Well, after a decade of likely running solid filled tires, the rims are in a bit of rough shape. JD 644E So, there is some pitting on the rim flange area, pits maybe a 16th to an 8th deep. Trying to guess where everything seats is a little tricky, there is a 3 piece rim, so the o-ring groove is pretty pristine as is the inside of the rim piece. The flange rings fit nicely on the rim, good solid looking, replaced one lock ring that was damaged. It looks like there is a 1 inch smooth area between the flange and the ribs inside the rim. It seems this should be tapered like the inside slope of the rim, maybe a 2-3 degree angle and there is a smooth part of the tire with a small bulge right next to the support ring. My plan is simply to primer the rims, bondo up the imperfections, primer and paint over the bondo to have a nice smooth surface in order to give the tire a chance to seal. I'm not quite sure if the area should be 0 degrees but it looks like it should have a bit of taper to make a nice wedge seal. Anyone have any great tips for making sure rims seal and stay sealed.
Inner tubes. (I'm sure there will objections...) It's hard to imagine that bondo will fix the pits and remain airtight, but I don't know, i've never tried that. The pits on the flange shouldn't be a big deal. The o-ring seal surface is a big deal. Use lots of paste soap, Murphy's or other bead and o-ring sealing glop-in-a-bucket. Probably cleaning the rims and using enough soap is all you need.
Well, I had thought of inner tubes but the way the 3 piece rim moves when inflating I had thought it would surely tear. Had also thought of gluing some rim liner to the moving rim section. Surprisingly the o-ring grooves and sealing surfaces there look pristine! I think when the tire was filled, this space was also filled and there were o-rings fitted before they were solid filled. I've used bondo to fix leaking fuel tanks, the older stuff would hang in there for 3-4 years before it'd soften. The road service guys have the Murphy's paste soap, might pick up a bucket. The pits on the flange look to be right in the area where the bead sits, I'd love to see what a new/good rim looks like up close for this type of wheel. Having them sandblasted was a good idea for certain.
JB Weld is pretty tough stuff -
yes indeed and the jbweld marine is even oil/gas resistant. A lot of surface area to cover. The rims have serrations on them just next to the bead, not sure if that's supposed to grip the tire or hold more lube, looks too far away to give any traction grip.
My tire dealer Pete's Tire in Rutland VT says they have a rim seal product that also glues the rim to the bead so I won't have my usual problem where the tire comes off the rim with 1/2" gap making it a big job to get it seated again. Willie
Heya WillieB, so the prime/fill/sand/prime/paint has yielded a super smooth beat seating area, looks great. I got derailed where JD called for 1/4 inch o-rings and knowing that JD knows best... well lets just say I'm ordering the correct 3/8 o-rings and think it'll seat. O'Riley auto parts got me a gallon pail of Murphy's tire soap/paste So hopefully by sunday, we'll be wheels down, if I have trouble still, I'm calling Pete's to come on out