Slow Tire leak...have tried everything

[Traction]

Originally Posted By: Carbon
I would pump the tire up to about 80 PSI and then check for slow bubbles.

You can check for economical bubble solutions. 20% or so dishwashing liquid and 80% water is pretty good and cheap.

80psi, REALLY? Hard to see the leak, after the tire explodes. Just take the wheel off the vehicle, set the pressure to 30, and spray everything, and let it sit for a few minutes, then flip it over to the other side, and repeat. If nothing shows up, lower the pressure down to 10psi or less, and check everything again. I use distilled water to mix with the soap, which seems to make better bubbles. Pinholes don't always make bubbles at higher pressures.

 

[ryanschillinger]

When I worked at a tire shop when I was younger, we would slowly air the tires up to about 60psi for flat repairs to find leaks if they didn't show anything at 30psi. Sometimes you would have to walk away from the tire for several minutes and come back to see if there were any tiny bubbles in the tank.
Yes, tire guys hate it when people use Slime or the other fix a flat type liquids. They can make quite a mess, but often seem to do the job in an emergency.
I don't understand what you mean about them not making bubbles at higher pressure. More air would be coming out, making more bubbles, right?

 

[SirTanon]

Not sure if this is applicable, but I had an issue with one of my tires the last time they rotated the tires.

The tire/wheel had been fine when it was mounted on the passenger rear, but after they did the rotation and put it on the passenger front, I found it nearly flat the next morning, and then the same the next day. It had been fine driving back and forth to work, but just drained overnight.

Brought it back to them and had them look. Turns out, they had broken the bead on that tire and re-set and inflated, but didn't notice a tiny sticker on the mating surface, that had come on the tire and had never been removed. I guess when they re-set the tire, the sticker prevented a 100% good seal.

They removed the sticker, cleaned the tire and wheel surfaces, and re-mounted. No more leaks.

Maybe you've got something at the mating surface?

 

[Traction]

Originally Posted By: ryanschillinger
When I worked at a tire shop when I was younger, we would slowly air the tires up to about 60psi for flat repairs to find leaks if they didn't show anything at 30psi. Sometimes you would have to walk away from the tire for several minutes and come back to see if there were any tiny bubbles in the tank.
Yes, tire guys hate it when people use Slime or the other fix a flat type liquids. They can make quite a mess, but often seem to do the job in an emergency.
I don't understand what you mean about them not making bubbles at higher pressure. More air would be coming out, making more bubbles, right?

I came to this conclusion, while blowing bubbles with the grandkids. If you blow real hard, you don't make a bubble. You have to blow slow, to make big bubbles. And, yes the worthless barcode stickers on the bead can also create a bead leak.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: SirTanon
Not sure if this is applicable, but I had an issue with one of my tires the last time they rotated the tires.

The tire/wheel had been fine when it was mounted on the passenger rear, but after they did the rotation and put it on the passenger front, I found it nearly flat the next morning, and then the same the next day. It had been fine driving back and forth to work, but just drained overnight.

Brought it back to them and had them look. Turns out, they had broken the bead on that tire and re-set and inflated, but didn't notice a tiny sticker on the mating surface, that had come on the tire and had never been removed. I guess when they re-set the tire, the sticker prevented a 100% good seal.

They removed the sticker, cleaned the tire and wheel surfaces, and re-mounted. No more leaks.

Maybe you've got something at the mating surface?


Why would they have broken the bead in the first place? Shouldn't need to on a rotation, unless if they wanted to touch a TPMS battery.

 

[Carbon]

Originally Posted By: Traction

I came to this conclusion, while blowing bubbles with the grandkids. If you blow real hard, you don't make a bubble. You have to blow slow, to make big bubbles. And, yes the worthless barcode stickers on the bead can also create a bead leak.
Don't you think that a slow slow leak would have air coming out at a low rate despite the higher pressure inside?

You can use your bubble solution on a front tire pretty easily by turning the wheel outward to max. Spray generously about 1/3 of the tire, inside and out. Check. Then drive enough to move the tire 1/4 rotation. Spray. Repeat. Repeat.

 

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted By: Carbon
You can use your bubble solution on a front tire pretty easily by turning the wheel outward to max. Spray generously about 1/3 of the tire, inside and out. Check. Then drive enough to move the tire 1/4 rotation. Spray. Repeat. Repeat.


Definitely try this. Ideally, have a helper move the vehicle while you watch / listen from outside. I've seen some bead leaks that seal fine until the tire has the vehicle's weight on it in just the right spot rotation-wise, and then it leaks a little.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted By: andyd
I use the instant spare stuff with fair results. I've heard Slime is better. I would love to find a single good used Bridgestone for the Rat. So I feel your pain regarding sets on AWD cars.


Slime is good for your riding mower but I would never use that stuff in my car's tires.

 

[dx92beater]

Guys, walked away from this for a while. As to the requests for make and model...that is more than likely irrelevant. It is a 98 Caravan AWD with unknown aftermarket aluminum wheels that were on there before I got it.

Thanks for all the tips. I had a friend who is the foreman at a dealer remove the rim, patch the hole from the inside and dunk it then look for leaks.

Same situation. Still losing air!

 

[MCompact]

Some aftermarket(and OEM) alloy wheels leak through porosities in the cast-aluminum alloy. If you find that spot a film of silicone gasket sealer will usually fix the problem. I also remember from my misspent street racing youth that a few companies used to sell "wheel sealer" in a spray can to address that exact issue.

 

[Trav]

Dismount the tire, remove the old plug and buff the inside of the tire where the plug was.
Use one of these combination plug patches on the inside. Do not use on or near the sidewall.
These are available in different sizes.

http://www.blackjacktirerepair.com/patch-plug-combi-units

http://www.napaonline.com/p/BK_7101597

Remove the valve stem, wire wheel the inside of the rim beads, use a bead sealer and install a new stem, mount the tire, fill and balance.
As long as there is no wheel porosity or a cracked wheel this should cure it.

http://www.amazon.com/Xtra-14-101-XTRA-Seal-Sealer/dp/B000GKD722

I included the links just to give an idea of what the products look like, you can get them all at NAPA and other real parts stores.

 

[jjjxlr8]

Originally Posted By: dx92beater
Guys, walked away from this for a while. As to the requests for make and model...that is more than likely irrelevant. It is a 98 Caravan AWD with unknown aftermarket aluminum wheels that were on there before I got it.

Thanks for all the tips. I had a friend who is the foreman at a dealer remove the rim, patch the hole from the inside and dunk it then look for leaks.

Same situation. Still losing air!


When you had the initial puncture, did you drive on the tire while it was underinflated? If you drove on the tire for too long, underinflated, you may have caused permanent damage to the very thin inner liner that prevents air from leaking through the tire.

If not, your slow leak is probably either at the valve stem or at the tire/wheel interface. Corrosion on the wheel can be a factor, or just a slightly out of spec wheel. I have seen new OE wheels that were smaller than the allowable range, which can cause slow leaks at the bead interface.

Does it leak out with the vehicle just sitting or is this vehicle being driven everyday?

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: mehullica
If you have a tire pressure sensor, don't use fix a flat type chemicals. It'll damage the sensor. Remove the plug & do a 1 piece plug/patch. Find another shop that will do it, or have the tire shop just R&R the tire & do the patch yourself


Slime makes a TPMS friendly version now. I have no experience with it but if you're willing to be the guinea pig it's worth a shot.

 

[dx92beater]

Thanks everyone!

Not sure when I went about driving this. It does leak just sitting there. I ended up using Berryman's Tire sealer which is supposed to be better than Slime.....or so they say.

I'll let you know if it fixes the slow leak in a few weeks.

 

[Traction]

Great if it works. But, since you never bothered to locate the leak, no one will ever know. And, more important, you should never repair a tire without dismounting, and looking inside.
It could most definitely leak through the casing if it was ever driven very low, or flat. Even though a tire looks perfect on the outside, I have seen a countless number of tires with enough rubber crumbs inside to fill a coffee can!

 

[SirTanon]

^^^

.. and while we're at it, why not take it back to your local tire shop, and ask them to apply bead sealant around the entire bead?

I had this done when I had my new Cooper RS3-A tires mounted. One of the tires started leaking right after they mounted it, and it ended up being on the wheel I had to have welded a while back. The leak was right where the weld was, so they just put a little bead sealant there, and I haven't had a problem since.