Metal valve stem caps - yay or nay?

[97tbird]

I have them currently on my BMW. Probably OEM, but not sure (don't have a BMW logo on them or anything)...

Anyway, I just noticed that after getting one of the tires replaced, the tire place put on a regular rubber stem cap on that tire...idk what they did with the metal one....

However it bus me enough that one cap is different from the other 3 and want to get new ones...

I don't want to make a big deal out of the tire place messing it up, especially as I am reading that metal ones can rust and then become impossible to unscrew/remove from the stem during winter time etc etc ??? I read several posts of that nature where someone got some fancy BMW metal stem caps and then they had to get the whole 4 stems replaced etc.

Should I just replace them all with RUBBER ones? if not, are there any specially good or non-rusting metal caps that one can get?


PS: my valve stems are not associated with TPMS.
Thanks IA.

 

[Rand]

I've had to dremel the metal ones off friends cars.. they CAN corrode into 1 piece with the valve stem.

 

[Quattro Pete]

The metal caps on my 530i are still original (read 10 years old), and they still look good and I never had any problems with them.

You can get new metal caps from your BMW dealer. They have the BMW logo on them.

 

[97tbird]

I do want the metal ones, too...but only if it's not risky.

I guess if you remove them often enough to check TP, perhaps one can avoid the problem of them seizing/bonding with valve stem?

Pete: do you remove them often?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Once every two months or so.

 

[yonyon]

The shallow knurled ones seem to be the least likely to get seriously stuck. The chrome caps are awful. The giant colored caps with a threaded insert held in with rubber are the worst as they like to spin without unscrewing.

 

[97tbird]

the ones I have now look like these: (almost the same):

 

[cmorr]

Originally Posted By: Rand
I've had to dremel the metal ones off friends cars.. they CAN corrode into 1 piece with the valve stem.


+1, on one of my own cars (air pressure checked at least monthly)

I no longer use any type of metal valve stems, stem covers or caps. I use good grade rubber valve stems an plastic caps (the ones with thh rubber o-ring in them)

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: cmorr
I use good grade rubber valve stems an plastic caps (the ones with thh rubber o-ring in them)


Where do you get such?

 

[WANG]

I like them. Not big chrome skulls or any lame stuff like that, but a nice metal cap with an O-ring works for me. I have never had to cut one off. If you expect that to ever be a problem, a dab of anti-seize will surely prevent it. Plastic caps don't really offend me, but preference goes to metal caps.

 

[AITG]

The plastic caps are a dust cover. The metal caps seal any leakage that may get past the valve core. I have never had to grind off the type of cap in the photo ... I had them on over 100 truck tractors and 200 trailers.

My personal trucks have metal caps.

 

[Volvohead]

Don't know what your budget is, but take a look at these:

http://www.avanigroup.com/

We took a leap on a set of these way back when and they really are theft-proof, and have held up great over 7 years. Tire pressures have been rock solid on the wheels where we used them. Very high quality.

I don't know what he's asking for them these days.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: AITG
The plastic caps are a dust cover. The metal caps seal any leakage that may get past the valve core. I have never had to grind off the type of cap in the photo ... I had them on over 100 truck tractors and 200 trailers.

My personal trucks have metal caps.

My cars with metal valve caps lost air less than a car with plastic caps.

 

[Rand]

yea the ones I had to grind off were all more "chrome" autozone specials..

the ones like in the picture are usually fine.

 

[DBMaster]

The caps on my 3 are the standard issue plastic caps that are common with TPMS sensors. They have rubber seals inside them. It's pretty easy to tell because the caps themselves are gray and the rubber washers inside are black. I have not noticed any leakage. If you've ever seen the innards of a Schrader valve you know that there are two internal plastic/rubber seals inside and they usually get replaced every time you replace a tire.

 

[fdcg27]

I have what I think are the OEM metal caps on my e36.
They are alloy and they are pretty shallow.
They show no signs of corrosion and are always easy to remove.
You'll remove them once a month or so anyway, right?

 

[johnsmellsalot]

I like the plastic tire caps because the metal ones tend to strip the threads on the valve stem. (Something I've observed at work)
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
I have them currently on my BMW. Probably OEM, but not sure (don't have a BMW logo on them or anything)...

Anyway, I just noticed that after getting one of the tires replaced, the tire place put on a regular rubber stem cap on that tire...idk what they did with the metal one....

However it bus me enough that one cap is different from the other 3 and want to get new ones...

I don't want to make a big deal out of the tire place messing it up, especially as I am reading that metal ones can rust and then become impossible to unscrew/remove from the stem during winter time etc etc ??? I read several posts of that nature where someone got some fancy BMW metal stem caps and then they had to get the whole 4 stems replaced etc.

Should I just replace them all with RUBBER ones? if not, are there any specially good or non-rusting metal caps that one can get?


PS: my valve stems are not associated with TPMS.
Thanks IA.

 

[DBMaster]

Twice a month, in my case. It provides two benefits. Firstly, I can check for possible tire issues (a screw or nail in the tire can result in a very slow leak). Secondly, I use a manual pump (think bicycle tires) to add air so I get a bit of exercise. I started doing this years ago because gas station compressors seem to lack water separators so you end up putting a bunch of water into your tires at the gas station.

I should add that if you have a truck, SUV, or other vehicle with large volume tires using a manual pump might give you a heart attack. Not really funny, I know.

 

[dailydriver]

I use the USA-made Camel high temp, with seals, metal caps.

They are knurled (like the ones in the pic above), very light, and I believe they are made of stainless steel (or nickel palted brass).

NEVER, EVER had a problem with them!!

 

[jjjxlr8]

Just make sure the caps are of the same metal.

Dissimlar metals between the cap and the stem can contribute to the corrosion problem.