dent in wheel possibly causing a slow air leak?

[Holy Roller]

I have an amazingly small air leak (about 3-4psi/week) in my right front tire...after inspection, I noticed a dent on the inside lip of the wheel..it's bent outwards, creating more of a gap between that part of the wheel and the tire, so my speculation is that this is causing the air leak. If this is so, is it possible to fix this dent? I attempted to hammer it in with no avail...been thinking of bringing it to a mechanic soon to see what he can do. hopefully i won't need a new wheel.

thanks fellas, and God bless.

[Holy Roller]

oh and another thing. The tire on that wheel has a small bubble in the wall from an accidental overinflation on my part. I didn't realize the compressor I was using at this gas station had about 20 times more pressure power than the usual compressors i use, so it inflated to about 60psi in like 10 seconds. The bubble has not been growing though, and it's been roughly 3 weeks. I know this could be dangerous, but the steel belts in the tire seems to have maintained enough of its integrity to contain the bubbles growth. Any inputs on this phenomenon due to personal stupidity?

[Exar-Kun]

1. A sidewall bubble is a result of the bladder in the sidewall being ruptured, making the tire dangerous. get it replaced. THe bent wheel is probably a result of the same impact and maybe causing the leak, get that fixed too. IT is not a result of your inability to use a inflation pump at a gas station, its a result of your inability to not hit things on the road.2. if you hammered and alloy wheel, you need to stop working on cars, right now. YOu can crack the cast alloy wheels in this manner. Take it to a wheel remanufacturing shop to get it fixed.

Please consult the faq as to tires and things before I get angry.-chet

[Holy Roller]

Quote »IT is not a result of your inability to use a inflation pump at a gas station, its a result of your inability to not hit things on the road.[/quote]hey exar,I live in atlanta, so it's hard to miss EVERY pot hole in the road. well, that's unless of course I have X-ray vision and can see cleverly diguised potholes, or can see through the cars in front of me to see an upcoming pothole.

Also, if I recall correctly, alloy wheels are made to be somewhat ductile so as NOT to crack. If they weren't then that pothole that caused my dent would have caused a critical fracture. Turns out, the shock induced by my hammer wasn't even close to the one that the pothole did because the hammer didn't even bend the dent one micrometer. So no harm done by me. Anyway, i'll take it to a shop. thanks for your detailed response though. Hope you didn't get too agrivsted, as that was not my intent.

God bless.

[Exar-Kun]

look up wheel wizard, there in chamblee and can remanufacture wheels for around 150-200 depnding on the damage.-chet

[Holy Roller]

thanks X. much appreciate.

Blessings on you.

[SmithSR]

if i may add some comments... aluminum wheels will bend from loads being placed upon them. A tire hitting a pothole and then transferring that force to the wheel edge will cause a bend, in some severe cases a fracture. the sudden force of a hammer on an aluminum casting will almost surely cause a fracture, whether visible or not. Wheel reman shops can only work so many miracles, but miracles they are, as I have had the pleasure of working closely with one in my area for many years now. Chances are, another pothole is in your future, so maybe a change in wheel style/size is in order. Within the wheel/tire service community, there are those who know what wheels are stronger, and which brands are notoriously weak. So buddy yourself up to a very good tire guy!!