Tire has valve stem leak, how to fix it

[ziggy]

Hey all..have a 95 plymouth neon. Belive thier 14 inch wheels.
Other day, went outside, and noticed rear driver side tire was flat! went to air pump and filled it. What i noticed is, the valve splintle wa leaking air. PLaying with it, i got it slwoed down big time. Today, i was able to move the air fill valve to the side (it moved with no effort), and air started to surge out..moved it back to original position and it stopped.
What shoud i do? i mean, am i looking at a new tire? simply jsut replace the valve? can i do that myself? I have a bottle of SLIME, but read here it might not be good to use..
whats everyones thoughts, facts and answers?

 

[eljefino]

Just the valve. DIY is a stretch, you have to pop one of the tire beads to get inside. However, a tire dealer could hook you up for $10 or so.

You could try tightening the valve with a valve stem wrench, they sell them in walmart in the RV/welding aisle, but that might cost almost as much as having a tire dealer just replace the stem.

 

[ziggy]

I see thanks!!!
These newer tires, i bought about 2 years ago, from a tire dealer town near me. CHeaper values, but good brand names. I have noticed, over the past 2 years, all 4 tires seem to have slow leaks..especially the front dirvers side tire..every 3 or 4 months, the psi drops to about 10 or 20, when it should be at about 41. Bad seals or something?
I'll try the tire dealer then...
BUT! for what its worth...woud the SLIME i bought be an ok fix? or no?

 

[Colt45ws]

Its a 5 minute job if you bring in the tire loose and 10 if its on the vehicle.
You might consider having the others changed as well. They may not have been replaced when the current tires were mounted. They eventually disintegrate like anything else exposed to sunlight and air.
Slime likely wont fix this. Its almost like a cut.

 

[FL_Rob]

Is it a torn stem , or a loose valve(the valve is inside the stem)?

 

[pcoxe]

I had a lawnmower tire go flat last week. It was just a loose valve stem. Tightened it up about a half turn with a valve stem wrench and all is well now.

 

[ziggy]

FL rob, yeah i guess. taking the cap off the longish black rubber stem, the top is open hole, with a 'needle' in the middle* thats where air was coming from. When you put an air pump on it, the needle, the needle pushes in to allow airflow...that needle*
the outside of it, is just a round metal threaded hole i guess is the best way to describe it. However, when actually moving the entire stem body towards middle of tire, it has so much freeplay, air comes out of the baase of stem. moving back twoards rim on tires, it stops.

 

[FordFocus]

sounds like the valve core "needle" is leaking as well as the base of the stem probably from dry-rot or corrosion. Just have a tire dealer replace the stem. I would spray soap water on all 4 valves to see if the others are leaking too.

 

[FL_Rob]

Yep ,to the tire shop it goes,it actually sounds like vandalism like they tried to rip out the stem,and when that didn't work ,they messed with the valve.Do you have any enemies?

 

[Kestas]

Some years ago, there were some bad tire valves from China that were recalled. These valve stems may have been from this batch.

 

[ziggy]

lol FL rob no real enemies no, outside of a roomate* but he wasnt around when it was flat...
I purchased them, from a town fair tire place 2 or 3 years ago. I cannot remember the name of the brand of tires i got.
I called a hank mays goodyear place yesterday, and told me it would be $22.50, at least for one valve i asume. Made the appointment or thursday morning. i was gunna call a brake centers of america, or a midas,
a friend at work said to call town fari tire and see its still under some kinda warranty..so imma do that this morning