I've got a slow leak in my right rear tire/wheel. It's losing about 2-3 lbs.
per week. I've had it to the tire shop that mounted my GS-D3's, and they remounted the tire. They do not have a tub big enough to submerge it, so I have not pinpointed the leak yet, but suspect the TPS.

I've seen posts stating that a #9 O-ring from Home Depot, or even a GM grommet P/N 25715243 can be used to replace the original grommet.

My question is will either of these work with the newer 01+ TPS? I know that the grommet states that it is for the 97-00 sensors, but from previous posts could not specifically tell if these, or the O-ring, were ever used with the newer TPS.

Any experience with these?

Thanks,
roscoe

 

I had the same problem and it was leaking around the bead of the tire. Took 3 dismounts and remounts for the tire to seal. Still not sure its right.

Make sure they clean the rim good of all the goop they put on there to help it seal, then re-apply and remount.

You can use soapy water to find the leak. If you need to check the backside, you'll have to remove the wheel.

If the soapy water shows a bubbly leak around the TPS, valve stem, don't forget that the valve stem also has an internal oring that can leak.

 

Check that the nut is properly torqued.
2001-2004 sensors 7 N•m (62 lb in)
1997-2000 is 12 N•m (106 lb in).

 

Simple green or any other detergent in a spray bottle will tell you where your leak is. 2-3lbs is excessive, I would expect decent bubbles from that.

I used the home depot o-rings the first time and some nitrile o-rings from an assortment pack the second time I had my tires swapped to different rims. Both have held air fine. Usually tightening the TPS with old o-rings will make the problem worse because they will split...but new o-rings may stop leaking if the TPS nut is tightened.

 

Spray down the entire tire and you will see where it is leaking from!

 

If standard wheel weights were used, the tire could be leaking at the bead where the weight clamps to the wheel. This will happen if the wrong style of weights were used by the technician. The best way to find a slow leak would be to submerge the tire in water.

Good Luck.

 

That would be my first guess. When I had tires put on, both fronts slooowly lost pressure. I turned the nut on the TPS just short of another eighth turn and the leaks stopped.

 

Thanks guys for all of the responses. I have tried some of the things that have been suggested, and will try the others. The wheel has stuck on weights, so that is not it, but good suggestion though. I would never have thought of that one.

I'd still like to now if anyone out there has used the a #9 O-ring from Home Depot, or even a GM grommet P/N 25715243, to replace the original grommet on an 01+ TPS. If I take it in to have the tire remounted again, I'd like to replace the grommet on the TPS while the tire is off, if either of these have been known to work.


rosoce

 

I recently purchased Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season's for the rear of my '98. Goodyear matches TireRack's price plus shipping. One tire failed to hold air. It leaked 1-2 lbs overnight, 5 lbs over a weekend. Kept refilling it for two weeks. Double checked using gauge. Could not find the leak with soap.

Goodyear had to submerge the tire for a while to find that the leak near the wheel and valve stem. They searched online and found no washer's listed so they suggested replacing the whole Tire Pressure Sensor.

NOT. Went to Chevy, got a part number, 1026838 WASHER, $3.01. Had to go to a Buick dealer to pick it up. Looks like an O-ring to me. Goodyear installed it and says the leak is fixed. No additional charge.

I can imagine that a tire dealer should know by now that there is a washer in these Tire Pressure Sensors that is easy to replace.

Thanks to previous post for the pictures. Though they show a formed washer instead of an O-ring. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/whee...radically.html

Also took an exploded view of the wheel to Chevy dealer and back to Goodyear to show that the washer was a separate item.
gmpartsdirect.com search for your car, then wheel, tps, exploded view.

All-in-all I'm disappointed. There's got to be a lot of TPS sensors being replaced for the cost of an 18¢ O-ring. A stock of O-rings has got to cost the tire dealer less than $50. The difference between Goodyear's prices and Tireracks prices are significant. And Goodyear didn't say they would match that price over the phone. Its not like the tires are stocked locally. I had to wait a week for my local dealer to get a set.

When I showed up with the O-ring the Goodyear dealer accepted them, said they had access to the correct torque settings, and he'ld call when the tire was fixed.

Lastly; I had removed the wheels and taken them in to have the new tires put on. So I didn't even tie up their lift. And when I picked up the fixed tire, there was no charge, they had made their money off my initial purchase.

 

Why not just spray it down with soapy water? Look for the bubbles. Also, clean up the rim, and check for cracks...

 

Make sure that the wheel doesn't have a crack in it.

 

Had 3 different slow leaks and 1 screw in the tire. Found them by removing wheel from car putting it on a flat surface and using a garden hose with just a trickle of water coming out. Bead leaks show very tiny bubbles. A leak at the TPMS will also bubble. One leak was the stem nut not tight enough. Another was a bad valve stem in the TPMS. A nail or screw in the tread is harder to find but rotating the wheel slowly while using the hose with just a little water coming out will show telltale bubbles. Last one was a crack on the inside of the rim near the inner bead. Replaced wheel on that one. Don't need a tub but most gas stations have them and will let you dunk your tire for free if you have to.