I bent my wheel!

[BlueZero]

First snow of the year, got about an inch or so. I haven't had time to put my winter tires and wheels on yet. They are about 2 hours away at my parents house. So I still have my 20" wheels and tires on. So anyway... I take the long way home thru the empty industrial park. I'm at a stop sign, give it alittle gas to try to get a little fish tail and end up sliding sideways in to the curb. I knew it wasn't good. Get home and look at the two wheels on that side, one looks fine the other one the chrome is flaking off cuz it's bent. So now I'm thinking the other one could be damaged also and there's no way to tell. So now I have to buy two new wheels... Guess that's what I get for messing around.

I'll try to take some photos tomorrow when it's light out.

[scott504]

Re: I bent my wheel!

BlueZero,

This unfortunate situation sounds like and insurance claim to me depending upon you deductible. Your story may need to change a little bit. Hope it works out.

Scott

[BlueZero]

Re: I bent my wheel!

Ya, I thought about it but... I was the one messing around so I should be the one paying. So far I'm in for $800, that's before I take it to the shop and see what else I messed up...

[gb387]

Re: I bent my wheel!

Is it possible to fix wheels? With the cost and popularity of after market wheels there has to be someone out there that can fix them and fix them right.

[BlueZero]

Re: I bent my wheel!

Is it possible to fix wheels? With the cost and popularity of after market wheels there has to be someone out there that can fix them and fix them right.

Not sure. That might be an option. The rear one looks fine but I'm worried that it could be fractured and I wouldn't see it. I'm going to call around tomorrow and see if I can get it x-rayed or something. The front one the lip is bent down in to the tire. I'll clean them off and take some photos tomorrow. If noting else, maybe I can make a cool end table or something out of them.

[Setec Astronomy]

Re: I bent my wheel!

There are definitely places that fix bent wheels (including repainting or chroming as necessary). I don't know where you are, I know of one in the Philly area...of course, you can ship them in from anywhere.

[BlueZero]

Re: I bent my wheel!

There are definitely places that fix bent wheels (including repainting or chroming as necessary). I don't know where you are, I know of one in the Philly area...of course, you can ship them in from anywhere.

Thanks Mike! I'll look around maybe theres one around here (Green Bay, WI), otherwise it still might be cheaper to ship it to Philly to get fixed.

[MrC]

Re: I bent my wheel!

Setec Astronomy, where is the place in Philly? I'm in South Jersey and may need to get my rims fixed.
Also, does anyone know approximately how much it would cost to chrome dip rims?

[Daniel Kinder]

Re: I bent my wheel!

hi there, i can help you save alot of money,and the satisfaction of doing it yourself! first off its like buffing your paint,but your working with plain metal. Go down to lowes and look around where the grinders are, theres a rack that has some tubes of buffing compound its by MIBRO they also have the buffing pads(for bench grinders&pneumatic air die grinders)that you will also need.Its like meguiars number waxs(ha!ha!)get the #2(hard metals)#3(soft metals)#4(precious metals)#5(light polishing)#6(high gloss polishing) and some of there buffing pads(if you use the air grinder you will need to get a shank to put the buffs on) which its best to use the air die grinder,remember to use light pressure until you get used to the speed.first take the rim to a good tire center and have them take the tire of the rim and speed balance it to make sure its not bent (where you cant bend it back with a brass hammer and block of wood) if its bent mark it with a grease pen to know where to start working on. if/and every things alright start sanding just where you might had to pound on your rim.with some 400 or 600grit sand paper wet/dry keep going up finer and finer until its smooth as glass. you may even go up to 1500 or 2000 you get the ideal.then start off with the firm buff pad for the cleaning(2 & 3) and the medium buff pad for (4,5,6 COMPOUNDS) and get a couple of pads each. also go to wal-mart and get a 50pack of all purpose all natural towels there not to harsh or to soft.start off with the number 1 and buff until you get a differance in reflection/textured/shine then go to next #.if you get any haze or black streaks on the last step #6 go over it lighter or you can use some corn starch first dampen the spot with damp rag and use a new buff pad the medium or firm and buff off with light pressure.thats why i said to get extra pads you might have to play with different pads and pressures,and when you get done use some simichrome polish you shouldnt be able to see where the rash was. SORRY SO LONG THATS AS SHORT AS I COULD EXPLAIN IT...DANIEL

[Setec Astronomy]

Re: I bent my wheel!

Certainly you can fix it yourself, if it's not bent. I can't post links, but the place in PA that I am talking about is Wheel Collision Center, if you search on them you will find. I haven't been there in about 10 years, but they seem to have grown a bit so they must be doing something right.

Just to be clear, I am not endorsing this place...I have never had a serious repair done by them. I did have some factory wheels with a bright lip which got some corrosion under the weights, and they machined it away, repainted the lips, and mounted some new tires for me. They seemed to know what they were doing, however.

[Jeepster04]

Re: I bent my wheel!

Ya, I thought about it but... I was the one messing around so I should be the one paying. So far I'm in for $800, that's before I take it to the shop and see what else I messed up...

A shop? For what? Get the rims fixed and be done with it. The suspension can take alot harder hit than that.. Ive hit things purty hard offroad in my jeep. Or course your not driving a jeep.

[RamAirV1]

Re: I bent my wheel!

I'm not real big on fixing bent rims, unless the damage is cosmetic only.

If you drive at high speeds, I would think twice about repairing a bent rim. Better safe then sorry. If the rim is bent badly enough you will probably get vibrations.

RamAirV1

[BlueZero]

Re: I bent my wheel!

A shop? For what? Get the rims fixed and be done with it. The suspension can take alot harder hit than that.. Ive hit things purty hard offroad in my jeep. Or course your not driving a jeep.

I was worried maybe I messed up the steering or even knocked the axle over, or something crazy. I put on a new set of rims and tires today, It seemed to drive ok. If it was a jeep I would have just went over the curb and thru the field home...

[benhui86]

Re: I bent my wheel!

gotta love trucks...i slamed into a curb sideways after spinning out around a bend at like 35~40 mph in the rain and bounced over it and nothing broke besides some curb rash on the rims...the car still drives straight nothing seems out of order.... this happened a year ago....

[BlueZero]

Re: I bent my wheel!

I'm not real big on fixing bent rims, unless the damage is cosmetic only.

If you drive at high speeds, I would think twice about repairing a bent rim. Better safe then sorry. If the rim is bent badly enough you will probably get vibrations.

RamAirV1

That's what I'm starting to think. If it was just a regular truck I might get it fixed. But I do push the limits sometimes and would hate to have something happen. Would end up costing me more if a wheel broke or something. The front one is bent but the back one 'looks' fine.