How to fix a slow air leak between my tire and wheel?

Automotive
#1

I have a slow leak around the rim of my tire where it meets the chrome wheel, on the outer-facing side.

When they put the tire underwater at Discount Tire, I could see very tiny bubbles coming out intermittently from between the metal of the wheel and the rubber of the tire. As things stand now, I have to re-inflate my tire from 20 PSI to normal pressure once a week. They tell me that this kind of thing can happen with chromed wheels as they age. (I bought the car with chromed wheels; I didn’t ask for this kind of problem!)

Is there a rubber compound or silicone adhesive that could be applied to “plug” or seal the seam where the leak occurs? One person recommended trying Fix-A-Flat, but that doesn’t seem like a good permanent solution to a leak that small. The air pressure of the leak probably isn’t strong enough to move the Fix-A-Flat compound to the problem area. I figure that if I were to superglue/adhere/rubberize the tire to the rim after deflating the tire first, that might work, but then how do you replace the tire in the future when it’s locked to the wheel(?); and it doesn’t fix the condition that’s causing the leak.

So . . . since Discount Tire doesn’t fix this kind of problem, how would one go about finding someone who does? Any specific recommendations of people with the skill set and tools to remedy my problem? And what is the remedy?

#2

24/7 Tire in Lewisville are my go-to guys for tire repair. They are unafraid to take on anything, and they are dirt cheap. They are behind the Autozone on Main St.

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#3

I’d say that the wheel needs to be repaired. There are wheel repair places all over DFW that would know about actually repairing it vs patching it. You could also look at either having them all done or replaced. If ones doing it, how much farther behind are the others?

I would speculate that the chrome is cracking, allowing air to pass through.

I would highly advise against any fix-a-flat as that will just irritate the guy who has to fix it. It might irritate them enough to where they will tell you where you can go stick it.

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#4

I had a bent wheel on my Miata and this place fixed it for a reasonable price.

https://g.co/kgs/d4qJgM

They can do lots of other wheel repairs. I would check with them. My understanding is this is caused by corrosion and the chrome separating from the steel structure and the fix is to either refurbish the wheels or at least remove the corrosion and paint the affected areas.

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#5

A tire shop can break the bead, clean the rim, and remount the tire: pretty cheap and quick to do.

If you’re near Wylie, TX, I can recommend Wylie Tire. Very fast and reasonably priced.

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#6

The rim needs to be cleaned. Some sand paper should do. Clean it where to rubber and rim meet. Full disclaimer, I used to work in a garage and have repaired many tires. We used a grinder with a metal brush to clean the rims. I found this on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdMPL2ufW3k

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#7

^
This would be the first step before all others.
Deflate tire, push back bead, clean with methods available to you on both wheel, amd tire contact points. Inflate.

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#8

There is bead sealer that’s basically a heavy gloop (is this a word, lol). You may also be able to get by with a large amount of heavy grease but as other suggested, try having the tire deflated and rim cleaned in that area. Could be chrome that flaked off and got stuck or a torn bead from the last time someone took off the tire.

Surprised Discount didn’t at least try to fix it or give you a complete diagnosis of it. When I worked in a tire shop, unless it was an aluminum rim that was severely bent or bead was heavily ripped, I’d at least try a light cleaning and reseat of the bead. If it was a steel rim I’d try hammering it alittle

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#9

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I’m grateful.

I wound up getting a recommendation from Discount Tire of a place called Wheel Technologies that’s located south of DMS.

They fixed my bead leak for $125, which I assume without evidence is a fair price for that service.