Allied beadlocks leaking

[Milan]

Well alfter much pondering my buddy and I "decided" Allied was the way to go and he got a set of 17x9s. I could not buy at the time and so I decided to wait how his turn out. I do have a set of their early ones for one of our other vehicles but I never put them on yet but this makes for some vested interest rather than just curiosity.

Well 2 out of 4 of his are leaking air through the welds where the inside beadlock ring is welded to the rim. After the retailer talked to Allied we were told it was due to "dust in the weld". Whatever impurities may have caused it, I figure dirty manufacturing environment should warrant new rims. No such deal as it's apparently "very common".

I think it sucks but either way I want to know if you guys have leaky beadlocks (Allied or other) and what do you do to seal them up? I think Blaine uses silicone. Blaine? Also would automotive seam sealer work? Anobody have experience with Walker Evans rims? Are they better somehow?

[Allen]

Very common my ass.....

They're just lousey welders......

"Dust"? Please.....

That's a **** poor excuse.....

Porosity not only allows air to pass through a weld, but it's also a weak spot.

Are these steel or aluminum?

Allen

[Milan]

That's what I thought. They're steel. Would aluminum be less prone to this problem (the weld pool being hotter when it's being welded thus melting the metal better)?

[Allen]

It's all in the process.....

Steel is so easy.....

They must be morons.....

Aluminum is more difficult..........

Allen

[Milan]

I suppose they must be boobs. I also would have thought the powder coating would seal whatever little holes there might be but I guess not.

What would you recommend for sealing them?

[William]

Originally posted by Milan
Whatever impurities may have caused it, I figure dirty manufacturing environment should warrant new rims. No such deal as it's apparently "very common".

I had a problem with my cheapo american racing steel rims I used to run. They leaked from the start. I turned them in to be replaced.

I saw screw that, get them back to the manufacturer. Let them know if they don't correct it, you will let everyone that you know (in a tight nit community) that thier product is less than stellar and not quality.. at all.

And if they don't: post anywhere and everywhere about the issue.

[JMyerz]

Even Trail Ready can miss a weld.

We ordered a set of steelies and their ring from them and one leaks because of a bad weld. Never a dust issue

They replaced it for free too.

Justin

[Allen]

If people took pride in their work, especially their welds, there would be no issues.

But that's just it, they don't care. There is no pride.....fab it, ship it, we'll deal with the problems later.

Fact is, there is no excuse for a bad weld, especially on a bead lock.

It's usually extremely time consuming to remove a weld, unless you're using carbon arc.....

Bottom line.....they don't care enough to fix it. They care enough to take your money, but not quite enough to ship a quality product.

I'm glad TR stepped up.....Allied needs to do the same.

Had they told me it was a dust issue.....there would have been other "issues" as well.

Allen

[cbassett]

I dont think the beadlock wheel mfr industry can afford to recruit the caliber of welder you're accustomed to Allen.

That notwithstanding, it does suck that Allied won't stand behind their product. If the wheels were purchased on a Visa credit card, I'd ship em back and give Allied one chance before calling Visa to reverse the charge.



One of those companies, MRT maybe, glops on the silicone on their NEW wheels.


When I welded up my beadlock wheels, using bentandtwisted.com rings, I 'coned em (on the bead) for grins. None of mine leak... dunno if they would without the 'cone, never tried.

[Allen]

Originally posted by cbassett
I dont think the beadlock wheel mfr industry can afford to recruit the caliber of welder you're accustomed to Allen.

When I welded up my beadlock wheels.....

BS.....any semi skilled welder could do a set of beadlocks in his own garage with likely better results.....cough.....cough.....

They don't have to be pretty.....just defect free.....there is no excuse for porosity in any automated welding procedure in this day and age.

They're sending out crap.....so is MRT if they silicone over the defects.

Like I said, if they screw it up, correcting it is a little time consuming and eats away at the bottom line.....they just don't care. If they did, they'd fix it.

I have yet to hear a complaint regarding Champion or OMF.....

Allen

[norcaljr]

Originally posted by Milan



Anobody have experience with Walker Evans rims? Are they better somehow?

I have the Walker Evans, and they are great. They have not leaked at all !!! Thats because they are not welded

They are made from a single cast

http://www.walkerevansracing.com/wheels.html

[Ace!]

Yeah, but WER wheels aren't highway legal.

"Bead Locked Wheels Are Not Legal for Highway Use: For Recreational Use Only"

[norcaljr]

Originally posted by Ace!
Yeah, but WER wheels aren't highway legal.

"Bead Locked Wheels Are Not Legal for Highway Use: For Recreational Use Only"

[Milan]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

norclajr,
Yeah. I like them Walker Evans rims. We had a couple of guys from Colorado come up ad wheel with our club and they were running them with 37" MT/Rs. Sweet setup.

I have to admit what we really liked about the Allied rims was how easily they center the tire using the outer ring rather then the inner. Were your tires easy to slip on without cutting the inner edge of the bead?

[norcaljr]

Originally posted by Milan
Thanks for all the replies guys.

norclajr,
Yeah. I like them Walker Evans rims. We had a couple of guys from Colorado come up ad wheel with our club and they were running them with 37" MT/Rs. Sweet setup.

I have to admit what we really liked about the Allied rims was how easily they center the tire using the outer ring rather then the inner. Were your tires easy to slip on without cutting the inner edge of the bead?

It was very easy to set them up. They self center on that ring, so it makes mounting a snap.