I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous
owner said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being
aluminum. ???

So now the temperature here is in the single digits and one tire
especially is going nearly flat overnight. Is this normal for cold
weather and/or aluminum wheels in general?

Randy

Randy Replogle wrote:
I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous
owner said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being
aluminum. ???

So now the temperature here is in the single digits and one tire
especially is going nearly flat overnight. Is this normal for cold
weather and/or aluminum wheels in general?

Randy
Not seen it related to temperature before. It is fairly common for
aluminiun wheels to leak either due to porosity or corrosion around the
bead. I have had corrosion around the bead dealt with by the tyre place
putting the wheel on the balancing machine and wire brushing the bead
seating area then refitting the tyre with the sort of soapy sealing
solution, worked great. Porosity is normally dealt with by cleaning and
painting the inside of the rim. Before all that is done a quick check
that it's not the valve or stem leaking would be worthwhile. On one
occasion I had a tyre that would go flat when you did a slow sharp left
turn, that turned out to be the tyre fitter having damaged the bead, the
gave me a new tyre for that one.

"Randy Replogle" wrote: (clip) Is this normal for cold
weather and/or aluminum wheels in general?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think so. If this were true it would be so annoying that those
wheels would disappear from the market. A wheel that goes flat overnight
should make bubbles if you check it with soapy water. Most likely it's at
the base of the valve stem. I hope you don't have to buy new tires to cure
it.

"Randy Replogle" wrote in message
news:OWLkj.2336$YH6.821@trndny03...
I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous owner
said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being aluminum.
???

So now the temperature here is in the single digits and one tire
especially is going nearly flat overnight. Is this normal for cold weather
and/or aluminum wheels in general?

Randy

One of those old wife's tails as far as I am concerned!
I have had cars with factory aluminum wheels with no problems. My
sister-in-law asked me about the same thing when she had leaks with the
aluminum wheels on her car. She took it in to a real tire shop and they
found bead leaks on 3 of the wheels. Remove the tires, and clean up the bead
area and the leaks went away.
Greg

Leo Lichtman wrote:
"Randy Replogle" wrote: (clip) Is this normal for cold
weather and/or aluminum wheels in general?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think so. If this were true it would be so annoying that those
wheels would disappear from the market. A wheel that goes flat overnight
should make bubbles if you check it with soapy water. Most likely it's at
the base of the valve stem. I hope you don't have to buy new tires to cure
it.



That tire and the other rear one do need to be replaced anyway. The
front ones still have decent tread but I'm thinking about replacing all
four since they all leak somewhat. I'll ask to have the rims inspected.

I know the soap test, I just haven't done it

Randy

The slow leak theory is from the 70's when the first wheels were cast
aluminum, the casting technology had problems getting that large a
casting without porosity.

I've had issues with cold weather leaks that are traced to moisture
freezing in the valve stem when you top them up with a warm shop air hose.

Other than that, it's the usual culprits: bad tire, tire damage, bead
seating problems, corrosion on the sealing surface of the bead, leaking
seal on the tire stem, or bad seal on the tire valve. All of these are
tire shop issues. Standard fix is to dunk in a tank to check for tire
damage, then pull the tire, new stem and valve, clean the bead area,
remount, rebalance. Figure somewhere around $15 to $25 per tire for the
labor. If the tires are pretty worn already, it's more cost effective to
just replace them all.

Randy Replogle wrote:
I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous
owner said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being
aluminum. ???

So now the temperature here is in the single digits and one tire
especially is going nearly flat overnight. Is this normal for cold
weather and/or aluminum wheels in general?

Randy

What pressure are you measuring in the leaky tire (once you notice
it's low probably less then 10 psi)? Are you in the frigid central
midwest blast? Does your road maintenance include lots of salt, this
will cause bead seat corrosion. The extreme cold can reduce the
pressure in the already leaking tire to the point there's not enough
pressure to keep the bead sealed, and then it leaks faster.
I have the same problem with a 96 dodge truck with stock aluminum
wheels, just the left rear currently, I try to maintain 40 psi.
ignator

Randy Replogle wrote:
I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous
owner said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being
aluminum. ???

So now the temperature here is in the single digits and one tire
especially is going nearly flat overnight. Is this normal for cold
weather and/or aluminum wheels in general?

Randy

sk wrote:
What pressure are you measuring in the leaky tire (once you notice
it's low probably less then 10 psi)? Are you in the frigid central
midwest blast? Does your road maintenance include lots of salt, this
will cause bead seat corrosion. The extreme cold can reduce the
pressure in the already leaking tire to the point there's not enough
pressure to keep the bead sealed, and then it leaks faster.
I have the same problem with a 96 dodge truck with stock aluminum
wheels, just the left rear currently, I try to maintain 40 psi.
ignator

Randy Replogle wrote:

I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous
owner said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being
aluminum. ???

So now the temperature here is in the single digits and one tire
especially is going nearly flat overnight. Is this normal for cold
weather and/or aluminum wheels in general?

Randy


If you're losing pressure that fast, you have something other than a
leaky wheel. I would recommend taking the wheel off the car, fill the
tub with water and fill the tire to operating pressure or slightly
higher. Immerse the tire in the water and look for bubbles. Check
closely for small nails or screws that you may have picked up before you
do that though. could save you some time and trouble. If you don't
want to screw with it, take the car to a tire shop and have them do it.
It's usually pretty cheap.

Jim

Jim Chandler wrote:


If you're losing pressure that fast, you have something other than a
leaky wheel. I would recommend taking the wheel off the car, fill the
tub with water and fill the tire to operating pressure or slightly
higher. Immerse the tire in the water and look for bubbles. Check
closely for small nails or screws that you may have picked up before you
do that though. could save you some time and trouble. If you don't
want to screw with it, take the car to a tire shop and have them do it.
It's usually pretty cheap.

Jim

Yeah, I might have just picked up a nail.
As I said above the rear tires need replaced anyway..........
Randy

Randy Replogle wrote:

I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous
owner said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being
aluminum. ???


As another poster said, porosity. We leak check certain items we produce,
those that fail we send out to have impregnated with something that stuffs
up the pores.

Dealing with porosity is a never ending battle.

Wes

"Randy Replogle" wrote in message
news:y1Skj.3093$Wr4.2479@trnddc04...
Jim Chandler wrote:


If you're losing pressure that fast, you have something other than a
leaky wheel. I would recommend taking the wheel off the car, fill the
tub with water and fill the tire to operating pressure or slightly
higher. Immerse the tire in the water and look for bubbles. Check
closely for small nails or screws that you may have picked up before you
do that though. could save you some time and trouble. If you don't want
to screw with it, take the car to a tire shop and have them do it. It's
usually pretty cheap.

Jim

Yeah, I might have just picked up a nail.
As I said above the rear tires need replaced anyway..........
Randy
The temperature sensitivity would seem most likely to be due to the rubber
becoming harder at low temperatures. That might make poorly fitting beads or
valve stems start to leak.

Don Young

"Wes" wrote in message
...
Randy Replogle wrote:

I bought a car with aluminum wheels about a year ago and the previous
owner said that the tires leaked air slowly because the wheels being
aluminum. ???


As another poster said, porosity. We leak check certain items we produce,
those that fail we send out to have impregnated with something that stuffs
up the pores.

Dealing with porosity is a never ending battle.

Wes

i cracked an Al wheel on my corvette. you can get them welded to fix them.
here's the place i used: http://nuwheel.com/

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az