Is there any way to seal a leaking wheel? (1 Viewer)

[artech]

I have one wheel that has a slow leak that is driving me crazy. By the corrosion on it it looks like this one wheel spent too much time under the truck as the spare tire. Now that my spare is on the roof and all 5 tires are being rotated on a regular basis this one wheel is a constant problem, losing about 0.5 psi per day.

The lip where the tire bead mounts is corroded and rough in several places and a soapy water test confirms that the bead is not sealing well in those spots. The part that sucks is that the outside of the wheel looks OK and the inside is not badly corroded at all, just the sealing surface. Has anyone been able to seal up leaks like this or am I stuck in the market for a replacement wheel?

Thanks!

 

[TRIDETOY]

Tire shops have black bead sealer they could spread on bead.You can sand rough corroded area.

 

[artech]

I tried some bead sealer with limited success, it slowed the leak but didn't stop it. Of course I might not have gotten it deep enough into the gap, I tried to use it without dismounting and remounting the tire.

I might be able to turn the rim on my lathe but I would be pretty nervous about taking much material off the rim. And it would remove the anodizing which would leave the aluminum bare, and that can't be good for durability or corrosion resistance.

 

[westafari]

I scored a wheel from a part out for cheap. The wheel that was the spare on my truck was corroded as well but it holds air fine. When I get around to mounting a tire on the "new" wheel I'll have an extra stock alloy wheel if you want it, probably a pain to ship though.

 

[ton504]

I clean them up with a wire wheel and add the black bead sealer.

 

[NLXTACY]

I just had a wheel repaired for a friend's 911 (yes he's gay). He hit a pothole and dented the hell out of both sides of the wheel. When the guy took the wheel off he found it was split along the ring and that there was so much corrosion at the valve stem that it was slow leaking for a long time. After he repaired the entire thing (it took 3 days) the total cost was $185 and it looked like a new wheel (from the outside) again.

Here are pics half way thru the repair.

 

[dogfishlake]

If you have it sandblasted and powder coated it should seal it up perfectly. I've seen tons of wheels with this problem and it works great. I had the problem on my old 4th generation 4runner aluminum wheels. They looked decent on the outside but it had the slightest chalk around the bead and they constantly lost air. I blasted them and used chrome powder with clear to simulate the original look and they never leaked again.

 

[Golgo13]

I just had a wheel repaired for a friend's 911 (yes he's gay). He hit a pothole and dented the hell out of both sides of the wheel. When the guy took the wheel off he found it was split along the ring and that there was so much corrosion at the valve stem that it was slow leaking for a long time. After he repaired the entire thing (it took 3 days) the total cost was $185 and it looked like a new wheel (from the outside) again.

Here are pics half way thru the repair.

View attachment 1091685 View attachment 1091688

Joey, come on man, it tells you in the owners manual not to repair wheels.

@artech best way to seal the bead area is to do as others have said. Blast it clean and repaint it. You have to remove the corrosion to get rid of the problem.

 

[NLXTACY]

Joey, come on man, it tells you in the owners manual not to repair wheels.

Who "reads" the manual? *




























* does it really?

 

[Alleycats]

Why not run some 'slime' in it.

Easy peasy.

 

[Golgo13]

@NLXTACY i'm pretty sure all the owners manuals have it in writing. Check your LX. I know any time I've looked, it's in there.

It has to do with changing the microstructure of the material in the area being welded. Also aluminum is terrible for fatigue. Any micro cracks internally will eventually grow right back and make things worse.

 

[Golgo13]

 

[NLXTACY]

in black and white.

 

[120mm]

Define "severe" corrosion.

 

[Douglas S]

I just had a wheel repaired for a friend's 911 (yes he's gay). He hit a pothole and dented the hell out of both sides of the wheel. When the guy took the wheel off he found it was split along the ring and that there was so much corrosion at the valve stem that it was slow leaking for a long time. After he repaired the entire thing (it took 3 days) the total cost was $185 and it looked like a new wheel (from the outside) again.

Here are pics half way thru the repair.

View attachment 1091685 View attachment 1091688

The construction of that wheel is vastly different than the factory cast wheels that were supplied from the factory on the 80-Series.

 

[Parsnip]

When I had my wheels off and tires off for paint I used stainless steel wool and SOS pads to remove all the old tire and corrosion from the bead seating area. One spot I went up to scotchbrite pads for the worst of it. But I left it all very smooth when done.

 

[nukegoat]

Fill tire with sand

 

[1973Guppie]

if it is just the spare I would probably use some type of goop of choice at a parts store to seal it, if that does not work just find a used rim if it is an oem one?

 

[Howard705]

Done many 100s in IL rust belt- wire wheel-bead sealer. Bead sealer ebay. Be sure to replace stem and seal also.

 

[Rifleman]

When i ran my machine shop i had many customers come in wanting me to Tig weld, then machine their damaged rims, or the other one was to "cross drill " their brake rotors for added cooling. I never did it, just WAY to much liability on my shop if something went wrong. They would always tell me that they would sign a paper saying they wouldn't sue me if something "bad happened". I told them that piece of paper doesn't mean crap when YOUR DEAD!!! Your family members and the blood sucking lawyers are still going to sue me no matter what you signed.