A cracked rim does sound a bit strange unless it took some hits. It may be
the bead area is caked with old rubber etc. that prevents a good seal. It it
is a welded wheel that may be the source of the leak. I'd wait until your
wife wasn't home and fill up the bathtub, then pump the tire up to about 35
- 40 psi and submerge it in the tub. You should be able to spot the source
of the leak. Don't forget to wipe off the tub ring when you're done.
Charley
-----Original Message-----
From: shop-talk-owner@autox.team.net [mailto:shop-talk-owner@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Matt Trebelhorn
Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2005 9:35 AM
To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: Air leak?
...
The tires lose air pressure pretty quickly. Tires are new, valve
stems are new. Wheels are 30-year old steel fiat wheels. They're
old, but they don't look banged up.
The guy who owned it said that the wheels themselves leaked -- like
there were cracks in the rim or something.
So, a few questions: while I've heard of wheels cracking around the
studs, I don't think I've heard of cracks out at the rim. Does this
seem odd?
How would I go about checking this? It takes a couple of days to
lose ~10 lbs pressure -- is that too slow to do a soapy-water test?
Might it be bad valve stems, or valves?
Anyway, thought I'd run it by the list and see what you think.
Thanks,
Matt
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