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Why doesn't she like riding in the vette?? JB weld is ridiculously strong. I actually fixed 2 (out of 3 total) almost completely broken motor mounts with JB back when I was in the army and poor. If you let all the air out, spread it over the crack and smooth it as best you can, then let it sit for a couple of hours, it'll hold. I certainly don't blame you if you don't want to try it, just telling you what I'd do. I had to deal with a break down driving from Monterey to Myrtle Beach around Kansas City, and if some JB weld could have fixed it, I would have gone that route for sure. Instead, I lost half a day the first day and and like 75% of a day the next day getting the stupid front axle replaced (all wheel drive dodge stealth R/T turbo) and then had to drive for like 20 hours straight so I could make it home in time to have my car shipped to Germany before I PCS. For me, I'll do whatever it takes to get a car back on the road when I'm stuck somewhere
She doesn't like riding in the vette because I went from a 2.0 liter all wheel drive to a supercharged rear wheel drive car with 650 ft lb torque
Originally Posted by Marcho Polo
actually not a bad idea, at least try this to get to El Paso where there is a better chance of finding a rim at a dealer. How quickly did this lose air? with the lip of the tire covering most of that crack, it could have been there for a while without you knowing it. Seal the crack, air it up, and get to El Paso.
I would also try Bobs house of wheels, he's in Houston and perhaps something could be worked out to courier that thing to you, or you rent a car to meet half way.
do you have any kind of roadside assistance with your insurance or perhaps any kind of extended warranty with that car? They may be able to help too.
I just got off the phone with House of Wheels Bob. Just my luck, he's on vacation. He has the exact wheel I need and he's willing to sell it to me for a very fair rate of $450. But he won't be able to do this until Tuesday.
He suggested I air the tire up to 55 psi and drive it back home. He said he wouldn't do the JB weld, rather just keep an eye on the tire pressure monitoring system and air it up with the portable compressor (which I already have) as we drive
If the leak is slow enough and you have a portable compressor I would probably give that a go. As I said, at least until you get to another large city where you might find a wheel in stock.
rather just keep an eye on the tire pressure monitoring system and air it up with the portable compressor (which I already have) as we drive
I've had to do this exact thing before, a few years ago on my C6 Grand sport. Not from a cracked wheel, but a broken valve stem. Got a lift to the Autozone to buy a portable cig lighter compressor. Mine probably leaked air faster than yours, but it got me home. Granted I didnt have to drive 1500 miles, but if the leak is slow enough, it should get you home. I would even probably do the fix-a-leak slime treatment. It might fill the crack a tiny bit and help mitigate air loss.
He suggested I air the tire up to 55 psi and drive it back home. He said he wouldn't do the JB weld, rather just keep an eye on the tire pressure monitoring system and air it up with the portable compressor (which I already have) as we drive
55 sounds a bit high, especially on a cracked rim. It might exacerbate the issue. Maybe try 40? And yeah, if you've got a portable compressor, with that being a run flat, you can probably just air it up every time you stop for gas. You can bring up the tire pressure in the infotainment and just watch it and if it goes under like 23, stop and air it up. Also at 55, it's going to leak out really fast, comparatively speaking. Like if you lose 1 psi every 3 minutes at 30 psi, you'd probably lose 1 psi every minute at 55.
I just got off the phone with House of Wheels Bob. Just my luck, he's on vacation. He has the exact wheel I need and he's willing to sell it to me for a very fair rate of $450. But he won't be able to do this until Tuesday. He suggested I air the tire up to 55 psi and drive it back home. He said he wouldn't do the JB weld, rather just keep an eye on the tire pressure monitoring system and air it up with the portable compressor (which I already have) as we drive
That might be your only viable option without waiting for days. I drove 560 miles in my friend's Z06 with the cracked rear wheel & just aired it up every few hours. Of course you still have almost 1,500 miles to cover but it should be okay if you take it easy.
Whatever happened with Corvette World? I guess they didn't have a replacement wheel available, huh?
edit: I agree with Toddiesel, 55 psi is too high, especially with a cracked wheel. Just fill it to 34 psi or so & keep an eye on it & air it up as needed. That's what I did with my friend's Z06.
Whatever happened with Corvette World? I guess they didn't have a replacement wheel available, huh?
From my experience, Corvette World has a pretty good selection of wheels at their Houston and Dallas locations. There has to be something they can work out with you.
Last edited by vegasjunkie2004; 01-25-2019 at 12:05 PM.
Reason: differentiate
From my experience, Corvette World has a pretty good selection of wheels at their Houston and Dallas locations. There has to be something they can work out with you.
What sucks is that the OP just bought the car a few days ago from Corvette World (Houston). That wheel must have already been cracked. I doubt it just cracked between Houston & Ft. Stockton.
What sucks is that the OP just bought the car a few days ago from Corvette World (Houston). That wheel must have already been cracked. I doubt it just cracked between Houston & Ft. Stockton.
Well I also have another experience with Corvette World Houston in which they will deny any wrongdoing, making you (the customer) the liar/crazy person in front of other customers. (Situation deals with a car cover I purchased and later returned). Hopefully the OP has a better experience since this is a more significant financial (and dangerous) issue.
Let me add my condolences - sorry this happened to you.
Sounds like you’ve been offered two good main alternatives: patch it and limp home OR pick up random new wheel.
First one has the caveat your SO won’t go for it so that’s dead until she faces the prospect of being stuck there a few days.
Second one, I’m betting you likely won’t get a matching C7.R wheel, which you’ll have to deal with later.
Personally, if I could get the wheel at an ok price (up to 20% premium) quickly I would do it. But I like to have backups so I’d work up the other option of patching/welding (where to get the slime/patch/weld, quote, quick reference it’s not like a Corvette World selling cracked wheels- btw the price was maybe too good for a C7.R of that mileage).
If we can assume the wheel was cracked when you bought it, and the pressure was less than 40 PSI when you started your journey, I would do some napkin math and figure out how often you are going to need to stop for air, and try limping it home.
If it cracked during the drive and then started leaking at an unknown, faster pace, well...that's different.
I'd find whatever was sitting around a chain shop in the area that comes close to fitting, toss it on, and deal with a match when you get home. Ain't gonna look pretty, but you've already wasted two days on this, just make sure all the pics are taken from the drivers side
I'll be honest and say I've not been too impressed with Corvette World when I visited them in Dallas years ago. I would hope that if this wheel were cracked prior to sale, they would make good on it. No way to prove that though so just move on and find a wheel is all you can do and is exactly what you are doing.
My guess would be he took Bob's advice (House of Wheels) & aired it up & got back on the road, stopping to inflate as necessary. I'm sure he'll post an update sometime tonight.
MAN! Yesterday was quite a day! A long, toiling day...
So after I posted my most recent comment, I decided to take matters into my own hands after unsuccessfully following up on all my leads except House of Wheels Bob.
I had decided to take the wheel off and blast it with parts cleaner in the tub of my hotel room and then rinse it off with water so it can be cleaned and prepped for JB weld.
That's where things took an interesting turn:
I think I overdid it a little on the downsizing of the photos this time- whoops.
It may be a little hard to see, but if you look closely at the second photo, you'll see there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll
and what do we have between those two cracks? a black paint marker left by whoever inspected the wheel after it was damaged.
When the wheel was removed the first time it was dirty and dark and nobody noticed the second crack because it wasnt leaking air
After cleaning it and putting the right type of light on it, it's beyond a reasonable doubt at this point that the damage was caused by someone else prior to my purchasing of the vehicle. So I did what anyone would do in this situation: I got mad as hell and (politely) demanded answers from Corvette World.
Within 5 minutes I got a response from my salesperson that they will cover the cost of a new wheel for me, and that in the meantime they'll send out a regular z06 wheel so I can continue my journey.
Unfortunately that's going to tack on more days to what is already a dragged-out process, so rather than sitting on my hands in Fort Stockton, I aired that tire up to 52psi and began driving it back to Houston for the wheel
About an hour into the journey I get a call from Corvette World telling me that they had somehow sourced the exact yellow lipped wheel I needed and that they'll replace it for me as soon as I get in.
The 530 mile drive took 9 and a half hours, stopping every 100 miles or so to air it back up from 30 to 53psi. So about 4-5 stops.
By the time we got back to Houston and checked in I could barely keep my eyes open, otherwise I would've gotten on my computer and updated you guys
Lastly, I just want to say thanks to everyone for your kind words, well wishes and invaluable information.
We're about to head over to Corvette World in a little bit. Once I'm there I'm going to ask that the remaining 3 wheels be taken off and inspected, afterwards I'm going to inspect it for myself, as well.
Maybe even guilt them into giving me a free oil change? After all I just lost 3 days of time, 3 days of food and lodging and put an extra 1,000+ miles on the vette because of negligence on their part for not properly inspecting the car
On that note, I'd like to know what you guys would do in terms of reparations; would you be ok with just getting a new, working wheel after all of this when it's something it should've had to begin with?
01-25-2019, 10:51 AM
