for quality

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soddy

i could do with getting my rx8 wheels freshened up, where are they andrew?

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These guys do a pretty good job - from soft Brabus Alloy diamond cut to old NSX forged wheels
http://www.pristinealloywheels.co.uk/

They do a lot of BMW and Merc refurbishment, I was there one morning when an Artic full of them turned up.

Update: Turns out the original weld had been okay, just that the poor state of the rims made for a bad seal on the new tyre.
But well worth getting the alloys looking like new. Here are some pics of before and after...

Attachment 11838Attachment 11839
And then...
Attachment 11840Attachment 11842
Attachment 11841

CW.

Look nice,

I'd recommend a good wheel sealant the stop future pitting etc, Poorboys wheel sealant is good but to go all out get some Gtechniq c5 wheel armour, the brake dust will not 'bake' onto the alloy with these products

cheers,

Mike