Leaking tire pressure

[Bitsyncmaster]

Well I finally got sick of putting air in my left rear tire. Took it off to look for a nail. No nail found so sprayed my AC leak detector around the tire valve stem and bubbles.

Completely forgot about these threaded valve stems. A 14 mm deep socket with about a half turn and seems like the leak has stopped. Time will tell.

[David T]

There might also be corrosion. The only way to fix that is to dismount the tire to clean it up. If tightening does it then you got lucky. Check the spare. The way to fix that is to dismount and remount using Camel Bead sealer.
David Teitelbaum

[Bitsyncmaster]

Looks like that tire still leaks. Should I use the standard rubber valve stem or the metal one with a nut?

[David T]

Stay with the metal one as long as the threads are not stripped. You should replace the rubber seals and the valve core. When they remove the tire check the bead area for corrosion. Use bead sealer if you have to.
David Teitelbaum

[Bitsyncmaster]

After returning from my vacation, my tire had 10 PSI.:dead:

I took the wheel off and shot some leak detector around the bead and at one of the wheel weights was a major leak. I pulled the weight off and the leak was gone. Moved the weight to a place near where it was and the leak followed the weight.

Left off the weight (it was a small one) and will see it the leak is gone. If not, I may just get a new set of tires.

[DMC5180]

That's why I request tire shops too use Stick-On weights on the inside. Plus you don't have too look at a ugly weight on the outer rim. Clip-on weights also like to promote corrosion behind. At least on cars driven in winter in the midwest that is.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Don't know why this would suddenly start leaking after the 5 years I've owned my car. But I could see this causing a leak sometimes depending where the tire stops and is parked. I wonder if this is common to my daily drivers.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Looks like that tire is leaking around the bead in one place on both sides. I think the date code on the tires is "209" so I guess they were made in 1999. But I'm thinking if getting the tire shop to remove both rear tires and then I will clean the rims. The paint is really flaking off the inside of the rim.

Is the bead area painted? Just trying to figure out why this tire started leaking so bad so suddenly.

[DMCMW Dave]

You may find that if they are that old the shop will refuse to remount them.

[Bitsyncmaster]

You may find that if they are that old the shop will refuse to remount them.

I'm looking into getting the rims machined. So if I do that I may just get a full set of new tires.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Had to put off getting the wheels machined for now. Just can't find the time to get all four off the car and drive up to a shop about a hour away. I will be putting on new tires also. I plan to do this later this fall but definitely want it done before DCS-12.

Anyway, I think I have a temporary fix. I bought some of that green "slime" for patching tube tires. Ran a bead of that slime around the tire bead and pulled a vacuum in the tire with my vacuum pump. When the bead pulled down enough I stopped the pump and let it sit a while. Did the same for the other side bead.

One day now and no pressure loss. If this works, I need to do one of my wife's tires that has a slow leak.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Well that slime worked. Still have 32 PSI in that tire. The wife's tire had a nail in it.

[David T]

You probably have a lot of corrosion on the rim in the bead seal area. The goop may only work temporarily. You do not have to machine the rims. The shop can wire brush them clean. Common with alloy wheels. Most shops will no longer remount tires over 7 years old no matter what the condition. You should not be driving on tires over 7 years old anyway for your own personal safety. You will be amazed at how much better the car will ride with fresh tires. Very dangerous to drive on low pressure. In a turn the tire can roll off of the bead and lose all pressure quickly causing a loss of control and possible roll-over.
David Teitelbaum

[dn010]

Many shops hate slime, it makes the job harder for them. If you find you have the air mysteriously leaking out of your tire, take the tire/wheel off and put the correct pressure in. then lay it on the ground and fill the bead area with water. If you have a leak youll see it bubbling. Do it on the front and back of the tire. Mine is corroded and leaks so much it won't even hold for 20 hours. That is my next project...

[Bitsyncmaster]

Many shops hate slime, it makes the job harder for them. If you find you have the air mysteriously leaking out of your tire, take the tire/wheel off and put the correct pressure in. then lay it on the ground and fill the bead area with water. If you have a leak youll see it bubbling. Do it on the front and back of the tire. Mine is corroded and leaks so much it won't even hold for 20 hours. That is my next project...

The slime (green stuff) does not harden and washes off with water. It's the standard bead seal stuff you would need a solvent to remove and make breaking the bead hard.

[dn010]

The slime gets all over everything when you pull the tire off - not what the person changing the tire wants to deal with... We used to charge folks extra for when we had to deal with tire slime, and if we asked if they used this stuff and they said yes - we would decline service. Of course, there is other fix-a-flat goop in a can that makes changing a tire a real chore-worse than slime. Some shops probably don't care, but where I used to work - a lot of shops hated it.

[dn010]

I mis-read what you wrote above, if you put a bead of slime then you've got no worries as far as what the shop will think about it. It is tires filled with this stuff that is a PITA.

This corrosion problem is the reason I'd like to get new rims, 3 of my 4 tires suffer from this. I'd love to get DMCH's new rims, but....

[Bitsyncmaster]

I mis-read what you wrote above, if you put a bead of slime then you've got no worries as far as what the shop will think about it. It is tires filled with this stuff that is a PITA.

This corrosion problem is the reason I'd like to get new rims, 3 of my 4 tires suffer from this. I'd love to get DMCH's new rims, but....

When I pulled the vacuum, I could see the oxidation on the rim wall because it pulled the bead on the tire down a little. I just don't know why that tire started suddenly to leak air this year. It has held air fine and is stored inside my garage. I'm sure just lightly sanding the rim would fix it but then you need the tires pulled and remounted and balanced.

[dn010]

I used the "redneck" method to break the bead of my tire allowing me access to the rim. I found that the powder coat inside the rim had cracked/flaked just like it does on the outside (looks like pealing paint), so now I had parts that were powder coated and then parts that weren't coated - leaving gaps. I wire brushed, scotch brite'd, sanded, you name it and my one damn tire still leaks at the bead!

[Bitsyncmaster]

My first bead leak fix did not hold up. It suddenly started leaking again. So today I took the wheel down to my Firestone tire place and had them demount and fix the bead.