Can you replace a bent rim yourself?

Forums: Autos, Auto, Tires, Rim Replacement
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I was on the blind spot of another car who changed into my lane and as I hit the breaks pretty hard, under the slippery snow covered road the car swerved to the right and hit a cement bump ( at around 25mph) and the right tire went through the grass and I quickly turned to the right into a dead end drive way, hitting a second cement bump (around 5mph). The car who turned without looking to his blind spot didn't stop nor come back
Back tires are fine, but my right front tire's wheel blew and the rim is bent in two places. One inward bent is a larger bent than the other.
I told AAA to tow it to my home. Safe to say it's been a bad day.
I don't want to tell my insurance company cause I don't want the rates to go up.
Is it easy to replace the rim yourself, or is it best left to the mechanic?

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Type: Question • Score: 3 • Views: 2,815 • Replies: 5

[+5] - parados - 12/28/2012Mounting the tire is what you will probably need to have someone do for you. You might want to try a junk yard and see if they can mount the tire on a used rim for you.

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@Jet Fire,

Mounting the tire is what you will probably need to have someone do for you. You might want to try a junk yard and see if they can mount the tire on a used rim for you.

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@parados,

Thanks man, you helped me save a few bucks with your advice. I got a relatively new alloy rim for my Camry from the local junkyard for half the price as the lowest price on ebay. Now I'm using the factory rim of the spare tire as the right tire's rim, and the junk yard's rim with the tire of the previous spare for the spare wheel.
Luckily this happened on a normal road, and not on the highway. The mechanic said the back two tires were very worn out, which may have caused the drastic slide on the road under harsh braking, so I went ahead and got new tires for all the wheels.

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@Jet Fire,

Glad it worked out for you.

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@Jet Fire,

Hello Friends,

A car may suffer a bent rim from hitting a pothole, curb or other object. The speed at which the car hits the object is typically proportional to the damage. The faster the car is going at the time of impact, the worse the damage is likely to be. Repairing a bent rim can be done yourself with the right tools and expertise. It is important to understand how to use a blow torch, as you will be heating the rim to soften the metal and allow it to be reshaped.

Thanks and Regards,
Umang Kumar

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Kartl has good advice too. I hit a pothole a few years ago, just the right size for my right front tire to completley fall into it as I passed. Destroyed the raised rim on the wheel--there was a small tear between the rim that holds the bead of the tire and the body of the wheel. Got two used rims from a junkyard and the car drove fine, but a few months later I had to replace the strut for that wheel's suspension. Get a good mechanic to check the suspensiion. It may have done some damaqge that's not immediately apparent if it was bad enough to bend the rim.

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Can you replace a bent rim yourself?

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