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Allied Beadlock Leak**FOUND LEAK**FIXED**

MTBLAZER89

MTBLAZER89

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I have a very small leak in one of my steel wheels. When there is water in the lip behind the inner ring I can see the bubbles. I figured it was probably a weld where the inner ring was installed.

I disassembled the wheel, but the inner ring appears to be part of the wheel (no visible seam)

It is a very small leak needing air about once every 10 days, but I still would like to fix it.

Anybody ever see something similar or have any thoughts?
 
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That was my original intention, but I can't tell where the leak might be on the inside. I'll see if I can find a pic.

This is what my wheel looks like except steel. No visible weld. Is the weld still where it would be on a set of DIY locks?

3256362215_a28079d564_b.jpg
 
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Find someone with a PT kit. Dye penetrant or whatever. Have them inspect the area on both sides. The resulting indication will be the culprit. A machine shop should have one, if not, try a Diesel repair shop.
 
Well I finally got the inner bead broke on the tire and removed the wheel. As soon as I looked I saw the problem. There is a small hole in the weld.

Kinda ****ty pics.

IMG_4512.jpg


Circled the hole.

IMG_4514.jpg



So I removed the powdercoating and was going to weld it, but something is wrong. I tried three times to put a small bead over the hole. The weld comes out very porus and spattered :confused:

I know its not the welder or me because I just got done welding up my sliders.

Could it be I'm trying to weld (flux core) over MIG or TIG or something else?

How can I seal this hole?
 
After you got the powdercoating off did you chemically clean it at all? Acetone, Trich 1-1-1 Trichloroethane (sp?). alcohol. You may need to use a carbide burr (rotary file) to get into the bottom and get it totally clean.
Other than that??? Someone else will know.
 
Brian, post up some pics of your weld so we can see what it's doing...

Did you remove the powder coat from the other side??? It might be drawing some of the impurities in from the other side???

What machine are you using and what setting do you have it on???
 
No I didn't really clean it up with anything. Just hit it with a grinder to get the paint off.

Welder is a Lincoln 175. Heat C and D wire speed 2. Pretty much the same setting I use to weld 3/16-1/4 steel.

I dont have any pics of the weld, but here is after I cleaned it up last time.

hole2.jpg


hole.jpg
 
Just nit picking... that doesn't look to be in a weld, it's in the base metal, from the pics. you have posted.
My flame suit is on...

Any possibility of some bondo or JB Epoxy putty in the hole?

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.
 
I'm pretty sure that is where the weld runs around the wheel. When you get up close its not smooth like stamped steel.

I was thinking some sort of sealant too, but I am not sure :dunno:
 
I talked to Rene last night and he said it probably has contaminate in the hole and is causing a bad weld. Was going to drill out the hole a small amount and try it again, but was pretty busy all day. I am also going to call Allied tomorrow and see if they will just send me a new wheel since this one seems to have a substandard wheel.

The area with the pin hole is also a weld. Its hard to see in the pic, but you can see the porosity where I ground the powdercoat away.
 
Yeah, that outer section is prolly formed like aluminum gutters are with the last 'op' being to roll/form it to the correct radius. They have a huge coil of that and just cut it into sections for each rim. The area with the porosity pinhole is the butt joint. My guess is someone ran out of shield gas when welding that particular ring together and never fixed it at the factory.

Allied should replace that ring at the least IMO. Barring that, the porosity definitely needs to be removed as best as possible before trying to weld over it or it'll keep coming back.

Rene
 
Wouldn't surprise me a bit if some powder coating has flowed into the pinholes. Powder goes on dry but melts and flows out into every pour. As Rene has said, that pin hole and any others around it will need to be ground out. If its just the one and it can be hard to tell, a die grinder will do the job. If its more than one, I prefer a thin wheel. Just dig down aways.
 
Just spoke with Tim at Wild West Fab where I bought the wheels. He said I have two options. If I want to replace the wheel he can send a call ticket and send it in to Allied and they'll send me a new wheel, or I can try and remove the powdercoat with a small drill bit and attempt another weld.

I would like to get the Blazer back on its feet for the last few weeks of nice weather we have here so I think I am going to try and fix it.

He said if I try to fix it and it doesn't work then give him a call back and we'll get it replaced.

Either way I don't have anything to lose trying to fix it myself, and Allied will take care of it in the end if I need them to.
 
Drill the hole slightly bigger. That will clean the powder coating and will allow the weld to go through and seal it.
 
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