SLOGA Wheel repair · Tuzla

WORKSHOP GALLERY · TUZLA

Before and after

Four cases from the workshop in Simin Han: what was damaged, what happened on the machine and how the wheel ended up.

+387 61 570 429

Every picture comes from our own shop

Nothing here comes out of a catalogue. Every wheel you see was on the bench at 3. tuzlanske brigade 128 in Tuzla. The state it arrived in gets photographed first, then whatever is left of it once the straightening, the welding and the dressing of the seam are finished.

Compare the edges and the bead seat, that is where the difference shows best. On some of these wheels air was escaping through a crack, on others the steering shook above a certain speed. No two damages are the same, which is why every wheel is looked at in the hand before anything is promised.

Four cases from the workshop

For each case you can read what the damage was, how it was solved and what the state is at the end. Drag the ring to compare both sides.

Alloy wheel with a broken-off piece on the outer edge The same wheel after welding and dressing, edge full and straight again
Before Drag the ring After

A piece of the rim was missing

01A chunk of material had broken off the outer edge. The rim stayed open at that point, the tyre could not seat properly there and air escaped on every drive.
02The area is cleaned back to sound metal, material is built up in layers by welding, and the surplus is then ground back until the original edge profile is there again.
03The edge is solid again and runs true without a jump. The tyre seats along the full length of the bead seat, and the wheel is checked in rotation on the machine at the end.
Bead seat of a wheel with a hole punched through and traces of corrosion Closed and levelled bead seat after welding and grinding
Before After

Hole in the bead seat

01An impact and corrosion had punched through the flange, leaving a hole where the tyre rests. The tyre went flat within a few days and topping up the air only helped for a short while.
02The hole is opened up to clean material, the edges are thinned and closed by welding. The seam is then levelled with the grinder so that the tyre rests on a flat surface right around the circle.
03The seat holds pressure and the tyre beads without hunting for a spot. The sealing surface is even, with no bulge where the hole used to be.
Crack along the barrel of an alloy wheel, marked with chalk Welded and dressed crack repair on the barrel of a wheel
Before After

Crack along the rim barrel

01A thin crack ran along the barrel of the wheel. The tyre lost air slowly, and on a rough road you could feel that something was not right.
02The end of the crack is traced and marked, the spot is ground into a V and welded from both sides where access allows, and the surplus material is taken down on the machine.
03The wheel is closed, the area dressed and checked in rotation. If a crack runs into the wheel disc, into the zone that carries the load, the repair is not carried out.
Raised weld seam across the edge of a wheel after a fracture was welded The same spot after grinding, with no visible seam
Before After

A weld you can no longer see

01After a fracture had been welded, a raised bead of material ran across the edge and the spoke. The material held, but the repaired spot was visible from every angle.
02The seam is ground down step by step until the line matches the material around it. It is checked by hand and by eye, because an unevenness is felt before it is seen.
03The transition can no longer be felt with a finger and the tyre seats all the way round. The spot stays visible only as a difference in the tone of the metal, because nothing here gets painted.

The machines that do this work

Press, welder and grinder stand in the same room, so a wheel never has to travel from one tradesman to the next.

Wheel clamped on the machine
The rim flange checked all the way round
Finished wheels before pickup

Questions about the work shown here

How do I know whether my wheel can be repaired at all?

Send a photo of the damage and of the whole wheel to +387 61 570 429. A picture shows a great deal, but the last word comes when the wheel is on the bench and the tyre is off. If a repair would not be safe, you hear it straight away and the wheel is left untouched.

Is the repaired spot visible after welding?

The seam is ground until it sits level with the material around it, and afterwards no transition can be felt with a finger. A difference in the tone of the metal stays, because nothing here is painted or covered over. You are told that beforehand, so there is no surprise later.

Do you work on steel wheels too, or only on alloy ones?

Both alloy and steel wheels are handled in the shop. Steel is straightened more often, because it dents instead of cracking, while aluminium ends up at the welder more often. The material decides the order of the work, but both take the same path.

Is the wheel checked after the repair?

It is, on the same machine where everything started. The wheel spins and the remaining runout is measured, sideways as well as in height. If the line sits quiet the job is done; if not, the wheel goes back under the press before you collect it.

Can I bring a single wheel or do all four have to come in?

One is enough. Most people turn up with a single wheel after a kerb or a pothole. If the car dropped into something bigger, bring the other wheels from that side along, because the deviation often shows on the second one too.

The next wheel here could be yours

Photograph the damage with your phone and send a message. You get an assessment of what can realistically be done.

+387 61 570 429