Tire trouble...

[hockey_19pro]

So I've been having some trouble with my front-passenger tire the last few weeks. At first it was just a slow leak and I didn't really think anything of it, just added about 5 pounds or so a couple times a week. It quickly got worse when I went to my car and it was completely flat, I put the spare on and took it to Wal-Mart (the only place open in town) and they said it was just a bad seal on a bead and put some sealer on it. Two days later it started going flat again, so I took it back to Wal-Mart (again, the only place open at night)and they resealed it and put in a new valve stem. Well, it's been three days since that and my tire is completely flat again!! Do you think my rim could be bent, making a seal impossible? Thanks for the help...

[Shack]

What is the rim and tire off of (make and model)?

Are the rims on the vehicle aluminum?

I have seen with some Chrysler rims where a seam leaks on the inside of the factory aluminum rim. All you can do is have them fill that sucker up high with PSI, make sure the dunk tank water is fresh and very soapy and have them go over it with a fine tooth comb. If it went completely flat in 3 days, bubbles should be seen.

Good luck!

[Jeremy airjer W]

I agree, there missing something!

My first red flag was "they used sealer"!

When correctly used this stuff is ok at best. When in the hands of an improperly trained bead buster/grease monkey it can be deadly! They usually slop on as much as possible. Short term it might work, long term it will usually start to ball up and cause a bead leak.

The best time tested way to repair a bead leak (IMO) is to first clean the bead with an appropriate tool until all the corrosion is removed. Apply a very thin layer of bearing grease on the wheel where the tire bead seats to the wheel. Clean the bead of the tire (remove all the corrosion and/or all the bead sealer from the last smuck who thought they could fix it). Reinstall the tire. Doing this on aluminum wheels is almost a 100% guarantee to be leak free from the bead for the life of the tire!!

The last thought, If this is a chrome plated aluminum wheel then you might be out of luck. These will corrode under the chrome plating. they are extremely difficult to clean and reseal. Our customers are given a no guarantee option and if it leaks again they buy a wheel.

If I get a bead leak in today I'll take some pics of how its done!

[hockey_19pro]

Thanks guys for the help, I'm not really a "car guy" so as far as what kind of rim it is all I can say is it's a "premium rim"? on a 2000 Grand Am SE, I don't know if this will help a whole lot but that's all I got. Thanks again for the info everyone.

[Jeremy airjer W]

if its black its steel and usually has a plastic wheel cover. If its silver its probably aluminum which are prone to bead leaks. Steel wheels hardly ever leak from the bead!!