My 01 Blazer has corrosion that has formed in the bead area and causes slow leaks. The shop that just cleaned and put sealer on the bead surface it told me it is a common problem on Blazers in NJ.

 

I am going to put a tube inside.

Did some member tried liquid seal already. This stuff that you pump in.

BR
Bob

 

well i tried something crazy, figured if it didnt work, oh well, id just clean the rim good once the old tires were took off to replace them. i put about 1/2 qt of used motor oil in each tire through the valve stem. it actually worked! tires are kinda crappy and might have 1 more year left in them. and even though they no longer lose air, i do seem to have a vibration that starts being noticeable around 60 mph, gets worse the faster you go, didnt go above 70. so i just keep it around 55, not many 65 mph roads near me anyways, if i go on a long trip, i'll just swap to my other set of wheels.

 

Hmmm... There are alloy rims and then there are alloy rims.

Some are cast. Of the cast variety some are really badly cast and cause nothing but headaches. These are the ones that GM uses - pure crap! I have a set of these crappy alloys on my 2005 Jimmy. A few years ago, I had a new set of tires put on it. I initially blamed the shop for doing a poor job of cleaning the rims at the tire beads. I've had each one resealed at least once, some twice, including a pair just a few months ago that were well done - I watched. They continue to leak. This past winter I was losing as much as 20 pounds in a week when the temperatures dropped to really cold. The problem eases somewhat when temperatures are milder, and it's even less pronounced during summer months. The problem, I am convinced, is the contraction of the alloy with cold weather that opens up the porosity of these **** wheels! I am fed up of getting them re-sealed with no satisfactory results.

Some wheels are forged alloy. These are the good ones. Ford uses those. I have a 2000 Mustang that received a new set of tires a little before the Jimmy. Those wheels never lose air! I check them typically once every six months and the air pressure is exactly where it's supposed to be, or a pound low!

So not all alloys are created equal. GM alloys are garbage.

What I would like to know is this - Is it possible to get some product sprayed into the wheels through the valve that will seal the alloy porosity? It seems to me that the GM procedure is cumbersome, expensive and susceptible to missing at least some of the pores, thereby prolonging the headache.

quickcurrent

The oil is causing your problem, bud. All that oil sloshing around in the wheel puts your wheel out of balance, causing the vibration! Nice try though! I am looking for a solution utilizing some type of spray in product that will be a little more conducive to keeping the wheels in balance. :-)

 

I had corroded wheels that slowly leaked, we have a specialist firm locally called Wheels, they re-finished mine with a powder coating inside and out, problem solved

 

Sounds like they also use cast alloys on your side of the pond. I am not aware of any shop with that capability locally here to do mine. But, it sounds pricey! Was it more expensive to have that done than to simply buy steel rims and have the tires mounted and balanced on the steel rims?

 

Necro-thread!!!

GM's procedure will work and work well. I do not see how it is cumbersome other than it isn't very DIY friendly unless you have the proper tools. It can be done with a few tire spoons and some elbow grease. If you are looking for a cure-all product you squirt into the valve stem, then I guess it is more cumbersome in that regard as GM's procedure requires pulling the tire off the rim once you have located the leak.

In this case, the rims on your truck are 10+ years old and only started leaking when you changed tires. Porosity does not increase over time although it can be opened up by corrosion and/or lack of care. Porosity occurs in the casting process and it is either there or its not. You need to find the source of the problem before condemning the quality of a 10+ year old item.

As far as products that can be put in through the valve stem goes, there are many 'fix-a-flat' type products out there. Most require driving the vehicle after application to coat the inside of the tire itself. These products can cause imbalance if distribution is uneven or if too much product is used; similar to what racsan noted with his motor oil experiment. If some of the product were allowed to flow around the rim, it could seal porosity, but there would be no way to guarantee complete coverage on the rim. These types of products are used to seal up leaks predominantly in the tire itself or where the tire meets the rim (most common leak points).

Having rims powder coated should seal up any potential porosity. Even having the interior surfaces blasted and then painted would seal them up quite well. GM's procedure is something that can be done in a tire shop, not requiring any specialized equipment beyond something to check for the location of the leak (kiddy pool or spray bottle with soap/water mixture) and what is needed to pull the tire off the rim.

At the end of the day, you need to locate the leak before you can speculate on the cause. If you are losing that much air, finding the leak should be as simple as mixing up some Dawn & water in an old spray bottle and spraying down the wheel & tire until you find the source. If you find bubbles appearing on the inside of the rim, then porosity is your problem and will need to be corrected appropriately. If it is along the bead area or valve stem, then you need to mark the area of the leak and then remove whatever is necessary to inspect the problem area.

 

Most of the cars over here are either German, Japanese, French, Korean or Italian and Alloys very common. Worked out at £50 per wheel, though spare is still original. I would have struggled to buy new steel wheels at this price but maybe something second hand would have saved me money.

When wheels first saw them they declined to do them. The originals are diamond machined and Wheels thought I wanted them re-machining! Powder coat was no problem. I'm surprised wheel refurb's are not more popular over there?

 

Thanks, Bazz Smitbar, alloys are very common here too. But, like I posted above, there are two kinds - cast alloys and forged alloys. Cast alloys cause this problem, which is inherent in the casting process, with some cast somewhat better than others. Forged alloys are much better and have no such issues.

When you say powder coated you mean spray painted, I assume, either electrostaticaly or plainly spray painted without the help of an electrical charge. I wonder how long the paint will hold to seal the alloy?

1 GBP = CAN 1.88, so assuming costs are the same here, that's C$94, which would easily buy me a steel wheel, mounting and balancing, and leave me money for a few ales, and I'd never have the same problem again!

I'm going to do some checking on whether refurbishing them is an economic option here, considering these also have pitting galore on them on the outside from road salt.

 

Some time ago some vandal pounded a sardine can opening key into the side wall of a tire on another vehicle while it sat on my driveway! Tire shops generally do not repair that type of damage because it's in the sidewall and tire plugs or plug and patch systems do not offer a permanent solution to that. I went to a tire shop near me that specializes in repairs to all sorts of tires from light vehicles to heavy truck tires and they vulcanized that hole in the sidewall of my tire and it's never leaked again.

Today I revisited that tire shop to see if they could repair the wheels on my Jimmy, because they guarantee all their work. They think that by resealing the bead they will stop the leaking; further they agreed to re-do the job if it leaks again, only next time they will use the bead sealing rubber compound across the entire width of the rim to seal the rim's alloy, if necessary. So I agreed. Paid $25 plus tax for this one first wheel. We'll see where this takes us.

Could it be the other shops just didn't do a good enough job? Or, will they have to put that rubber coating across the entire rim on the inside? I think the latter. Stay tuned ...