Wheel paint crack only?

[SandyC]

I took the wheels/tires off my car to comply with a service bulletin dealing with brake caliper bolt torques and in the process noticed this possible crack in one of my wheels. The wheels are painted with color then clear coated and I suspect this is just a crack in the paint/clearcoat. I visually checked the back of the wheel and found no crack going thru. Is there a test I can do to check to see if this is a crack in the metal or just the paint? I really don't want to have to sand off the paint to check. The wheels are aluminum.

Sorry these pictures are kind of big but is necessary to see the detail. The toothpick points to the crack.







This picture is just for orientation:

[Rick Parker]

It might just be a scratch from the stainless wire used for the Knock offs, get a magnifying glass. If there is still a question have it Xrayed.

PS: May be able to check with some sort of DYE. Check with engine machine shop OR even a wheel maker which might be an advertiser on this site.

[cdnus]

My guess is a crack--It appears to faintly continue on down the web.
Not likely a scratch from the wire would follow the contours as evenly as this appears to.
I don't know how you check aluminum for cracks other than suggested x-ray, but I'm sure you will get good advice shortly.

Craig

[209]

Hello SandyC,
I had a similar appearing crack in nearly the same location on a rear wheel. I called the local dealer and in a week I had a new one. I was supposed to send the cracked wheel back but they apparently forgot or didn't want it. My car was 4 months old. My gap was much larger with tapered ends. Cliff

[strictlypersonl]

Try your local welding supply for a dye penetrant crack testing kit (probably more than you need) or you can get a smaller kit from Pegasus.

[cdnus]

Great suggestion, perfect for the application. I'll log that 1 away for future needs.

Craig

[Trueoo7]

You may be able to do a Mag Particle check but I'm not sure if it works on aluminum. Do you know anybody in the pipeline business?

[RICK LAKE]

Sandy C The cracks look like they are in the clear. Checking with the dye will tell for sure. There are a couple of reasons this happens
Washing the wheel with the wrong soap
Power washing the tires and wheels
Too much heat coming from the brakes on hot days. I see the black in the corner of the picture. Is that brake dust???
Unless the is a failure of the wheel itself, I wouldn't worry about it. If the car is going to be a show car, Then you buy another set of tires and rims for just this and change them for street driving.
The other thing would be is to have your front brake ducts hooked up in the car and working. This helps cool down the rotors and pads faster and may prevent cracks in the clear.
Last point is cool down the car before putting it away in the garage. 5 minute of easy driving on the motor and the brakes to remove temp from the rotors and calipers. Rick Lake

[Bobcat]

Poor man`s dye penetrate that some old timers used was kerosene and talcum powder . Clean the part first , coat it with kerosene , then dust it with the talcum powder and let it sit for a while . Dust it off and the crack(s) show up . Not as good as the new commercial ones , but I`ve seen this method used and it does work .

[Ron61]

Just a question for my own information. He said he didn't want to sand off the paint, so how would the dye work if the crack is in the wheel without going through the paint? I have used dye in the past but had to have the part unpainted for it to get into any cracks. Do they have a new one that can penetrate the clear and not mess it up?

Thanks,

Ron

[madmaxx]

odd a crack would form in the compression zone of the wheel unless a manufacturing defect, have you tried to reach them?

[SandyC]

It's been a week or so since I noticed this "crack" and I've driven pretty hard on it since then and visually it has not changed. I'll get some dye and put it on the back of the wheel opposite the crack where it's not painted and see if anything is propogating. I haven't contacted the manufacturer yet, its a stock SPF wheel so I'll have to see who they use.

[Double Venom]

40 years of custom paint work, in MY opinion that is NOT a crack in the paint. Paint will not "crack" like that, BUT it could be a surface defect as paint will not normally fill in gouges cracks, etc.

By all means, magna flux it, dye it, check it please.
DV