sydneyman

so i have a veeeeery slow leak in my driver's side front tire... or so i thought... took it to three places and they all said the tire is fine! i refilled with air to 36 pounds yesterday and this morning it was down to 31...

so my question is, what can be done to the wheel? its a cast replica (Mille Miglia) wheel that seems straight... could it be a casting defect? this sucks

sydneyman

of course the other option is that the tire doesn't leak until extreme weight is applied... short of spraying soapy water on the tire while its on the car, are there any other options to figure it out?

Dougs951

I would try the soapy water.

ernie9468

^ Check your cap valve first , ,here is how to DIY, remove the cap spit on index deposite on the valve.If ok refill tire at approx 50 psi and soak in a large tub rotating it slowly.

Ben951S

Or valve stem

sydneyman

good call... i didn't think of using higher pressure to detect a leak... wow duh. haha thanks Ernie!

sydneyman

thats my next step i think. if i find a leak in the valve stem with soapy water using higher pressure, i'm buying all three of you a round next time you're in BFE Georgia!

Amber Gramps

Do the soap thing. My guess it that it's the valve stem.

sydneyman

thanks Doug, i'll try that out tomorrow

Amber Gramps

Believe it or not the lower the pressure the faster the leak in many cases. Pressure tends to seal up the leak. You are most likely to find the leak when the pressure is low. Since driving around at 40+ PSI is out of the question, you gotta find it and kill it. It's gonna be the valve stem.

What ever you do don't use slime.

sydneyman

interesting... im sure pressure will be nice and low by tomorrow morning so i'll try that first.


and yeah ive heard bad things about that stuff. i'll stay away. thanks again.

ernie9468

What I meant is, if it wasn't the vavle stem then he can pump it up & try it in a large container (such as your his bath ,lol as long as it's not occupy by the wife or girl friend).

Forgeline

Believe it or not, you can have a cast wheel that will leak. You can find it by spraying soapy water or windex on the inner barrel. Hopefully that is not the case. It could also not be sealing very well at the bead. This is also found with windex. Put about 25 lbs of air (not any more than that) in the tire and lay it down on the ground. Fill the channel in between the tire and the wheel with windex or soapy water and let it sit for 5 to 7 minutes. It will foam if the tire is leaking or "seeping air" If it does not foam, flip it over and try the other side. If it is leaking at the bead, it could be dirt or foreign debris in between the tire and wheel or a torn bead from the installer.

M758

All castings are porus. Some more so than others. Leaks are very possible. The forged wheels on my 944 Turbo S tend to hold air better than just about anything else. Even modern cast wheels will slowly bleed off pressure over time.

sydneyman

interesting. thanks everyone!

Ernie, im aleady in the doghouse for using our shower to rinse power steering parts... i had them in a trash can, in the shower but crap still got everywhere...

David thanks for chiming in! I'll go out and do that today!