My chrome wheel won't stop losing air?

DENNISJR60

DENNISJR60

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2008
Messages
511
Reaction score
0
Location
LAS VEGAS
My front wheel always seems to lose air & when I took it to discount tire they said the chrome on the inside of the wheel was corroded or something like that & it can't be fixed. He put some black stuff around the bead, but said it was only a temporary fix which I'm guessing is true, because it's doing it again.

Any idea how to fix this other than buying a new chrome stock which I'm sure is waaaaay too much to begin with?

Thanks!
 
Never heard of a wheel losing air because of the chrome peeling on the inner part of the rim.
 
Step one, find the leak yourself.
Step two, don't go to discount tire to get it fixed.
Unless its free :)

I had the same problem with tires plus on a MarkVIII 20 spoke rim.

It was the valve stem they installed that was leaking, not were the tire bead was.
 
wire stripper on a drill. take the inside down to smooth fresh metal. clean good. if the metal behind the chrome is really pitted you can have a machine shop turn the wheel to make the surface smooth. a good wheel repair shop should also be able to fix it. have it broke down and get some pix so we can see just how bad it is and offer better ideas how to fix it.
 
Have a tire shop take the tire off, sand down the rim with an grinder (mine has a 90 degree/right angle grinder) then bead seal it and recheck to see if its still leaking before it goes to be balanced. Them sayin it can't be fxed isn't true unless its outrageously corroded. I do wheels like that just about everyday and maybe one of ten come bacl to be resealed
 
DENNISJR60 said:
My front wheel always seems to lose air & when I took it to discount tire they said the chrome on the inside of the wheel was corroded or something like that & it can't be fixed. He put some black stuff around the bead, but said it was only a temporary fix which I'm guessing is true, because it's doing it again.

Any idea how to fix this other than buying a new chrome stock which I'm sure is waaaaay too much to begin with?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

That occur to my wheels at first it was one and then it was another and then another so I just had them replaced. I went to America's Tire Co. and they told me the same that it was corroded and couldn't be fixed. They gave me an option to rechrome but just decided to get different wheels since it would be cheaper. Turned out to be about 520 dollars for 16 inch American Racing Wheels.
 
find somebody that has a little kiddy pool to throw the tire in and see for your self where the air is leaking from
 
Get a bottle of windex or a spray bottle with some soapy water, spray down the entire wheel and tire including the valve stem, watch for bubbles, theres your leak, mark it or something then check back with info of said leak.
 
if you dont have that readily available....chug down some ale of ur choice and pee on the wheel.
 
1LoudLS said:
find somebody that has a little kiddy pool to throw the tire in and see for your self where the air is leaking from
Click to expand...

or jus put water with a tiny bit of liquid soap in it around the bead of the tire and wait for bubbles
 
good advice

all good advice, but it could be many things, not just the wheel, use the soapy solution to find the leak then investigate further. Could be a cracked rim, or bent rim, or corroded rim, or damage to tire bead, or something trapped between the rim and bead. corroded rims are hard to mend, takes a competent shop to do it correctly,,,,,what happens is the material below the surface starts to come apart and degrade allowing a channel for the air in the tire to escape. better to just buy some new ones, as one by one the old wheels will fail.
 
It's been a chronic issue on my '03, but I live in the rust belt. It's a little surprising to me that you'd have issues in Vegas. Mine will be fine for long periods of time, but it will start to leak with drastic changes in temperature.

The best solution is to have the tire shop use a wire wheel to buff off all the loose chrome (they must use caution and maybe a utility knife to prevent peeling the chrome onto the front of the wheel). The secret to bead sealer is that it must dry before seating the bead. Most shops start airing the tire up while the sealer is still wet which can cause issues. I've also had a wheel that bead sealer wouldn't seal up. In that case the the bead was finally sealed with RTV silicone.
 
I would agree with tireman. I work for Tire warehouse Most of you on the east coast should be familliar with it. I have had alot of rims come in that are corroded, we will usually clean the rim seat with a wire wheel on an air drill. after cleaning that up use the air hose to blow off and dust, then clean with a liquid buff solution (alcohol based) then apply bead sealer on the bead seat. Another good idea is to spend the extra money and have the use Nitrogen rather than regular air. Nitrogen is a larger molecule thatn air and will take longer to leak out if it even does. second nitrogen will help keep your rim from corroding since it contains no moisture third it will keep your tires running cooler which will make them last longer. If all else fails and the tire keeps losing air have them check the tire itself. I had a tire that had a hairline slice on the bead. it took the customer coming back 3 times before we noticed it.
 
anyone know of a Metro Detroit area shop that can do this? I have a tire losing air and I'm worried it might be the same thing. Just had the tire replaced and it's still going flat, about to head back to discount tire and have them check the rim.
 
chrome sux!!! my brothers jeep cheeroke does it all the time ..final solution.. but not a good one...4 cans of fix a flat!!
 
oh ya

Chrome is beautiful, but it does have its drawbacks. Cracking and corrosion.
 
taylor414ce2003 said:
chrome sux!!! my brothers jeep cheeroke does it all the time ..final solution.. but not a good one...4 cans of fix a flat!!
Click to expand...

Yep, what he said ^^^^^^^^^^^^, Haaaa Haaaaa Haaaaaa!

And to those that never heard of peeling chrome on wheels causing leaks, you don't get around much. Everytime I see these ugly stock wheels that someone has taken somewhere and had chromed I think of the boat load of stories I've heard of those damned things leaking around the beads. Ugly and leak air. Lose lose.
 
dlo73 said:
I would agree with tireman. I work for Tire warehouse Most of you on the east coast should be familliar with it. I have had alot of rims come in that are corroded, we will usually clean the rim seat with a wire wheel on an air drill. after cleaning that up use the air hose to blow off and dust, then clean with a liquid buff solution (alcohol based) then apply bead sealer on the bead seat. Another good idea is to spend the extra money and have the use Nitrogen rather than regular air. Nitrogen is a larger molecule thatn air and will take longer to leak out if it even does. second nitrogen will help keep your rim from corroding since it contains no moisture third it will keep your tires running cooler which will make them last longer. If all else fails and the tire keeps losing air have them check the tire itself. I had a tire that had a hairline slice on the bead. it took the customer coming back 3 times before we noticed it.
Click to expand...

how are the rims your trying to sell? do you have any pictures, thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 178 (members: 1, guests: 177)
Back
Top