Elkins45
Site Donor 2026
What's up with this picture from Amazon? I assume this is AI because the wrong end is threaded.
Metal valve stem caps-throw them all away
- Thread starter Elkins45
- Start date
Interesting maybe an extension could be threaded on
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2026
They are so innocuous...in 25 years, never had them taken. Only issue is reminding the tire installer to reuse them when they replace the valve stems.
Car is daily driven, and no one has ever noticed them...393,000 miles later.But all my other cars have the grey plastic caps that come with the TPMS valve stems.
My old BMW also had these caps. I never had any problems out of them either.
I made this mistake back in 2001 with my Sonata. bought some "Cool" Blue anodized caps most likely Slime branded...
within a couple months they were basically Welded in place.....
couple years later, Dad looked at the tires,( Color Fully faded from said valve caps by then)
Dad - " Your Tires look awfully low, grab the compressor from the garage and top 'em up"
Me - I can't, the decorative valve caps i put on are corroded into place. they won't come off.
he ended up giving me $$ to go to the Local Sears auto center to have them replace the whole valve stem.
a few months later, I ended up replacing those tires anyway, and shortly thereafter found those stupid caps that keep the stem depressed, and give you a visual indicator of the pressure ( green above 32, red below) next walmart oil change, after they checked/ topped of the Tires, they didn't screw one down fully, and by the time I made the 10 mi or so drive back to my apt, I had a fully flat tire that had been driven on at highway speeds...in other words, I needed to replace my 2 month old tire... I went back to standard plastic caps from then on. ( I didn't try to go after walmart for the tire, as I had installed "non Standard" equipment.)
I worry about this scenario unfolding again with my Fiancee... her mirage doesn't show the pressure readout anywhere, so he got one of those after market external TPMS kits... similar to what I had 20 years ago, but complicated with electronics, batteries, and a display....
within a couple months they were basically Welded in place.....
couple years later, Dad looked at the tires,( Color Fully faded from said valve caps by then)
Dad - " Your Tires look awfully low, grab the compressor from the garage and top 'em up"
Me - I can't, the decorative valve caps i put on are corroded into place. they won't come off.
he ended up giving me $$ to go to the Local Sears auto center to have them replace the whole valve stem.
a few months later, I ended up replacing those tires anyway, and shortly thereafter found those stupid caps that keep the stem depressed, and give you a visual indicator of the pressure ( green above 32, red below) next walmart oil change, after they checked/ topped of the Tires, they didn't screw one down fully, and by the time I made the 10 mi or so drive back to my apt, I had a fully flat tire that had been driven on at highway speeds...in other words, I needed to replace my 2 month old tire... I went back to standard plastic caps from then on. ( I didn't try to go after walmart for the tire, as I had installed "non Standard" equipment.)
I worry about this scenario unfolding again with my Fiancee... her mirage doesn't show the pressure readout anywhere, so he got one of those after market external TPMS kits... similar to what I had 20 years ago, but complicated with electronics, batteries, and a display....
It isn’t the difficulty of removing them that keeps me from using metal valve stem caps, but rather, having them lost.
I’ve bought a couple nice sets of metal caps, with the MB and BMW emblems on the end of them. But the tire shop loses them, when I go in for service. And you can’t buy just one. So I bought a bag of a 100 plastic caps, with rubber gasket in them, for only a few dollars. Now when the shop loses a cap, it doesn’t bother me to replace it.
I’ve bought a couple nice sets of metal caps, with the MB and BMW emblems on the end of them. But the tire shop loses them, when I go in for service. And you can’t buy just one. So I bought a bag of a 100 plastic caps, with rubber gasket in them, for only a few dollars. Now when the shop loses a cap, it doesn’t bother me to replace it.
Sort of on topic - Valve core torque tool? I have a Slime one and a Steelman one. When I went to use Steelman the and popped off with spring in it. They look the same, probably same overseas factory.
I don't mind paying a bit more, any experience with the Lisle or Milton one? Other recommendations? I check mine when I rotate or do my seasonal tire swaps. I had one come loose though it took a while. The valve cap with the O-ring kept my tire basically full which was why I swapped all vehicles to a version with that O-ring in them.
I don't mind paying a bit more, any experience with the Lisle or Milton one? Other recommendations? I check mine when I rotate or do my seasonal tire swaps. I had one come loose though it took a while. The valve cap with the O-ring kept my tire basically full which was why I swapped all vehicles to a version with that O-ring in them.
I forgot to take mine off when I got new tires at Sam's not long ago. Sure enough they were gone and non-O-ring versions on new valve stems were there. At least I have a bunch extra to swap.
