Fighting leaks with alloy wheels

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I keep having pretty significant leaks on my Buick where the tires meet the alloy wheels. I'm dropping down to less than 20 psi in maybe a week. I get my tires rotated and balanced for free at tire discounters as part of the package I bought when I got them installed. About every other time I go for rotation I tell them and they will usually grind the inside of the wheels and it seems to help for a few months but always comes back. I have been wondering if there's anything else I can do. I don't think I will be able to get the tire shop to do anything differently so I just wanted to hear some ideas.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Very strange grinding on wheels so they won't leak. I've had Mag wheels since the late 60's I've never had a set leak?


I was told there's corrosion causing the problem because of salt/snow which is why they are grinding it. I haven't asked if they use a bead sealer yet.

The only thought I had was using slime,but wanted to hear opinions first.
 
My 98 Sienna had the same issues. I would take it back to Costco they would reseal the bead and it would leak. Not down 10 psi in a week, but enough leaking in a two week span. Got different rims later on from Kijiji along with tires. Sold the van within a year.

Good luck trying to get it fixed.
 
I would like to see this "grinding" process. ...a good stout polishing?

Also, A pal uses bead sealer (NAPA brand) on his twuck rims. The stuff dries hard.

I wonder how you clean it off when tire time comes.
 
Either a wire wheel or aggressive scotchbrite pad/ sandpaper will polish the rim so it seals. I imagine the factory has a "top coat" that's more corrosion resistant.

You shouldn't need a "good" tire shop to get that bead sealer goo; crummy shops have it and I have a can in my garage. link. It brushes on and grinds off with the same technique used to remove rust. You can also very carefully remove it from the tire, too.
 
Originally Posted By: JC1
My 98 Sienna had the same issues. I would take it back to Costco they would reseal the bead and it would leak. Not down 10 psi in a week, but enough leaking in a two week span. Got different rims later on from Kijiji along with tires. Sold the van within a year.

Good luck trying to get it fixed.


I'm surprised they haven't offered to sell him a new set yet!
 
castings can have pinholes in them as my 64 vette reproduction knock offs did, i shellacked them + the leaks were gone!!
 
Never use "Slime". That stuff is designed to be used in an emergency and has been known to cause permanent damage to wheels and tires.

As for the Buick, I'd suggest finding a decent set of steel wheels and be done with it.
If they aren't visually appealing to you, there's many plastic hubcap options available.
 
Find a real tire shop who will apply sealer … every once in a while I go to our Goodyear store to sort something DT blessed me with … it’s like moving from 7th grade to grad school …
 
Bead leaks are my worst nightmare after dealing with thousands of them! I don't even know where to start on the issue. German car wheels never have this issue, among a few other others. But there are many more that are not even 3 years old that are so corroded from salt it would make your head spin. And it always starts on the never washed read bead seat, while the front bead is perfectly clean. The best permanent fix is to sand clean, and simply brush on epoxy primer, which would be one of many ideas I have. Believe it or not, but Nitrogen helps a lot! I've been filling tires with N2 for over 17 years now.
 
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Just to add, to clean up the beads on 4 16 inch wheels, it is over 33 feet of surface area to deal with.
 
Originally Posted By: Traction
Just to add, to clean up the beads on 4 16 inch wheels, it is over 33 feet of surface area to deal with.


16 inches x 2 inches effective "depth" x 2 beads per rim x pi x 4 wheels * (1ft^2/144in^2) = 5.58 sq feet. How do you figure?
 
Common vehicle with super common wheel size. Go to the junkyard on half off day and get a set of 4 steel wheels for $30 or so. My snow tires are on 27 year old steel wheels from a junkyard and they have zero leaks. No psi change in a year aside from temp swings.
 
I hold on to cars for a long time, so I've repaired many a leak from corroded rims. My regimen is to dismount the tire with my Harbor Freight tire changer, sandblast the corrosion, and repaint the rim. This makes for a good long lasting repair. Burnishing the corrosion may work for a bit, but it's not for me.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Traction
Just to add, to clean up the beads on 4 16 inch wheels, it is over 33 feet of surface area to deal with.


16 inches x 2 inches effective "depth" x 2 beads per rim x pi x 4 wheels * (1ft^2/144in^2) = 5.58 sq feet. How do you figure?


He meant 33 feet of linear bead, not literal surface area.
 
Just in case you're considering Slime or Fix-A-Flat, take a look at Ride-On: http://www.ride-on.com/

It's similar to Slime, but supposedly much easier to clean off and in general better. It's applied similarly to Slime in that it's right through the valve stem.
 
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