Does fix a flat ruin tires?

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I have Michelin tires on my sable and I think they are great when newer but as they age the rubber seems to get really hard and they always begin to leak air. It is usually a slow leak and I will go from 36 to 20 lbs over 2-3 weeks. Tires have at least 60-70% tread left on them and are about 4 years old. Will fix a flat ruin the tires from the inside? older fix a flat used to soften the rubber on the inside and ruin the tires. Do the newer ones still do this? Does the Slime brand do this? I would like to make sure I don't ruin the tires but want to make them stop losing so much air. I am open to ideas or other options as well.
 
What kind of rims? Aluminum?

Have a decent shop dismount the tire that leaks, do a super job of wire brushing the corrosion from the rim, new valve stem and it should not leak.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
What kind of rims? Aluminum?

Have a decent shop dismount the tire that leaks, do a super job of wire brushing the corrosion from the rim, new valve stem and it should not leak.


This.


Tires don't just lose air when they get old. Save your money on the snake oil and get it fixed.
 
Any liquid glue item inside a tire will throw the tire out of balance and ruin your vehicle suspension and tire if left in for any long period of time
 
Originally Posted By: KingCake
Originally Posted By: Donald
What kind of rims? Aluminum?

Have a decent shop dismount the tire that leaks, do a super job of wire brushing the corrosion from the rim, new valve stem and it should not leak.


This.


Tires don't just lose air when they get old. Save your money on the snake oil and get it fixed.


I agree with these guys. I believe Fix A Flat & similar products are just to get you by if you have a flat on the road until you can get to a tire shop for a repair or new tire.
 
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Take it to Discount Tire, they'll fix it for free. Seeing as you live in the rust belt, it's probably a bad bead seal. They'll clean it up for free.
 
Originally Posted By: heyu
Any liquid glue item inside a tire will throw the tire out of balance and ruin your vehicle suspension and tire if left in for any long period of time


Doubtful. While fix-a-flat is bad in general... it will spread out and be balanced..

It doesnt eat tires

Your vehicle's suspension will be fine.

What it will do. REALLY irritate the tire guy next time you need tires and possibly labor charges to clean it out.

Its also not TPMS sensor safe.
 
Often the valve gut inside the stem becomes loose and loses air.

Retighten and / or replace and have a tire shop check for other air leaks.
 
I would think centrifugal force would spread the excess fix-a-flat material around the inside of the tire. It's not like you're going to get a 3 pound chunk of it in there.
 
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Don't know about the rubber, but it often ruins tire pressure sensors if you have one with TPMS.


Don't these fix a flat's claim to be TPMS safe?
 
The owner's manuals for the Traverse and for my previous Honda both said explicitly not to use tire sealant to repair flats, because it would ruin the sensors.
 
Originally Posted By: heyu
Any liquid glue item inside a tire will throw the tire out of balance and ruin your vehicle suspension and tire if left in for any long period of time


Good answer. Keep the liquids for your tractor tire.
 
I've used it and it works. But it leaves "milky water" inside the tire which smells nasty.

I have access to a tire machine and can unmount, grind, replace valve stems, apply that black bead sealer, etc and still sometimes have a slow leaker. Could be porous rim, could be porous rubber. There comes a time when one stops knowing or caring. Fix a flat cures a percentage of these stubborn problems.

"Proper application" to me is to drain all the air from the tire (car up on a jack) then put the can's guts in (no pressure to block it.) Top off with 45-50 PSI of air "to force it in all the nooks and crannies" and go for a drive to slosh it around.
 
Originally Posted By: Branson304
Originally Posted By: KingCake
Originally Posted By: Donald
What kind of rims? Aluminum?

Have a decent shop dismount the tire that leaks, do a super job of wire brushing the corrosion from the rim, new valve stem and it should not leak.


This.


Tires don't just lose air when they get old. Save your money on the snake oil and get it fixed.


I agree with these guys. I believe Fix A Flat & similar products are just to get you by if you have a flat on the road until you can get to a tire shop for a repair or new tire.


My wife had a slow leak in a tire on a car she was about to trade in and decided to put some fix a flat crud in there to cover it up...I told her I thought it was a bad idea, but I helped her do it, anyway.
We followed the directions to a T and tire still chugged like crazy on the highway like it was insanely out of balance. We had a long drive to the dealer and I told her they were going to notice it...they sure did, and then told her to forget about the trade in. We got up and were walking out and they offered her a pittance, probably basically a junk price, and she took it. Would have made a lot more sense to just overinflate it at a nearby gas station if she wanted to try to screw the dealer over, she just ended up hurting herself. It was a piece of garbage Olds with a balky tranny, anyway, probably should have been sold for parts.
 
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Spray them down with soapy water, and locate the leaks first. It's most likely bead leaks, and fix-a-[censored] will not fix a bead leak anyway. It would be cheaper to get the leaks fixed, instead of buying enough junk to do all 4 tires, and pay extra to clean up the mess, after you find out they all still leak.
 
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First, most tires are made with Halobutyl rubber innerliners. That type of rubber doesn't deteriorate the same way the rubber used in the rest of the tire does. It retains its air retaining properties for many times the life of the rest of the tire - so it is unlikely that a tire is leaking through the casing because it is old.

What is more likely is that the seal between the tire and the rim is not what it used to be - either because the wheel corroded or chafer rubber has deteriorated. In either case, Fix-a-Flat won't address those issues.

It is also likely that there is a small puncture.

So I think the first step should be to determine where the leak is.
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Don't know about the rubber, but it often ruins tire pressure sensors if you have one with TPMS.


Don't these fix a flat's claim to be TPMS safe?


They claim to be, but they still ruin the sensors. We aren't supposed to warranty a sensor if there is fix-a-flat present.

FWIW that stuff was terrible when I was doing tires. Customers never told us it was in there and it would make a huge mess on the tire machine. There is a special procedure you are supposed to follow when a tire has that stuff in it. You are supposed to inflate and deflate the tire a few times to get some of the fumes out. The smell would almost knock me out when I pulled a tire off.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Don't know about the rubber, but it often ruins tire pressure sensors if you have one with TPMS.


Don't these fix a flat's claim to be TPMS safe?


They claim to be, but they still ruin the sensors. We aren't supposed to warranty a sensor if there is fix-a-flat present.

What about the OEM Dunlop or Conti "comfort kit" sealants?

My dad used Fix-A-Flat on a Mercedes once - and it corroded the chrome plating causing the wheel to be porous.
 
Originally Posted By: nthach
What about the OEM Dunlop or Conti "comfort kit" sealants?

My dad used Fix-A-Flat on a Mercedes once - and it corroded the chrome plating causing the wheel to be porous.


That has been a gripe of mine. My Mustang did not come with a spare, actually can't fit one at all because they don't clear the Brembo brakes. So if I have to use the supplied fix-a-flat, it will take out a sensor and it isn't covered under warranty.

Literally every single sensor I have sent back for warranty inspection has been rejected because they said it either tested fine or contained trace amounts of fix-a-flat.
 
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