Hit Pot hole and bent rim. Can it be fixed?

I live in Chicago and was driving on Lake St. in Addison last night. They are doing construction on the road and it was dark, foggy and was snowing like mist frozen rain. Very odd night since it was pretty cold too. Anyways, I couldn't see the road and hit this huge pot hole. It barely bent the rim and I went into a resturant to get something to eat, when I came out the tire was completely flat! I just bought these tires too and it probably has about 2,000 miles on it. Good news....the tire appears to be fine. Bad news is the rim is bent a little which caused the leak I'm assuming. My friend said this happened to him and I could pound it out with a rubber mallet, which I do have. Can I just take it some place to get fixed? Here are some pics.

http://67.92.159.196/download/Bent Rim 1-22-06 001.jpg
http://67.92.159.196/download/Bent Rim 1-22-06 002.jpg
http://67.92.159.196/download/Bent Rim 1-22-06 003.jpg
http://67.92.159.196/download/Bent Rim 1-22-06 004.jpg
http://67.92.159.196/download/Bent Rim 1-22-06 005.jpg
http://67.92.159.196/download/Bent Rim 1-22-06 006.jpg

Thanks

Around here(NYC) it costs around 75-100 to fix a rim. They have a special machine they turn it on. I;d say in Chicago there has to be someone

My wife hit a curb one time in our 2000 Focus we used to have. It broke a chunk out of one alluminum rim and bent the other one like yours. I replaced the broken one and hammered the bent one until it held air again. Both tires (new firehawk GTA 02's) had the sidewall torn out of them, so it got expensive, not to mention I didnt have two spare tires....
You got lucky, and I would say that rim is salvageable, but you do run the risk of breaking it when you hammer down. Just be ready to replace it if it doesnt bend back nicely.

Sidewall damage? Man that tire was $125! I'm hoping your talking about a bulge of the tire if it does get damaged. My best guess is if I get the tire to hold air, then it would show a bulge if the tire is damaged. Anyways, I checked some salvage yards and i'm hoping to get a used rim for $70 shipped. If i can get a new (used) rim, maybe I can get it replaced from the people I bought the tire from under warranty. Thanks for the help guys!

I cant find the pics right now, but I mean the sidewall was ripped open on both tires. If you dont see a bulge and it doesnt wobble on the car, I would say its good. Ive seen all four rims on Ebay for 100 bucks before. Good luck.

Don't hit the rim hard!!!

Wanted1990SC said:

Sidewall damage? Man that tire was $125! I'm hoping your talking about a bulge of the tire if it does get damaged. My best guess is if I get the tire to hold air, then it would show a bulge if the tire is damaged. Anyways, I checked some salvage yards and i'm hoping to get a used rim for $70 shipped. If i can get a new (used) rim, maybe I can get it replaced from the people I bought the tire from under warranty. Thanks for the help guys!

Click to expand...

It's easy to crack the rim trying to straighten it out with aluminum rims!!!!
And it is a good possibility that the side wall has a bubble in it from impact it's very common. I would hit it light with metal hammer and put bead seal around the inside of bead where the bend is. Beadseal you can find at most places that mount/dismount tires, well where I live a lot of places have it but not sure it is around your location. Goodluck with your rim situation

Go to a tire place that sells big truck tires. It is pretty common to bend aluminum wheels on big trucks. Most of the big tire places can fix you up. Tim

Well, I went to Goodyear and they said $250 to fix the rim. I went to Cassidy Tire and they told me $165. Both places told me they would have to send it out to a different company to be fixed. I found some cheap replacements at a junkyard website for $50 and $25 shipped. I'm waiting to the guy at the junkyard to get back to me.

I was able to pound the dent out mostly without breaking the rim. I just decided to buy a new(used) rim. I just spoke to Discount Tire and luckily the tire is covered under the road hazzard feature. It turns out there is a pin hole in the sidewall when I went to go put air in it.

Try TransWheel I think there located in ElkGrove Villiage about 5min from Addison IL. There somewhere off Rt83, thats where alot of the tire companys you tried would most likely get the wheel from. They repair and refinish wheels they have pretty decent prices and do good work.

I wish I would have known that eariler today. I already ordered a used rim from a bone yard $60 shipped. Thanks for the advice though. I love this site!

I wouldnt remember the name of the place but thats the place I had a semi wheel fixed. I didnt even know you guys where out there! glad to see we have a few more S.C. guys in the area.