tire goo

[lukasmcdukas]

i replaced all 4 valve cores but my tires still have slow leaks... they've all deflated from the 40psi i charged them to- they now range from 20 to 33 psi... suggestions on correcting this problem before i fill them with Slime? i dont want to add extra ballast to my tires but im tired of my truck handling like a wet noodle and watching my fuel mileage drop

[bradrhale]

find where exactly the leaks are. maybe from the core or the stem?? find a horse trough and stick the tire in there to see where the bubbles come from.

[lukasmcdukas]

i've tried the soapy water test and got nothing from the beads/sidewalls or stems, so im thinking its the cores... unless i've got dry rot between the treads, the tires did sit in the barn for 4 or 5 years... but i gave em a good look-over before i mounted them... i'll try the soapy test again maybe i missed something. what do you recommend for when/if i do find the leaks

[75K30]

If the core is leaking, put a cap on the stem. Problem will not be solved but the things will not leak any more. Many of mine leak from removing the cores every weekend and tehy are just plain wore out.
At any rate, I would imagine that the slow leak is cominf from the bead. Old tired tires get stiff around the bead and the air can leak out slowly.
You do not want to put any slime in this things. Slime balls up over time and creates more of a problem than it solves. If the tire is actually leaking at the bead, the tire slime will never reach this area. As the tire rotates, the inertia sends all of the stuff to the outside of the tire so you will not be getting any slime on any of the problem areas.
In some cases you have to make sure that the seat surface is clean and in good shape, the same is true for the wheel. I have had to clean and polish the beads surfaces on some wheels to get them to seal.
Pretty sure that you cant see the leak with the soap and water because the static weight of the vehicle only applies pressure to one part of the tires, but when it is rotating, the tires take a beating and can distort. This distortion makes the leak around the bead worse than standing still and it isletting the air out while you are driiving. Thats why you dont see it leaking when it is standing still.

[lukasmcdukas]

nuts. now that i think about it, the old tires leaked the same way (the reason i replaced the cores in the first place). 75k30 is probably dead on about the wheels, they're pretty pitted and rough, especially on the bead/seat surface. guess i falsely ruled that out when they passed the soap test- didnt consider the dynamic situation though... thanks buddy, i guess i'll start shopping around for those American Racing wheels i've been putting off buying. maybe this is a blessing in disguise

[lukasmcdukas]

now would be a good time to buy that air compressor ive been eyeballing, too... hmmmmmmm

[leolkfrm]

^^^i'm with 75. since they started putting al wheels on as oem there has been problems after they get to be over 5yrs old, at least here in salt country. my tire dealer wire brushes the wheels, coats the edge with black sealer and they usually last till the tire wears out. they also clean the stem hole out

[stumpuller454]

Originally Posted by leolkfrm

^^^i'm with 75. since they started putting al wheels on as oem there has been problems after they get to be over 5yrs old, at least here in salt country. my tire dealer wire brushes the wheels, coats the edge with black sealer and they usually last till the tire wears out. they also clean the stem hole out

That black goop workes well, i used it on the aluminum wheels on my quad...

and i have had cores leak before, always fixed using a core tool and tighten them up, never leak again.

[lukasmcdukas]

thats what i replaced/installed em with haha

[gmctrucks]

Discount Tire sent me a letter that they had to replace the valve stems on our van because there maker had made a bad batch maybe they placed the same ones on your truck.