Jelly Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 99 Outback, 45,000 miles, 5,000 on Bridgestone Turangas, I lose air in right front tire at alarming rate, have had that tire restemmed, remounted, all tires remounted, re stemmed, and still found myself at 15 psi , from 30 psi in three weeks. Tire dealer says its the alloy rim flaking, can't change just one tire (AWD) and can't change just one rim to steel! has anyone else experienced this? any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Try another tire dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outback_97 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Jelly: I used to have a similar problem with mine, one tire would keep losing pressure and there were no punctures. Took it to one branch of the tire store I bought the tires at, they tried to fix it and said there's nothing that can be done, just keep putting air in the tire. So, I tried again at another dealer, they said, "Oh, these subie alloys do this sometimes. We need to smooth out the wheel bead", or something to that effect. So, they buffed or smoothed or whatever they did to the bead, and many months later the tire still holds air just as well as the others, so it worked great. Another vote for try another tire place, don't give up. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Some tire places use a soapy water mixture to aviod ripping the tire when applying it to the rim. Some use the jelly you speak of. It is just a little thinner than bearing grease. Have you pullid the rim off and stuck it in water to try to find out where it is leaking from? That would be the first thing I do. Maybe there is a crack in the alloy? Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citabrickr Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 99 Outback, 45,000 miles, 5,000 on Bridgestone Turangas, I lose air in right front tire at alarming rate, have had that tire restemmed, remounted, all tires remounted, re stemmed, and still found myself at 15 psi , from 30 psi in three weeks. Tire dealer says its the alloy rim flaking, can't change just one tire (AWD) and can't change just one rim to steel! has anyone else experienced this? any advice? Mine would lose that much in a week when I had my 96. When I got new tires the dealer buffed the rim beads and I never had the problem again. I have since upgraded to an 02 OBW with much nicer factory wheels and haven't lost a single pound of air, maybe they buy aluminum from a better source now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urabus1995 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 This is interesting, cos I too am losing air ,in just one tyre from 30lbs-----------15lbs in a week or so. I am about to take it in to get checked. I did suspect the fitting to the rims rather than a "puncture", since it is quite slow to deflate. I hope its not cracks in the rim! the tyres have only done about 3000 miles since they were fitted. I have heard of some sort of sealing spray stuff that comes in an aerosol can, but I dont know if its very wise to use it? has anyone seen this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old wally Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Why cant you fit an inner tube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urabus1995 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Old Wally, I was told that it is now illegal to fit an inner tube. I am not sure of this though. Maybe its to do with makin them different weights, but I cant see that either. Maybe AWD would not like this mixture, I dunno-------does anyone else know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzam Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 I had a similar issue with our 2001 OB Wagon. It lost about 3 to 5lb per week. Had the dealer look at it twice while in for service and was told it was "fixed". Kept a close eye on it because of the AWD and discovered it still was losing at the same rate. Finally went to a retail/wholesale tire dealer and explained the problem. He took extra care to buff the rim, fixed it fine. No more leaking. I would avoid a tube, they build up heat and rolling resistance. That, to me, would be a last resort. I'd rather try to find the cause and --if all else fails-- find a replacement wheel to match from a parts yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenSisters Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Has this happened since the car was new? Was it a factory defect or something you or the tire dealer created? Low probability of a tire defect, but what's the brand and model? There are a limited number of things that can cause your air loss. By the way, don't wait 3 weeks or 15 psi to refill them. Get a big wash tub, fill it part way with water. Put in the properly inflated tire and wheel, hold it down and look for bubbles. An alternative is to spray a soap solution on all surfaces. Do you see bubbles? Bubbles coming out of tread: Puncture, fix it. Bubbles coming out of sidewall: Puncture or damage, may be repairable. Fix it. Bubbles coming from bead area: Corrosion of wheel, sand it clean and smooth. Bent, cracked, or dented wheel. Don't hit chuck holes and replace wheel. Bubbles coming from bead area: Damaged bead heel/toe of tire, bitch to dealer who mounted it. Bubbles coming from valve core or valve stem/wheel contact area: Replace or tighten core. Replace stem after cleaning possible corrosion from wheel. Replace with high pressure valve stem that tightens with a nut. Bubbles coming from surface of wheel: Cracked wheel or porous wheel casting. Repalce wheel if cracked or coat inside of wheel with commercial sealer. No bubbles: Could be bead area leak that only leaks when the tire is flexed through a revolution under the weight of the car. Clean bead area of wheel and tire. Look for damaged heel/toe. Could be a thin or damaged innnerliner of the tire. Repair or replace tire. There are commercial products to seal porous wheels and to seal the beads of the tires. Any competent tire dealer should be able to help you but it's good to do a little homework to locate the source if possible. You shouldn't have to use a tube but make sure it's a radial tube if you do Try to find a tire dealer older than 17 that doesn't own a boat. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urabus1995 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Well, thats good, quite a bit of agreement on the "buffing/ cleaning" option on the rim. I have just rememberd that on another car that I had, the spare tyre would go flat very fast. I put a weak solution of washing up liquid around the edge of the rim and tyre. It was possible to see the faint tiny tiny bubbles at a couple of points around the edge. The old guys I took it to for repair offered me the choice of cleaning the rim or an inner tube fitted. I told them to do what was easiest/cheapest. They cleaned it, "buffed " it or whatever, and as far as I know it has stayed inflated since. S0-----off I go to get this checked. I might smear some soap solution around it first ,just to see if I can spot anything leaking, at least on the outer edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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