Wheel Crack

[Oldav8tor]

I purchased a "new" felloe to build up a wheel to replace one of my rear wheels that has a bit too much wiggle. I got a nice 30 x 3.5 inch Firestone felloe from a friend in California and after priming and painting I sent it out to be re-spoked. Yesterday I was staining the spokes when I noticed what turned out to be a hairline crack in the edge of the outside rim bolt hole. On closer inspection, I found cracks in all four holes.

How I missed them I don't know, but I'm going to weld them up and see if I can add a little more metal at that point as there isn't much there. It's right in the slot that accommodates Hayes rims but since my rims are Ford I think I have a little wiggle room. Unlike the Hayes felloe, the edge is straight which doesn't leave you much metal at the edge of the hole.

I mention this as it might be a good place to take a look at if you have similar rims.

[Allan]

Tim, if you stick a brass bush/rod in the hole, that will act as a heat sink when you weld and may save some anguish. There's not much metal there to take a lot of heat. I there anything to stop you adding a strip of metal on the inside of the felloe at that point? That will strengthen it and give you more to weld to.

Allan from down under

[Charlie_26_TT_Ccab]

Also it may be of value to drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop it from running further. After drilling the hole just weld the hole with the crack and then check to see if the cracked stopped when you clean up the weld. Some times you need to vee the crack with a burr or grinder the allow the weld to have some room for contact and don’t grind off all the weld or you may lose the strength. So it may be better if you weld the inside and don’t grind off the weld but you still need to clean the outside to check for the crack. Hope that helps.

[Luxford]

Is that a felloe for a Ford?
None of the ones I see on Model T's have the bolt hole right next to the valve hole.

[Luxford]

meant to also say "spoke hole" as well as valve hole, they always only have either one or the other between the spoke spacings.

[Allan]

Peter, you had me worried for a time, but now I see what you are saying. I believe you are misreading the photo. The round hole is not in the wide surface of the felloe where the valve stem hole is. You need to re-orientate your thoughts. The round hole is in the outside of the felloe and the square one opposite is where the rim bolt head is held.

Allan from down under.

[Oldav8tor]

The picture is taken from a poor angle. Here is a photo of the felloe in primer. You can see a crack in one of the holes in the picture-Duh! I took it to a friend who is a master welder and he is going to weld it for me. He's going to turn down a brass rod to fit the hole to aid in welding as was described. Since I have Ford rims we're going to build up the edge a bit for strength.

[John Warren]

It is already crack drilled by the bolt hole. It cracked because to is too close to the edge. I don't think I would f with it because it will crack again. Just run it!

[Allan]

John makes a valid suggestion. The rim that suits that felloe wedges onto the wide inside land on the felloe. The lugs stand off the outside edge. When the nuts are tightened, the load is on the rim lug as it forces the rim to wedge on the felloe. There is no load on the outer hole in the felloe and the crack could be ignored. I wouldn't, but it may not hurt.

Allan from down under.

[Oldav8tor]

I have Ford rims so don't need the slot. We built up the metal above the crack a bit which should help....beyond that I'm not going to worry about it. I appreciate all the comments....It's always great to get other opinions.

Here's the wheel....you have to admit that Stutzman does nice work! It'll look good on my car and hopefully reduce the road-wiggle