Slow Leak

[dlock13]

It is that time of year again when the slow leak in my 2 front wheels comes at me in full force. When I got new tires on my car (1.5 years ago or 2), it seems as though I developed a slow leak in 2 of the wheels. I took it to the place where I got my tires put on, and he remounted them several times. He then told me it is because my rims are aluminum, and they tend to do that.

Anyway, fast forward to now, and I've just been dealing with the situation. I put 35 PSI or 40 in my front 2 tires, and 3 days from then, I'd have to put more air in my tires. I just put air in all of my tires on Tuesday, and well, my front 2 are down to about 22-23 PSI. With winter right around the corner, if I fill these up to 40 PSI today, I can guarantee you that tomorrow they'll be down to 22-23 PSI. That will be a near daily occurrence.

What can I possibly do to fix this? Will I have to take it to a shop to repair the rim? If anything, the guy messed up the rim when he replaced the tires. I never had this problem the in the year or so I owned the car.

 

[pcgeek11]

I've never had aluminum wheels leak.

 

[Zivic]

It is that time of year again when the slow leak in my 2 front wheels comes at me in full force. When I got new tires on my car (1.5 years ago or 2), it seems as though I developed a slow leak in 2 of the wheels. I took it to the place where I got my tires put on, and he remounted them several times. He then told me it is because my rims are aluminum, and they tend to do that.

Anyway, fast forward to now, and I've just been dealing with the situation. I put 35 PSI or 40 in my front 2 tires, and 3 days from then, I'd have to put more air in my tires. I just put air in all of my tires on Tuesday, and well, my front 2 are down to about 22-23 PSI. With winter right around the corner, if I fill these up to 40 PSI today, I can guarantee you that tomorrow they'll be down to 22-23 PSI. That will be a near daily occurrence.

What can I possibly do to fix this? Will I have to take it to a shop to repair the rim? If anything, the guy messed up the rim when he replaced the tires. I never had this problem the in the year or so I owned the car.

find out where they are leaking. probably around the bead. The wheels likely have some oxidation and may need to just be cleaned up a bit to get a better seal. I had an issue like this before. surprised the shop hasn't taken care of it with the remounts

 

[Scarpozzi]

I had one of my tires do this the past few seasons. I thought it might be a slow leak in the tire itself. I took it in when I had a few minutes and had the guys search for a nail....they couldn't find anything so they unmounted the tire/cleaned the rim and resealed it. It's been better. There are rim sealants you can get, but unless you have a heck of a good compressor, it's best to take it to a shop.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...google&utm_campaign=gpla&utm_content=28200234

Usually the cause is just where the rim and the tire don't seat properly. It's not uncommon for them to get dirt in between them that causes a leak and the moisture content of the air that was put in the tire when it was filled can also cause natural fluctuations based on temp. Have them unmount the tire and clean the rims really good with a brush. Look for any imperfections that may be causing the tires not to make a good seal...then use some good sealant. This very well could be a particular tire spec vs a particular rim spec that's causing the problem.

 

[pauldun170]

It is that time of year again when the slow leak in my 2 front wheels comes at me in full force. When I got new tires on my car (1.5 years ago or 2), it seems as though I developed a slow leak in 2 of the wheels. I took it to the place where I got my tires put on, and he remounted them several times. He then told me it is because my rims are aluminum, and they tend to do that.

Anyway, fast forward to now, and I've just been dealing with the situation. I put 35 PSI or 40 in my front 2 tires, and 3 days from then, I'd have to put more air in my tires. I just put air in all of my tires on Tuesday, and well, my front 2 are down to about 22-23 PSI. With winter right around the corner, if I fill these up to 40 PSI today, I can guarantee you that tomorrow they'll be down to 22-23 PSI. That will be a near daily occurrence.

What can I possibly do to fix this? Will I have to take it to a shop to repair the rim? If anything, the guy messed up the rim when he replaced the tires. I never had this problem the in the year or so I owned the car.

I've never had aluminum wheels leak.

I had this on my last car. Corrosion resulted in leaks.
Took it to a shop, they wire brushed it (or whatever they do) to smooth out the area and that took care of the issue.

 

[Wingznut]

The tire shop should have means to find out exactly where the leak is coming from, and then decide on a course of action. If they do not, find another shop.

If you want to check the easy spots yourself (around the tire bead, the valve stem, etc), just put some soapy water in a spray bottle, spray it in the suspected places, and see if it bubbles.

 

[dlock13]

I had one of my tires do this the past few seasons. I thought it might be a slow leak in the tire itself. I took it in when I had a few minutes and had the guys search for a nail....they couldn't find anything so they unmounted the tire/cleaned the rim and resealed it. It's been better. There are rim sealants you can get, but unless you have a heck of a good compressor, it's best to take it to a shop.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...google&utm_campaign=gpla&utm_content=28200234

Usually the cause is just where the rim and the tire don't seat properly. It's not uncommon for them to get dirt in between them that causes a leak and the moisture content of the air that was put in the tire when it was filled can also cause natural fluctuations based on temp. Have them unmount the tire and clean the rims really good with a brush. Look for any imperfections that may be causing the tires not to make a good seal...then use some good sealant. This very well could be a particular tire spec vs a particular rim spec that's causing the problem.

I had this on my last car. Corrosion resulted in leaks.
Took it to a shop, they wire brushed it (or whatever they do) to smooth out the area and that took care of the issue.

The tire shop should have means to find out exactly where the leak is coming from, and then decide on a course of action. If they do not, find another shop.

If you want to check the easy spots yourself (around the tire bead, the valve stem, etc), just put some soapy water in a spray bottle, spray it in the suspected places, and see if it bubbles.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to see if I can bring it to a shop on Monday to get that fixed. We have a decent place right down the road from work, so I can stop there and hopefully have them do the front 2 that day.

I'll definitely try and see if I can find anything with that soapy water trick. Hopefully, it is something simple they can fix.

Any idea on how much something like that would cost?

 

[LTC8K6]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/4297504

It's apparently possible for the aluminum to have porosity and actually leak from the wheel itself.

 

[dlock13]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/4297504

It's apparently possible for the aluminum to have porosity and actually leak from the wheel itself.

I saw that link earlier today. Unless the wheel developed it over time, I don't think that is what it is. I believe either the mechanic messed it up or the wheel itself just needs wire brushed due to corrosion and resealed.

It was news to me, too, that an aluminum wheel can leak from itself.

 

[boomerang]

If you want to check the easy spots yourself (around the tire bead, the valve stem, etc), just put some soapy water in a spray bottle, spray it in the suspected places, and see if it bubbles.

Windex works great for this.

 

[bruceb]

Could also be a bad valve, bad valve stem, bad valve cap. I would have the shop start with those are they are cheap and rubber valve stems do fail from time to time. Link here tells how GM suggests to deal with rim leaks:

http://www.autoserviceprofessional.com/article/92227/gm-corroded-wheel-bead-seat

You can also use this to seal the bead area:

http://www.patchrubber.com/tire_repair/16118.html

 

[inachu]

They have various silly but effective leak cures on youtube.

 

[pauldun170]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to see if I can bring it to a shop on Monday to get that fixed. We have a decent place right down the road from work, so I can stop there and hopefully have them do the front 2 that day.

I'll definitely try and see if I can find anything with that soapy water trick. Hopefully, it is something simple they can fix.

Any idea on how much something like that would cost?

When I had my wheel fixed ten years ago I vaguely recall it being cheap (under 50). With the tire off and the rim surface wiped down, it was obvious. Slapping on more sealant\goop was a waste of time, money and effort (at least in my case)

 

[dlock13]

Well, I got both of my front wheels checked out. They took off the tires and cleaned the rims really well. They said they didn't really find any corrosion or anything obvious as to why they were leaking. They did reseal it really well and, of course, change out the valves on both tires.

I'm still a little skeptical, but I'm hopeful that the issue is fixed. It hasn't been cold the past couple of days here, so I can't really say if they've lost any pressure. I'll check later tonight and report back in.

Thanks for all the help by the way!