Bright wheel slow leak

JHZR2

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New Jersey
I slowly lose air on the front left tire of my 96 dodge. Has the tires that were on it when I bought it, I’ve never seen the wheels unmounted. It loses maybe a few psi a week. No nails, no punctures. Pretty new tires.

The wheels are dusty but not corroded that I can see.

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The stems were new brass ones and the caps have little gaskets (where do you get these? I like them)

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I assume there is some minor issue with the bead on these kind of bright steel wheels? What’s the best way to remediate?
 
The wheels are probably corroded from sitting and getting rained on . The tire needs to be removed and the corrosion needs to be ground off .
I see no signs of corrosion along the bead/wheel edge. Not saying it’s not there.

“Grinding” I’d anticipate could do worse. Go through chrome or coatings. That’s what worries me.

All the other tires hold air perfect for long periods, I’d suspect if one was corroded from sitting wet, others would too. I store the truck indoors. I do use it in rain. It was a western truck and didn’t see much over most of its life.
 
A few pounds a week is a lot. Do you have access to a heated swimming pool that you can immerse the wheel/tire assembly?

Scott
No.

I can do more soapy water. Not sure my wife would like it in the bathtub…
 
For all the work of hitting it with soapy water... would just having a shop unmount and remount be the fastest? I mean, if it's a bead leak then the fix is to... unmount, grind and remount, right? If it's from a screw/nail in the tread you haven't spotted yet... the fix is the same, right? unmount, patch, remount.

Only thing I can think of that is "easy" would be either bad valve core (easy swap) or valve stem, which maybe (?) you could break the bead and swap that out, without having to rebalance. For that amount of work... see above.
 
In New Joysee? :ROFLMAO:

Soapy water in a squirt bottle will find the leak. Face mask optional. 😋
Hey, I said HEATED pool. Haha.

But seriously, as crazy as it sounds I've found 2 or 3 leaks for friends doing this. And, yes, a mask and snorkel help! Set the wheel/tire assembly on a chair in the shallow end so it's only 2 feet under water. Then you just stand on your knees with a snorkel and mask. Seriously. It does work.

Smilin' at all of ya. Happy New Years.

Scott
 
I'm thinking that chrome is just a fascia glued on to a basic steel wheel, but I don't know about repairing that. I'm thinking a used wheel might be the best fix.
 
I'm thinking that chrome is just a fascia glued on to a basic steel wheel, but I don't know about repairing that. I'm thinking a used wheel might be the best fix.
I don’t think these are like that. I’ve never seen one chipped or broken off. I don’t know that they’re chromed, as I’ve seen actual plated chromed wheels and they tend to have surface lifting.

In the original sales literature it says chrome styled steel road wheel.
 
I don’t think these are like that. I’ve never seen one chipped or broken off. I don’t know that they’re chromed, as I’ve seen actual plated chromed wheels and they tend to have surface lifting.

In the original sales literature it says chrome styled steel road wheel.
There's two styles of those, the thicker plastic ones meant to imitate an "alloy" wheel which will chip/break off, and ones that have a thin bright metal fascia that will bend/peel. In either case, a different wheel is probably your best bet vs a repair.
 
There's two styles of those, the thicker plastic ones meant to imitate an "alloy" wheel which will chip/break off, and ones that have a thin bright metal fascia that will bend/peel. In either case, a different wheel is probably your best bet vs a repair.
Any used wheels I’m seeing look a lot worse than mine! For lots of $$.
 
Any used wheels I’m seeing look a lot worse than mine! For lots of $$.
Yeah that is an issue. I was able to get a perfect "deer hoof" wheel for a Ranger from LKQ but the "saw blade" wasn't happening. Still, I would check LKQ.

If keeping things 100% stock isn't an issue, aftermarket might be the way to go. Not the immediately cheapest option, but might buy you at least a few years before having to deal with it again.

That said, despite putting some American Racing Bajas on one Ranger, the older I get the more I don't like aftermarket wheels, so check LKQ. 🤣
 
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