Through a common friend I was able to hookup with “Tony” a race car fabricator located at Jamestown, California. This is about 45 minutes from my location higher up the hills.

The previous TIG service tried to do the repair using MIG and did not prepare the rim correctly. The cracked areas required a bevel that allows TIG material to penetrate the material and adhere to the rim correctly. These beveled techniques are performed on both sides of the rim.

The completed TIG welded cracks are left with the excess and not grind down flush for additional strength.

The gap between the rim edge and tire is significant compared to the new replacement tire which sit flush wiping the rim.

The new replacement tire size is 245x35x22. This will increase the sidewall by approximately 0.5”. This translates to more rubber between the rims lip and the asphalt.

The difference in the backside is huge. The front face of the wheel tire fitment has also improved.

More photos of the new tire installed 245/35/22.

As the after photos show, the tire seats on the rim lip much tighter. The overall look is more appealing and seems to be the correct size for the tire and rim combination.

EDIT: after riding on the new set of tires for at least 300 plus miles I can tell the difference 0.5” makes. I no longer feel every pebble or rock on the road I run over. The ride is noticeably smoother.

What it really turned out to be was the tire coming out of the lip of the rim a bit. Not enough to lose air but definitely deforming the sidewall.

I took it to the local tire repair shop again.

The 255/30/22 size is like a freakin’ rubber band on the rim. I had it replaced with the same size since it was readily available. I will be changing the tire dimensions in the near future to 245/35/22. This will give a little more sidewall between the rim and asphalt.

255 / 30 ZR22 95W XL

After the last 2 pothole hits I’m thinking of going up in size. Try out the 255 / 35ZR22 size. It will add approximately 0.5” to the sidewall area.

I was very surprised to get the rim back from repair so quickly.

I’m assuming due to the amount of weld material the repair required, a more then usual amount of weights had to be used. What’s odd I don’t recall seeing weights on the other front wheel. Now I will have to check and confirm it has been balanced.

I’ll have to keep an eye on this repair and perform more than normal periodic air pressure checks.

I thought an object had punctured my tire causing the slow leak issue. This morning I took the rim to a local tire shop. The worker found a crack on the inner side of the rim. This crack would eventually get larger if not repaired.

The owner of the shop had a place in Sacramento that did these type of repairs. I left the wheel to be sent out. Hopefully it will be back Monday.

During the troubleshoot stage it is heck of convenient to be able to control the Accuair VU4 manifold remotely. I can add air and to see if I have any leaks before I install in between the upper and lower control arms.

This is a normal weekday evening for me. Dismantling the upper control arm, ball joints, outer tie rods, brake caliper assembly and dropping the lower control arm to access the bag cups.

Not too many folks have a garage that can fit the length of a dually. That would mean the ride would be left outside if it was an overnight job.

I decided to learn how to perform the light cut and buff process. My goal was not be overly aggressive and take my time with the process.

I asked around to see what the “Pro’s” were using for equipment. I’d say the majority of guys buffing their rides are using something in the Harbor Freight realm. I was looking for a buffer/polisher that I could use long term and had an online following as well as hardware support.

The original paint had horrible water marks. I tried to wax it off but had no success. At the time I had never heard of “Corrective Compound” and what it was used for. It turned out to be the key of buffing and removing the hard water marks.

The lower cup on the original setup had a “floating” configuration. That’s when the cup is seated on the lower control arm not bolted down or secured. I would have done the same again since the original setup had probably lasted over 20 years. After speaking with my Cuz’ I decided to take his advice and secure it down with a bolt that was welded in place.

There is a “horseshoe” hole on the lower control that can be used to allow a bolt go thru. The lower cup is then secured down using a strap. In this case I was out of steel material and used scrap aluminum I had laying around the shop. I will replace the temporary strap with a 1/4″ steel plate at a later date.

Using a transmission jack to hold the lower control arm and disc brake setup is the best thing ever! It is so much easier to maneuver around then screwing around floor jack that always seems to get in the way. This is really helpful when pressing in the upper control arm ball joint back into the upper spindle.

I used the plasma cutter to cut a section of the upper control arm. This was necessary to allow the bag bellows to expand outwards and not rub against the surrounding metal. I should note that it said that the Slam Specialities E series (I’m using E7’s) are designed to expand vertically and less horizontally (outwards). This also means that bags do not take as much air volume to have the same height settings a standard conventional air bag.

After using a large 5″ flapper wheel I then used a small grinding wheel for the final area smoothing. I sprayed the exposed cut area with spray paint for cosmetic as well as protection against rust.