finger63

replaced the tires on my '16 z51 with chrome wheels about a year ago. recently have encountered a slow leak (about one lb per day). the tire dealer has looked for the leak on 3 separate occasions & can not locate it. They suggest the problem is the wheel. has anyone had a similar experience or aware of issues with the wheels. I was also told by another owner that GM has had problems with these wheels?

Maxpowers

The Z51 wheels are not known for cracking / bending compared to some of the others. The tire shop should be able to submerge the tire in water to find the leak. Maybe try another shop (or throw your tire in a pool if you have one).

finger63

thanks for your reply. two separate shops & 3 different tech's have submerged the tire & wheel & still can not locate the leak !!

Landru

C7 has had issues w/ wheels, getting to be somewhat common by reading recent complaints.
Tire has to be removed to closely inspect checking for small fine cracks.
If not a loose valve nut, that's what's usually at fault & behind slow leaks.

IF there is a crack and still under B2B, plead your case to dealer.
G/L w/ that.
Been reading of dealers trying to squirm out of replacing wheels, citing 'vehicle abuse' via hitting pothole/curb etc.
GM knows there's a quality control problem, won't admit it though.
Gotta try, anyway.

More & more owners take the opportunity to upgrade to something stronger, forged. YMMV

JMII

I would have them check the tire pressure sensors and valve. I had leaky one in another car and it wasn't obvious. It too was a very slow leak. In fact the valve only leaked under load, IE: when on the car was on the ground. Thus they didn't catch it with the normal tire in water tank test.

finger63

thanks JMII

Jim Barker

On some wheels the chrome starts peeling between the bead and rim, which is another place for leak when on the ground and not in a tank

Jim Barker

soapy water spray down in several stopping points to check bead for leaking. Sometimes when parked slightly on a slopping curb which opens bead alittle this will let air out of dirty contaminated sealing surface.

Avanti

Definitely take it somewhere else... anywhere else! There is no legitimate reason not to be able to find the leak, no matter where it is! Good grief.

And, all the best!

Vetteman Jack

I too would take it to another shop and see if they can find the leak. It’s got to be leaking from some place on the wheel.

papillion

One wheel right? So unmount it and look at the circumference of both the wheel and tire. Then using a new TPMS, remount it. Should not cost much to do a 'reboot'. Pardon the pun.

eboggs_jkvl

Raise the pressure up to the max PSI (see tire for that, I think it is 50 or so.) use soapy water. Watch the valve stem and rim AND the wheel itself. If air is coming out it has to bubble somewhere on the wheel. GS & Z06 are having issues on wheel cracks and lost air.

Elmer

Grand Slam

I had that happen on a tire on my C5. Turned out to be a little piece of rubber in the bead left over from manufacturing. It would only leak if parked with the tire in the problem position. It was only found after unmounting the tire and checking the bead carefully.

eseibel67

If leak cannot be found in tank yet still loses 1 lb per day on the car this ^ is the most likely reason. Also, a small puncture with foreign object still embedded in the tread can also behave this way. Especially if some days it leaks, some days it doesnt.

JMII

I've seen this one too. An object gets into the tire but effectively seals since its jammed in there. However as the tire rolls and the weight shifts on the tread blocks it leaks sometimes. You would have to inspect the tire very carefully to find it. The good news is if such a leak occurs a tire plug is normally enough to fix it.

Pit Now

Lots of cracked GM C7 wheels on the wider rears GS and ZO6 models. I went with a quality aftermarket carbon flash ZR1 style set shortly after buying my 17GS and very happy with them. Too many in our club have been stuck somewhere with an OEM cracked wheel. Even got a good trade in value for the OEM set at Corvette World Houston!