Fixing Steel Wheels and How to Check a Tire

Backstory: I hit a big fat pothole the other day in the GF's car. The hit was so hard that it bent the lip of the steel rim enough that it no longer holds air. I'm planning on attempting to bend it back with judicial application of a 4lb hammer. I have never done this before but the internet (and my hubris) makes me think it's possible. Said GF also needs her car for an interview tomorrow.

Questions:

1. Is my hammer large enough for this task?

2. How do I make sure the tire is ok? I'm assuming that if I don't see a bulge in the sidewall and it holds air, we're good to go.

Something similar recently happened to me and I thought about doing what you're thinking about doing. Then I found out that a steelie complete with tire was under $25 at the junkyard.

Why bother?

The wheel you can beat it back into submission. I have successfully straightened steel and aluminum wheels.

Keep a close eye on the tire. Usually if the hit is hard enough to bend a wheel, the tire is damaged as well. If so, it will bubble or separate.

Evan has a good point. If you can pick one of for cheap, it's probably worth it.

Bending the rim back is doable depending how bad its bent. If its got a split in the metal its time for another rim. The tire could have hidden damage. A lot of times the inside of the tire is pinched against the rim when something like this happens and some cords are broken. Worst case is the immediate feedback of a blowout but there could still be hidden damage which would result in a future blowout. Best bet is either get another tire or get a tire place to take the tire off and inspect if from the inside. If its damaged you need another tire.

Even if the sidewall isn't holed I wouldn't trust that tire very much, and as mentioned, used OE steelies are dirt cheap at a lot of junkyards, check on car-part.com.

In reply to EvanR:

I didn't realize they're so cheap at a junkyard. Problem is that she needs her car by like noon tomorrow. I'm at work the rest of today and tomorrow so I don't have time to grab a new wheel

I wish she would have given me more notice.

Update: the nearby places are all asking $50-60 per wheel and close at 5.

I take it this car isn't equipped with a full size spare? The donut will get you by for a few days if you mount it on the rear of a FWD car and avoid high speeds (55 tops). In the event of no spare at all hammer it back, see if it holds air, put it on the rear, and keep it off the highway.

A job interview is a big deal, I wonder if you'd be better off finding said GF alternative means of transportation so she does not become your ex-GF. Test the wheel out on a lower pressure day.

BFH, new tire. It helps if you can give it a spin between beatings, and hold a piece of chalk or something that will mark the high/low spots.

Swap rides for the day.

Snrub wrote: A job interview is a big deal, I wonder if you'd be better off finding said GF alternative means of transportation so she does not become your ex-GF. Test the wheel out on a lower pressure day.

This. Cab. Lyft. Something. For the short run, getting there is too important for an iffy fix. For the longer term, I wouldn't trust that tire and would be a little iffy on the wheel.

There may be places for the hammer, but I don't think it's the short or long term of this particular issue.

The plan now is for me to try to fix the wheel tonight and then she'll take her car to the tire shop in the AM to get the tire fixed/replaced. It's already got the space-saver spare on there so she should have no problems driving there. This has turned into more of me trying to save her the money of a new wheel now, rather than even trying to salvage the tire too.

Thanks for the input y'all!