Fixing wheel runout after "detour" through ditch

Question

I recently took a detour through a ditch on the way to work. There was a lot of snow there which made itself known - my car and it got along pretty well but as far as I'm concerned, they need to permanently break-up and not get so close again.

However, my car suffered a hit to its ego. One of the wheels (passenger side front, for the curious) seems to have bent a fair bit as there is considerable runout. In other words, the whole wheel is very clearly not correct with respect to the car anymore, and I get steering wheel vibration and its obvious the wheel is not correctly aligned when driving slow. It seems to "wobble."

I've since had my tires aligned since they needed it before I took a scenic route and I'm pretty sure this didn't help the alignment. Obviously alignment doesn't fix the runout/bent wheel/rim problem.

What is the best bet to fix this? It would seem I need to replace the metal part of the wheel assembly, but literally every single place I've looked has only had the rubber (or internal) parts.

The car is a 2005 Ford Focus.

Answer 1

The best thing to do is find a Wheel Repair Place. In order for them to fix and out-of-round it it stripped down and put on a machine and bent back into its original form. Also they handle and cracks or stresses that the wheel may have in order to get it back to it's original strength. Here in Los Angeles I work with a few companies that offer pick-up and drop-off services and it usually takes about a day to day and a half for them to complete the job. The cost varies depending on size and damage amount _(Usually customers pay around $70 per wheel for straightening and painting). But, when you get it back, the wheel should look brand new.

Side note, if you decide to go with a company like this. They will handle removing the tire (rubber) from the rim (metal) so you don't have to make any extra steps. You should just have to take the wheel off the vehicle for them (put your spare tire on so you can still drive for the next couple days). When they return the wheel to you it should/will be mounted, balanced, and full of air. You will just have to take your spare back off and put your wheel back on.

Other than that. No tire shop is going to be able to help you with making the wheel round again unless they just order you a new wheel. Which would be rather costly.