After having a bit of fun on a twisty gravel road, I came home to find this:
I’m not even sure how I got it. I guess 16-inch steelies with 50-series tires aren’t meant for gravel roads!
Small bends like this can be straightened at home without replacing the wheel or having it professionally straightened. All it takes is a hammer, a torch, and a block of wood.
The first thing to do is to inspect the wheels. If there is an obvious bend like the one above, there’s a good chance that the inside of the same wheel or one of the other wheels also got bent. In my case, it was just this outside bend on a single wheel.
Whenever heating a wheel or rim, it’s a good idea to remove the valve stem core to allow all that expanding heated air to escape. Valve stem tools are about $2 and handy for situations like this:
Once the valve core is out, it’s time to heat up the bent section. Try to keep the heat to the metal and not on the rubber - if it catches fire, it’s hot enough! Any kind of paint will be destroyed by the heat, but that can be fixed later. The heat will make the metal more ductile and safer to bend without cracking the rim.
Once it’s good and hot, science goes out the window and it’s simply a matter of smacking it back into shape with a big hammer and a block of wood:
The bigger the hammer, the better!
At this point, you’re just eyeballing it for a round shape. Once the major bend is fixed, a drift of some kind (brass ones won’t make dents in the metal surface) can be used to fine tune the shape:
When you’re happy with the roundness, it’s time to check your work. Put the wheel back on the car (minimum of two tightened lug nuts). I used my fancy dial indicator here, but it’s not strictly necessary. An elevated screwdriver on its side would work just as well.
Give the wheel a good spin and the point of the indicator should give you a good idea of how you did with your first round of straightening. Check for variations in roundness and any sideways bends, and mark the areas needing attention with some chalk on the sidewall of the tire. Re-heat and smash until round.
I got lucky and my wheel was quite straight after the first round of hammer-smashing, so I masked, painted, and called it a day:
Cost:
$0!
Incidental supplies:
heating torch gas
scrap wood
masking tape
paint
I’m not even sure how I got it. I guess 16-inch steelies with 50-series tires aren’t meant for gravel roads!
Small bends like this can be straightened at home without replacing the wheel or having it professionally straightened. All it takes is a hammer, a torch, and a block of wood.
The first thing to do is to inspect the wheels. If there is an obvious bend like the one above, there’s a good chance that the inside of the same wheel or one of the other wheels also got bent. In my case, it was just this outside bend on a single wheel.
Whenever heating a wheel or rim, it’s a good idea to remove the valve stem core to allow all that expanding heated air to escape. Valve stem tools are about $2 and handy for situations like this:
Once the valve core is out, it’s time to heat up the bent section. Try to keep the heat to the metal and not on the rubber - if it catches fire, it’s hot enough! Any kind of paint will be destroyed by the heat, but that can be fixed later. The heat will make the metal more ductile and safer to bend without cracking the rim.
Once it’s good and hot, science goes out the window and it’s simply a matter of smacking it back into shape with a big hammer and a block of wood:
The bigger the hammer, the better!
At this point, you’re just eyeballing it for a round shape. Once the major bend is fixed, a drift of some kind (brass ones won’t make dents in the metal surface) can be used to fine tune the shape:
When you’re happy with the roundness, it’s time to check your work. Put the wheel back on the car (minimum of two tightened lug nuts). I used my fancy dial indicator here, but it’s not strictly necessary. An elevated screwdriver on its side would work just as well.
Give the wheel a good spin and the point of the indicator should give you a good idea of how you did with your first round of straightening. Check for variations in roundness and any sideways bends, and mark the areas needing attention with some chalk on the sidewall of the tire. Re-heat and smash until round.
I got lucky and my wheel was quite straight after the first round of hammer-smashing, so I masked, painted, and called it a day:
Cost:
$0!
Incidental supplies:
heating torch gas
scrap wood
masking tape
paint
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