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Going Flat

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Old Feb 8, 2016 | 03:14 PM
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Default Going Flat

I have a tire pressure issue. My 67 has factory bolt-on wheels with 205/75/15 Diamondback tires. Come wintertime (in Michigan), when stored in "The Bag", one tire (and only one) goes flat. Yet come spring, this same tire holds whatever air I pump into it - and holds it well for the rest of the year. Any ideas as to what causes the tire to go flat when in storage? When stored in the bag, it is in an unheated but attached 2-car garage. Is it the cold causing the rim to shrink more than the tire? Thoughts?
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Old Feb 8, 2016 | 03:18 PM
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Probably a bead leak due to corrosion of the rim. You could dismount the tire, and clean up the rim with a brillo pad or scotch brite pad along the inner bead area and try again.
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Old Feb 8, 2016 | 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by bb62
I have a tire pressure issue. My 67 has factory bolt-on wheels with 205/75/15 Diamondback tires. Come wintertime (in Michigan), when stored in "The Bag", one tire (and only one) goes flat. Yet come spring, this same tire holds whatever air I pump into it - and holds it well for the rest of the year. Any ideas as to what causes the tire to go flat when in storage? When stored in the bag, it is in an unheated but attached 2-car garage. Is it the cold causing the rim to shrink more than the tire? Thoughts?
Mark,
Sell the wheels to me and buy a good repo set.
Rick
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Old Feb 8, 2016 | 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by GTOguy
Probably a bead leak due to corrosion of the rim. You could dismount the tire, and clean up the rim with a brillo pad or scotch brite pad along the inner bead area and try again.

Yup. If not that its the valve stem. I chased that last fall on my original KH's on my 65.


Dan
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Old Feb 8, 2016 | 07:28 PM
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Originally Posted by GTOguy
Probably a bead leak due to corrosion of the rim. You could dismount the tire, and clean up the rim with a brillo pad or scotch brite pad along the inner bead area and try again.
This was my experience too, for years. I did also do the clean up of the rim approach w/a brillo pad. Didn't help. So, finally, I gave up, and bought a new set of tires (the old ones needed changed after so many years anyway). That "fixed" the problem.
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Old Feb 8, 2016 | 08:50 PM
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Thanks guys for the thoughts.


Originally Posted by ricks327
Mark,
Sell the wheels to me and buy a good repo set.
Rick
Rick, I thought you were more of a rally wheel guy. I did sell a set of those to you way back.

Last edited by bb62; Feb 8, 2016 at 08:50 PM.
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Old Feb 8, 2016 | 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by GTOguy
Probably a bead leak due to corrosion of the rim. You could dismount the tire, and clean up the rim with a brillo pad or scotch brite pad along the inner bead area and try again.
I agree. They make a bead sealant for just such a thing..
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Old Feb 9, 2016 | 06:44 AM
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Instead of guessing where the leak is, why not submerge the wheel/tire in a tub of water like a tire shop does and look for bubbles? Like John said, bead sealer is a quick and dirty fix sometimes for a bead leak.

If there is a leak through porous aluminum, there's a sealer for that too but I've not used it.

Last edited by MikeM; Feb 9, 2016 at 06:45 AM.
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