Rusty rims lose air?

[jtexas]

Slow leak on one trailer tire, goes flat in two weeks. Shop says tire's fine, re-seated the seal, should be good to go. Meanwhile, the spare (former spare) does the same thing. Same shop, same diagnosis. Now the first one, still fully inflated while doing "spare tire" duty, is back on the ground and leaking very slowly. My boat is stored off-site so I don't see it daily.<br /><br />Solution #1 = go fishing more often before tire has time to flatten.<br /><br />Solution #B = figure out what's the problem.<br /><br />These are nearly new tires on old, old rims, nearly 25 years, with lots of rust. Could the rims be perforated & losing air somewhere along in there?<br /><br />thanks,<br />jtw

 

[tgissel]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

jtexas,<br /><br />I had the same problem with some old boat trailer wheels, I just broke the seal and put wheel bearing grease on the inside lip of the wheel /both sides. Worked for me. Good Luck

 

[sangerwaker]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

I like solution B1 for you jtexas. I don't fish much, so #1 would not do much for me.<br /><br />I've never heard of rust causing an air leak in a rim. Unless they were 2 piece rims, maybe.<br /><br />Can you bring your spare home with you? Mix up some soapy solution and put it in a spray bottle. Squirt the tire and rim down really good. How did they look for the leak at the shop? I've seen them submerge the tire before. You could try that too.<br /><br />Good luck!

 

[Richok]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

Jtexas I had the same problem, not with boat trailer tires but another trailer. I tried what tgissel did and it worked for me also. If that doesn't the cheapest way that I know would be to tube them. Good luck.

 

[RedNecker]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

Some of the trailer wheels have pin holes in the internal weld joints. Paint the inside center of the wheels with rust prevent paint & mount the tire while it is wet. The air pressure will force the wet paint into the pin holes.<br /><br />Many new wheels are warped & have pin holes in the welds.<br /><br />I had to return 4 new wheels to get two good ones.<br /><br />Red

 

[JB]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

New wheels are what you need, JTW.<br /><br />Rust not only invades the seal with the tire, it also invades the seal between parts of the wheel.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

You need new wheels...or put tubes in them. You could also try using the pink or green slime sold to seal the rim. Have to deflate the tire, fill it with the slime, pump it up, and slowly spin it.

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

JTW,<br />You didn't say if the tires are tubeless, my guess is yes.<br />You will probably find that the bead seat on the rim is corroded enough to let air bleed away when the wheel rotates with a load on it, but here's the catch.<br />When the tire is inflated to normal pressure the darn things won't show a leak in a bath of water.<br />If you can get it a bath wriggle the valve stem around underwater, your leak may be there.<br />Solution?<br />1: Throw away the rim? not always if its sound otherwise.<br />2; Tire shops usually have some gunk (paste) they paint onto the seal surface of the rim and the tire bead. then assemble both and inflate to normal pressure <br />Problem is usually gone away then until next time you disturb the tire.<br />Effectively the tire is glued to the rim - water tight. <br />It is actually a good preventative measure even with good rims as it stops water getting into the bead seats and allowing rust to start.<br />If it is the bead seat, get the rims bead blasted to clean them before repainting them and reassembly. This will give you the opportunity to inspect the rim's structure.<br /><br />Good luck<br /><br />Peter

 

[jtexas]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

Yep, tubeless tires, and no load = no leak. Thanks for the ideas, but I think now that my theory is confirmed I'll just replace 'em. Wheels are cheap enough and I'm tired of changing tires!

 

[Formula1974]

Re: Rusty rims lose air?

Your tire shop should have broken the tire beads and wire brushed the bead surface of the wheel and then used bead sealer (looks like tar good stuff) on both the front and back beads. This is where rusty rims leak the most. I havent seen a rim rust thru before.