tire goo

[batty1214]

actually, there is a cap on valve stems for a purpose..... if you look at good caps. they have a seal in it..... valve cores hold air, but they do leak. thus the need of valve caps........I have been in training for a couple of days for the off the road tires..... you know, graders,haul trucks, loaders, the like.... It also applies to pickups, as the design doesn't differ too much....... Slime may help. and you don't have to put a whole lot in them, and mess up the balance..... But like 75 said, use caps, and see if it helps..... If you have aluminum wheels and they are older, they may have started to corrode where the tire bead sits.... I just had to order 4 new rims for the supervisors truck at work due to that, It was a slow leak, hard to find, but it was leaking there....... anyway, hope you figure it out..... Tires can be frustrating......

[bradrhale]

i always thought that the core kept the air in and that the cap kept the dirt and other trash out of the core.

[lukasmcdukas]

all 4 stems have had caps since day 1, and i recently put on new ones with the little o ring seals inside... another reason i think 75 is right about the bead seal. thanks for the input guys

[lukasmcdukas]

might have found a solution... RimPRO out of Tewksbury, MA. says they repair/refinish rims, up to 17" for $160... just not sure if thats altogether, or per wheel... if its per wheel i'll just spring for the new AR rims.

[gmctrucks]

What are your rims made out of? Look on craigslist.org I bought a set of wheels with tires for my truck for $500.00 dollars the person had just bought them and they rear-ended his truck I kept the tires and I gave the wheels to my brother well to start with he's the one that gave me the money for them. They even came with certificates from Discount Tire.

[64shortbed]

ive been watchin this thread for a while. the slime you guys have taked about is not a good idea at all. because of the fact that slime eats tire batch glue. and it makes it a b tch to patch a tire. the only advice i can give is to air the tire 10lbs more than the max air pressure. then dunk it in water or try the water and soap in a squirt bottle. go around the bead and around the tread and the side wall. go slow and look for any little bubbles. if you still do not find any thing add another 5 lbs and do it all again. you can do this to cheek a tire but do not run them with more than the reccomened tire pressure. i worked in a tire shop and there were times we did not find anything an 2 days later the custmer would be back in two days. with the extra pressure we could find the leaks. it adds more pressure on the tires and rim like they were on the vehicle. and dont count the rim out too. cheek it all over the same as the tire.

[gmctrucks]

Many moons ago when I worked at this tire shop when I was in high school we had tons of problems when we would add that slime stuff in tires the problems we had were trying to get the tires to balance right. Maybe a new set of tires didn't you say that they were old? Also I have seen when rust forms on the rim where the bead sits on the tire it will cause for air to come out from that area.

[lukasmcdukas]

rust on the bead surface is the most likely cause, as suggested previously by 75k30... new tires are not an option right now, the bankroll is mighty short at the moment. besides, mine might be old but ive been over them with soap a few times now, and nothing has shown up. no dry rot, and they've got 90+% tread life left... and the previous tires also had slow leaks, so i find it a HUGE coincidence that 8 out of 8 tires have leaks... im almost positive its the bead surfaces for this reason. thanks again for the input!