Leaking Tire!

I have a constant leak in a tire, nothing wrong with it I am being told it’s a rim issue? Anyone ever add that slime stuff to your tires to stop a slow leak?

On a car or truck I drive NO way, I do not want to be sitting on the side of the road with a flat because I did not get it fixed right. That’s like running out of gas on the highway. I would get it fixed.

I did bring it in, they sanded and resealed it but it still leaks. It’s the seal an not the tire itself…

Get the tire off, remove the valve stem, and get everything cleaned and sealed. Less than $20.

If it is a rusty rim bring it in and they can clean the bead up and glue the seal. That is what we used to do many years ago. I don’t know about the present slime stuff you are talking about, but again a long time ago it was a nasty chemical that would melt the rubber on the inside and it would make it a goo and hope to seal it. It ruined the tire. If we broke a bead and smelled it we were told give the tire back and say it could not be fixed.

If the tire is still in good shape you could put a tube in it.

We had a Buick that had alum rims that wouldn’t properly seal. Only fix was replacing the rims which I did. Tube would be the best option I’ve read here so far.

Slime will not fix a bead issue, only a tread puncture. And even then I would only use it in an emergency.

I’m guessing you have aluminum rims. When they corrode it becomes very difficult to fix the bead. Likely it will need some considerable sanding to get it resealed.

I’ve had many a tire fixed with a tube.

Take it to a tire shop. Have them wire brush the rim flange AND the tire bead. Then seal it with a tire bead sealant. The sealant comes in a can with a small brush. You brush it on the rim flange then mount tire. Cures 99% of rim leaks. We do it all the time in our shop.

We had a Buick that had alum rims that wouldn’t properly seal. Only fix was replacing the rims which I did. Tube would be the best option I’ve read here so far.[/quote]

DB were the rims an aluminum alloy or a wheel that was chrome and the chrome peeled off in chunks that made high and low spots on the rim flange? If it was the chrome type some of them GM replaced N/C.

I’ve been fighting a similar issue on my 2014 Honda Pilot. Tires are less than 6 months old. Once the weather got cold, one wheel started slowly leaking. Had to put air in at least once per week. Opening day of deer hunting it leaked quite a bit faster and had to bail on hunting to have it fixed. They found a hole from a rock (sharp trap rock) and plugged and patched the hole. I watched them clean and grind the rim before they remounted the tire. The darn thing still has a slow leak. Not sure if it is the rim or valve stem. It really pisses me off.

When an alloy rim has white oxidation on the rim flange the tire has oxidation on the bead that also has to be cleaned. Part of the reason that alloy wheels leak more is because the alloy shrinks more than a steel wheel because of the cold. It don’t take much for air to seep out.

I have had the unfortunate luck to only owned aluminum rims on all three cars I have ever owned, plus my wife’s car. They will eventually leak at the seals and sometimes, through the rim if they get bad enough. After 8 years or so this is a constant battle no matter what you do.

Given that we have two cars now over 10 years old, and I intend to keep them till they die, I spring for whatever “ultimate” package there is at the tire place so they will fix it for free. I currently have both my cars with NTB tires and purchased the premium care package (whatever it is called) which means that I can go in and say that the rims are leaking and they will take all the leaking tires off, grind them, remount them, and re-balance them for free. I took my truck in at the start of last winter and had all 4 done.

When I had this done at the honda place for my wife’s car before replacing the tires it cost almost $100. I view it as part of owning an older car, and this is one of the cheats that saves $, because filling my or my wife’s tire/s every week in the winter is a huge pain in the ass and dangerous because sometimes she just ignores it.

Sometimes the fix lasts a couple years, sometimes 6 months.

Also, adding fix a flat or slime or whatever to your tire tends to just become a PITA for the next guy who has to fix it.

tindall wrote:

Also, adding fix a flat or slime or whatever to your tire tends to just become a PITA for the next guy who has to fix it.

It sure is.I don’t think a tube is possible if you have TPMS.

I have had very good luck with Xtra seal bead sealer. Also make sure that you replace the valve stem every time you take the tire off and clean the corrosuon from there, i use the bead sealer on my valve stems also. Don’t use an abrasive disc grinder on the rims, a wire wheel on a grinder has worked best for me and a wire hand brush on the valve stem hole. My rims are 15 years old with no clear coat left on them and they stull seal with this process. I didn’t change my valve stems once and paid for it with a slow leak that needed air every few weeks.

Besox wrote:

I have a constant leak in a tire, nothing wrong with it I am being told it’s a rim issue? Anyone ever add that slime stuff to your tires to stop a slow leak?

Year,make model and style of rim ?

I’ve got one of those leaky SOBs on my Tahoe. It’s not bad in the summer, but I’m putting air in about once a week once it gets cold.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

I’ve got one of those leaky SOBs on my Tahoe. It’s not bad in the summer, but I’m putting air in about once a week once it gets cold.

I’ve had bead leaks with every car I’ve owned that had alloy wheels. Every single on at one time or another has had 1 or more tires.

I learned the hard way about the second time I took in a car to have this fixed, you HAVE to be firm with the guy on the front desk and say you need the job done by a the A Team tech that knows how to clean a rim AND use the right sealant or you’ll be back within a few months. Just mopping a scotchbrite pad around the rim once isn’t going to do it.

But make sure it’s NOT a puncture first! Just 2 weeks ago my sister called and said she had a tire letting down and thought it was a bead leak. I told her to inspect the tread area carefully for a nail or something sticking in the tire. She did and saw nothing so she brought it over.

I jacked it up, took the tire off, and in the good light of my shop, we spotted a nice roofing nail shank sticking out of the tread. It’s amazing how hard those things are to see if the wheel is still on the vehicle.

Grouse