Leaking tire beads
- Thread starter 92saturnsl2
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Silicone as in glue/sealer or liquid/paste grease? Silicone on bead seat can cause another problem. The rubber on the beads does not stick or have enough friction to hold tire in place. I just had an issue with new Pirelli's installed by Sam's. Tech used regular bead lubricant but WAY too much and all over bead area not just where the the machine runs on the bead. My '17 Honda Accord 4 cyl, 6MT actually had both front tires slip/spin on the rim. RF by almost 180 degrees and LF by either 90 or 270. No air loss but threw the balance off which on both that made for a crappy road trip. Sam's made good on it when I went back.
I have 20 years of experience dealing with bead leaks in the salty Midwest. The corrosion almost always happens on the rear bead seat first, which can't be easily checked. Mostly because the backside of the wheel/tire never get cleaned. Seen it thousands of times.
Forgot to update this thread, but back in April or May I took the car back and had them remount two tires to try and solve the bead leak.
When they removed the tires, both wheels are essentially flawless on the inside, no corrosion behind the lip or the on the bead sealing surface, none anywhere inside the rim that we could spot.
The installer is as stumped as I am. He wiped the sealing surface with some sort of solvent and put some extra bead sealer like he did on the last one, and both seem fine now. I haven't put soap on it, but I've been watching tire pressure over the last couple months and they seem to be holding air fine. I've never had a tire give me this much difficulty sealing the bead, but I don't know what about the tire would cause it. Maybe just bad luck.
When they removed the tires, both wheels are essentially flawless on the inside, no corrosion behind the lip or the on the bead sealing surface, none anywhere inside the rim that we could spot.
The installer is as stumped as I am. He wiped the sealing surface with some sort of solvent and put some extra bead sealer like he did on the last one, and both seem fine now. I haven't put soap on it, but I've been watching tire pressure over the last couple months and they seem to be holding air fine. I've never had a tire give me this much difficulty sealing the bead, but I don't know what about the tire would cause it. Maybe just bad luck.
Thanks for the update.
My experience says that sometimes a tire won't uniformly seat on the rim. That's why I recommend lots of lube on both the tire and the wheel.
My winter set of alloy wheels have been through 15 winters, and 2 of them have developed a slow leak (2 psi drop per month) during the last 2 years. The wheels have a few spots of bubbling paint, two have curb rash, and all have bead corrosion.
I checked a local wheel repair shop website for the cost of having the bead corrosion removed, the curb rash repaired, and a full repaint, and the cost is a minimum of $400 for 4 wheels. I can get a set of new 17" alloys at tire rack for $600, with free shipping. I think I will be buying a new set of alloys come spring time.
I checked a local wheel repair shop website for the cost of having the bead corrosion removed, the curb rash repaired, and a full repaint, and the cost is a minimum of $400 for 4 wheels. I can get a set of new 17" alloys at tire rack for $600, with free shipping. I think I will be buying a new set of alloys come spring time.
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I bought a used car in 2016, and it came with 4 brand new "cheap" tires. I was gonna toss them but wife said that's nuts. They were like $88 on walmart.com and Mavis sold them locally--245/45-ZR18 so that's cheap.
Through the years 3/4 leaked for various reasons, but one was a bead leak which I had repaired for $25 (mount/bal plus clean and do the sealant).
Went to Costco and bought new tires in April--Michelin Pilot Sport AS4s. My gauge goes to 0.1 psi--3/4 always within 0.1 psi of each other, the other 1/4 loses 1.5 psi a week.
Hate to say this but over the phone Costco gave me a hard time which is not like them--said they are not responsible for bead leaks you need to get your rim refinished we don't do that. HUH?
Anyway went to the store and the same guy was nice as pie. They dismounted, wire brushed the rim, did the sealant, and it's been good ever since, within 0.1 psi of the other 3. The guy even videoed so i could see, there was a leak on the inner side.
As I recall the corrosion wasn't "that bad," not what I saw on YouTube. So not the end of the world...car is a 2006 Lexus LS. Common issue the rims are poorly finished...
Through the years 3/4 leaked for various reasons, but one was a bead leak which I had repaired for $25 (mount/bal plus clean and do the sealant).
Went to Costco and bought new tires in April--Michelin Pilot Sport AS4s. My gauge goes to 0.1 psi--3/4 always within 0.1 psi of each other, the other 1/4 loses 1.5 psi a week.
Hate to say this but over the phone Costco gave me a hard time which is not like them--said they are not responsible for bead leaks you need to get your rim refinished we don't do that. HUH?
Anyway went to the store and the same guy was nice as pie. They dismounted, wire brushed the rim, did the sealant, and it's been good ever since, within 0.1 psi of the other 3. The guy even videoed so i could see, there was a leak on the inner side.
As I recall the corrosion wasn't "that bad," not what I saw on YouTube. So not the end of the world...car is a 2006 Lexus LS. Common issue the rims are poorly finished...
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To be honest, I'd rather have the OE refinished. The aftermarkets are of questionable quality imho. I have them for all my winter tires. So not only do I prefer to keep the look OE, but the OE rims are better imho. I see replicas on eBay for only $150--look identical and even have JWL logos which I think are counterfeited. But like you, I don't want to pay $400 for cosmetic. From experience back to 2000....I find that OE are yes, heavier, but they don't get dented from a pothole. My wife has ruined 2 sets of aftermarket rims where the lip simply bent upon striking a pothole...My winter set of alloy wheels have been through 15 winters, and 2 of them have developed a slow leak (2 psi drop per month) during the last 2 years. The wheels have a few spots of bubbling paint, two have curb rash, and all have bead corrosion.
I checked a local wheel repair shop website for the cost of having the bead corrosion removed, the curb rash repaired, and a full repaint, and the cost is a minimum of $400 for 4 wheels. I can get a set of new 17" alloys at tire rack for $600, with free shipping. I think I will be buying a new set of alloys come spring time.
Yes, any brushing, sanding should be followed by sealing. I prefer clear laquer in a matte finish for alloys. Just a quick spray with the pretty side of the wheel facing down. Steel wheels I like matte or gloss black on the beads. I usually paint the face of my steel wheels with hammerite silver. Easy to touch up. One more thing I will let bead paint/sealer cure for one to three weeks before mounting tires. I run dedicated snow tires so messing with cleaning, painting and curing is left to the off season of the set needing attention.
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In a perfect world we'd have time time and ability to do everything ourselves. Unfortunately with wheels, virtually all of us are not able to mount and balance at home (my snow setup is 8 tires 8 rims, maybe if 8 tires 4 rims). If this were a 992.5 Porsche, I'd treat the rims like gold lol but since it's a 2006, I just want no leaks. And it seems that when the corrosion is minor, it's not hard for a shop to get it corrected quickly and effectively. My hunch is the sealant does a lot. Just like RTV on a water pump job, or a trans drain bolt. It's the difference between leaking fluid, and not, for many years....jmoymmv
