Really getting tired of seeing bead seat corrosion. It is due somewhat to salt, and wheel finish. It occurs usually on the rear bead seat, since the backside never gets washed off. I have yet to see corrosion on any German car wheels, and haven't come across any German cars that come with chrome wheels either. GM, Toyota, and most of the rest are the worst. The last 2 GM trucks I have put new tires on were 2012's with 20 inch wheels. One was chrome plated with big sheets of chrome peeling off the inside barrel, bubbled up all around the bead, and valve stem hole. Couldn't even find a place to get a tape weight to stick. The 2nd truck had the worthless chrome clad wheels, with lots of corrosion on the rear bead seat. Most Toyota wheels are painted, but they obviously do not care if it sticks to the bead seat. Seems like most OEM's do not care what happens to the wheel after the warranty period, which is about all the longer they hold up. This is a huge problem IMO. TPMS wouldn't be so necessary if they could all make wheels that would hold air over the test of time. Chrome wheels are by far the worst, because you can even clean them up. They should not even be offered as a option for any car intended for the northern states. I have never run my 12 year old chrome wheels in the winter, and they still look new. Bead leaks are a huge safety, and fuel economy issue! Bead sealer is not the answer.
Bead Seat CORROSION
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I agree. This is one of the times I like the old steel wheels. A wire brush and some Tremclad would fix the problem without making an eyesore, at least any more of an eyesore than they already were.
Kestas
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I can commiserate. Many cars under my care have suffered bead corrosion. This includes aluminum wheels as well as steelies. If you own a car long enough in the rust belt you'll have to deal with this issue.
Luckily, I have a sandblaster at my disposal. I dismount the tire, sandblast the corrosion and repaint. This is the superior way to deal with the problem.
Luckily, I have a sandblaster at my disposal. I dismount the tire, sandblast the corrosion and repaint. This is the superior way to deal with the problem.
I visualize steel wheels painted gloss black with a chrome trim rings and baby moons and narrow white walls as my ideal wheel treatment. Low profile tires and big wheels are ridiculous in real world conditions. I used too see just truck "gators". Peeled off retreads. Now the roadsides are littered with "mini gators". passenger car tire treads ripped from low profile tires after a road hazard that I just bump over in the 70s and 75s I run on.
A lot of the corrosion on the chrome wheels is due to rarely cleaning them. I learned that on my last car where all 4 wheels needed air every 1-2 weeks after 200K miles. These days I clean the brake dust off the wheels every week (or every opportunity in the winter when it's not below 30 deg.). I don't see any obvious leakage on my current wheels after 5 winters (and the previous owner did 7 winters). There must be something you can coat the new wheels with to protect them from day 1?
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
A lot of the corrosion on the chrome wheels is due to rarely cleaning them. I learned that on my last car where all 4 wheels needed air every 1-2 weeks after 200K miles. These days I clean the brake dust off the wheels every week (or every opportunity in the winter when it's not below 30 deg.). I don't see any obvious leakage on my current wheels after 5 winters (and the previous owner did 7 winters). There must be something you can coat the new wheels with to protect them from day 1?
I am not sure cleaning the wheels is going to help much. Even if you scrub around the outside bead, you will not get the inside bead.
A lot of the corrosion on the chrome wheels is due to rarely cleaning them. I learned that on my last car where all 4 wheels needed air every 1-2 weeks after 200K miles. These days I clean the brake dust off the wheels every week (or every opportunity in the winter when it's not below 30 deg.). I don't see any obvious leakage on my current wheels after 5 winters (and the previous owner did 7 winters). There must be something you can coat the new wheels with to protect them from day 1?
I am not sure cleaning the wheels is going to help much. Even if you scrub around the outside bead, you will not get the inside bead.
On my 08 2WD Silverado, when I replaced the 4yr old DMV1 Blizzaks just 25% worn. Wanted new DMV2 Blizzaks to try, plus they are fun when new. Put the old ones on my sons truck. Anyway, the stock wheels, had no corrosion, 4yrs ago but now they had plenty. So, I clean them up well with a wire cup brush, then applied epoxy primer to the bare aluminum on the bead seat areas. Won't know how that works for another 4yrs though, and we haven't had much for snow yet either.
I lived in ILL for most of my life and never had an aluminum wheel develop a rim leak. I attributed this to the fact that I kept my tires at or slightly above the recommended pressure (set cold overnight). I this low tire pressure allows the tire to flex away from the rim during cornering and allows brine to get in between the tire and rim. JMO. Ed
Kestas
Staff member
I doubt it. I kept my tires overinflated all the time. They still developed corrosion at the bead seat of my aluminum wheels, which progressed into slow leaks.
You not have kept your cars long enough.
You not have kept your cars long enough.
Bead sealer is only a temporary fix. I can't believe how many tire shops glob it all over the wheel when it isn't even corroded. It is supposed to be used on the actual tire bead, and not the wheel anyway. I only use it on a used tire. I have seen bead sealer over applied to the point that was causing the leak. Best thing when installing new tires is make sure the bead area of the wheel is clean. Even that is temporary too. Salt, and the quality of the wheel finish are the issues. Once they start to corrode, the only real fix is a new wheel, or refinish. Too bad so many OEM wheels can't hold air past 3 years. The friction of the tire bead against the wheel wears right through the finish, then it corrodes it seems.
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I think I am going to have to buy a new winter wheel for the focus. I have been having bad bead leaks on them. Usually I end up breaking them down and cleaning with a wire brush and it's good.
One of them just keeps leaking. I have cleaned it up again. Even tried bead sealer. Still keeps leaking. But the clear coat is coming off of the wheel and it's just horribly corroded - I believe the wheel is porous at this point.
One of them just keeps leaking. I have cleaned it up again. Even tried bead sealer. Still keeps leaking. But the clear coat is coming off of the wheel and it's just horribly corroded - I believe the wheel is porous at this point.
I scrapped the set of original wheels from my 2000 Tahoe for this reason. Living in the rust belt, it will happen & there's not much to be done about it...
I'm lucky - the original wheels haven't seen any salt so they are good.
But these junkyard alloys from 2000 ... no good
But these junkyard alloys from 2000 ... no good
Chrome wheels are illegal in Germany because of these problems, any chrome wheels you see on German cars are aftermarket.
GM has never figured this out, I have never been impressed by the quality of the chrome wheels they use on their trucks.
Thankfully since they sell a ton of trucks getting a nice used set on ebay isn't to hard, heck the take offs from the new ones probably will bolt up to the older trucks.
GM has never figured this out, I have never been impressed by the quality of the chrome wheels they use on their trucks.
Thankfully since they sell a ton of trucks getting a nice used set on ebay isn't to hard, heck the take offs from the new ones probably will bolt up to the older trucks.
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Chrome wheel shouldn't be used in the northern US either. Maybe that is behind the big push towards the worthless OEM chrome plastic clad wheels that are on so many cars, and trucks lately. Then finish on those don't hold up either, but at least you can clean up the bead seats.
On some of these vehicles (Malibu, Rav), the underlying steel wheels look better!
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