Hey guys,

Last year I got a set of 18s with rubber.
Over the year I noticed I was slightly losing air in the one tire... slow leak... still driveable etc.

So when I took them off for the winter, I checked the tire for any holes ... nada.
It was either in the stem or in the seal between rim and tire.

So I pull the tires out of storage on the weekend, and I find that one tire has like 3lbs of air in it.
I fill it up to 32lbs and try to find the leak with soapy water.
Long story short (too late) I find theres a tiny leak in the inside rim/tire seal.

So the air is let out, and the area is massaged a bit ...with some human weight and a little love from an automotive hammer....

Fill the sucker back up to 35 lbs...check... leak gone.

NOW.... the question is....
Is it safe to put back on the car?
Or should I have a tire shop remove and reseal the rim/tire and balance etc????

 

Give it a shot, I wouldn't be worried about it being safe, if you didn't totally remove the tire from the wheel it shouldn't need to be rebalanced or anything.

 

You'll be fine. I'd even go so far as to inflate it to around 40-45 to make sure it's seated. The bead simply didn't seat when the tire was mounted. No biggie. If it's definitely sealed, go ahead and use it.

 

If the leak returns, have the tire broken down and check to see if there is a label on the bead of the tire that may cause the leak. Also, check for the little rubber things that are on tires from the molds. Sometimes they will get folded over and trapped between the tire bead and rim and cause a leak.

Sometimes, a little bead sealer does wonders. It is a paint like substance that has, I believe, some silicone in it similar to a RTV gasket maker.

I hope this helps.

Tony D

 

Thanks guys

Yeah, I pumped it to 40lbs on sat.
I'm going to check it and see if theres any difference.
recheck it and go from there.

And no we didn't bust the whole seal... just pushed around the area where the leak was.. and after pumping it back up, no problems.

More of piece of mind/safety concern than anything.