Tires Leaking At the Bead - Any Advice?

"Jcarr" (jcarr) 11/10/2014 at 13:58 • Filed to: Tires

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I've been battling a very slow leak in two tires on my 2004 Envoy for as long as I've owned it (~ 6 years). One will lose about 5-8psi per week and the other will lose 10-12 per week, so I just make a habit of stopping at the local gas station and checking them about once a week.

This has happened with 2 sets of tires/stems now and multiple removal and remounting cycles. After a removal and remount they'll improve for a month or two, but then go back to leaking.

The rims are in excellent shape, no bends, no curb rash, nothing. The tires have been well cared for and are also in great shape minus normal treadwear.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Takuro Spirit > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:02

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Chrome wheels are known to corrode and become porous. If bead sealer is being used when re-mounted it may hold up/stop the leak for a while, that might explain that. Is any of the chrome flaking off, or bubbling up on the inside of the wheel surface?

DoYouEvenShift > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:03

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Take them to a tire shop, have them dismount the tires. Clean the beads on the wheels with a buffing tool. Apply bead sealer, and it should be good.

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:03

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Yea, go get those things remounted. Alloy wheels can get a buildup of the tar-like adhesive they use to mount the tires on the bead. When fresh tires are mounted, w ire wheel should be used to take that crud off ensuring a good fit for the fresh rubber. Likely, the last shop to install fresh rubber to your wheels failed to do this. The only real fix is to dismount the tire from the wheel, clean up all the goo that's on there, then remount and reinflate your tire with a nice fresh seal.

FrankenBlaster > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:04

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I'm no expert but here's my 2 cents - I had a tire that would only hold about 25psi of air. Thought I put some kind of slow leak into it by making a hole just big enough to vent over 25psi. Took the wheel off and looked on the inside and found a bend that was almost hard to see. Brought it to the wheel repair guy by me and he said it was a pretty common thing. $100 to true the wheel up and it was good as new. Since the problem has existed over 2 sets of tires, I'd check that. Maybe something with the seal of the valve stem also?

Jcarr > 'Wägen, EPA LOL 11/10/2014 at 14:05

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I've had this done at least a couple times on this set of tires to no avail.

Jcarr > Takuro Spirit 11/10/2014 at 14:06

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Nothing that I've noticed on the surface of the wheel, or are you talking about the inside of the rim/back of the spokes?

JGrabowMSt > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:07

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Have the tire place seal the tire when installing it. If the tire place doesn't know what you're talking about, go to a new tire place.

If there's a small local place instead of a chain, go there first.

BoulderZ > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:10

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That's usually corrosion or dirt (it doesn't take much) right at the bead/wheel interface. Most often, the fix is to pop the bead away from the wheel, clean it all nicely with soapy water, lightly sand/3m pad the bead seat on the wheel to smooth it all out, clean it with warm soapy water, and re-install the bead and inflate. It's easy for a tire shop to do, but kind of a pain in the butt at home if you don't have a good way to break/re-seat beads. Bead sealant is another possibility, but there seems to be a pretty good debate about whether that's a good idea, due to concerns on TPMS sensors, flammability, compound hardening, tire balance, etc.

McMike > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:11

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I had this happen with one of my snow tires. Every three days, I would notice it was a little low, and I would fill it to it's max. Three days later, repeat.

I would carry an air tank in the car so I wouldn't have to fire up the compressor every three days. It ended up being a weekly routine.

Move wives car

Pull in driveway

Fire up compressor

Fill up tire and tank

Move everything back.

Kind of a shitty routine in the middle of winter when it's dark out, as it didn't always happen when it was sunny and Saturday.

I hate Fix-a-flat. Must not use....

I eventually took it to a tire shop, and asked them to put a new stem in it, which would involve breaking the bead and resealing it. They found no leak, and I went home happy.

Three days later, it was low again.

I hate Fix-a-flat. Must resist....

I took the tire back to them. They suggested that I clean the lip of the wheel, so I took the wheel and tire home and cleaned it up. Took it back and they remounted it again. They found no leak and I went home happy.

Three days later it was low again, so I fix-a-flattted that motherfucker. Been holding steady ever since.

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:15

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Have you actually watched them hit the bead with the wire wheel? I know you stated you tried different tires and different stems, so I'm inclined to say it's still the wheel, especially if you keep going to the same shop.

Jcarr > JGrabowMSt 11/10/2014 at 14:15

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I'll try that again. I've taken it to two places and they're both local shops with guys that know what they're doing.

Jcarr > McMike 11/10/2014 at 14:17

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I'll leave that as my ace in the hole once I get to the point that I don't expect to be doing anything more tire-related before I trade it in.

Takuro Spirit > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:18

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The inside/back. I've seen some GM wheels peel off whole entire hoops of chrome.

Jcarr > Takuro Spirit 11/10/2014 at 14:19

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I'll check that out.

JGrabowMSt > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:23

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With stuff like that, the sealant gets put on the inside of the bead, and once it dries, stops all leaks. I used to have to do it yearly with an old set of tires, I had one that would always leak in cold weather. Getting it sealed every November just once would keep things under control through the following summer.

The tire could be just a little off, or not seating in the beat just right, which isn't the end of the world, just a little funky. My local tire shop never had a problem with it once they sealed it once and the problem went away.

Not the cheapest, but some of the best. They've been open since my parents have owned a house in the area (way longer than I've been alive).

Klaus Schmoll > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:25

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Had the same problem with slightly corroded winter wheels. I had to stop at a gas station everyday to fill the tire up again. In the end, I had someone at the shop grind the beads clean with a disc. TWO TIMES! But then it stopped.

uofime > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 14:47

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do they spray the tire with soapy water after mounting it and inflating it?

FrederickLawOlmsteez > Jcarr 11/10/2014 at 15:02

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It's super easy to reseat the bead...