Help with wheel repair.

[Tomas]

Anybody know what filler metal / welding rod to use to repair early taco wheels and go power wheels? Alum/Mag ? :thumbsup:

 

[micro bill 7]

ya u can use the stuff that is used at shows the ones they fix pop cans with forgot name i have some ill look an see the name get back with u later

 

[Tomas]

Thanks I know about that stuff but I want to know what the Parent material that both wheels are made of to properly repair the wheels. :thumbsup:

 

[Tomas]

bump !:thumbsup:

 

[1stlegendtx]

Did you ever fix your wheels?

 

[Tomas]

No I still don't know what the parent material is. I have some of the all purpose alum. stuff but would rather use the correct filler rod.

 

[hoke]

Thomas….your correct to properly identify the parent material first. Hopefully, the wheel is aluminum not magnesium. While magnesium is weld able with Tig…just don’t get it too hot or the whole thing will ignite. Also, the grinding dust and shavings are even more flammable. A quick test for high magnesium alloy is to put on a few drops of white vinegar….(not apple cider vinegar) on material in question. If magnesium….it will begin to fizz or bubble a bit. It may discolor the surface, so try it in an out of view place. While I have used the aluminum brazing type rod on thin gauge stuff…I don’t know if it would have the strength for a wheel. If possible….I’d run Tig on the aluminum. Much easier to clean up! ha That said….you might check out this link. Pictures worth a 1000 words.

Hoke

Welding Magnesium Video

 

[1stlegendtx]

Post a picture of the damage.

 

[metal man]

i did some messing with the aluma weld or muggy stuff its stronger then you think it is . takes some work to get it to stick but doing some hammer test and beat the living shit out of it the plate gave up before the weld did . as for the rim what there made from .....

a zamc alloy of one of many mixes
A356 "industry standard" for casting aluminum
or some cheap bargain alloy from the plant .
about the only way you could find out is to talk to some one who was in charge of casting them or find some one who can do a assaying (spelling?) where you send in a chunk and have it tested .
or maybe if the scrap yards around you are high tech they may have one of the id guns where they can point and pop it and it will give you a basic break down of its make up .