Another Toad Tire went Flat

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Guy's

Today on our way home from FMCA Rally in Harrington D.E. the driver front tire went flat on the GMC Yukon.

The Preassure Pro worked great. The alarm sounded when the tire hit 27lbs. I pulled over and inspected the tire.

Hummmm, couldn't find the leak to save my life, pumped it back up to 40psi and retested. and tested. and tested....

No leaks..... On my way again, less then a 1/4 mi the alarm sounded again and the tire reading was 10psi.

This time there was no sholder on the road so, I was forced to stay in the lane of this roural road.

After testing for leaks again, There was no leak for the second time....[I must be going NUTS....Bus Nuts..]

Called Good Sam, they responded very slow as usual. Not the operations but the tow Co. was slow.

Then it appeared.....The very system that warns me of a flat tire was the culpret. The valve stem was cracked.

Here, when the tire gets turning,  cintrifugal force of the sending unit bends the valve stem to a point where

the stem is now setting crocked in the hole of the rim. Now,  all 4 valve stems need to be replaced. I will surely

install metal valve stems now..... the rubber stems on there now are only 1 1/2" long.

Here is a pic. of the sending unit that screws onto the valve stem.

Thought you'd like to know
Nick-

[kyle4501]

A friends 911SC Porshe has a valve stem support that keeps the stem from leaning over at high speeds. That got me to checking for those types of leaks on my 'slow leakers'

Looks like that tire monitoring system saved a tire & more. Good stuff to have.

[JimC]

posted by Kyle
Looks like that tire monitoring system saved a tire & more. Good stuff to have.

It sure does, but it also looks like it was the system that caused a lot of grief to begin with. I hear a lot about the short comings and false alarms of the monitoring systems, this is another. I'm glad Nick got it sorted out.
For me the jury is till out.
Jim

[kyle4501]

I'm of the opinion that the valve stem was bad to start with, good stems shouldn't leak when pushed around. The weight of the sensor cap just brought it out in the open. A flat tire on a toad will make a mess!

A friend with a trucking company kept up with tire pressures at each stop. He was telling me that his experience with using a standard tire gauge was that occasionally a valve stem wouldn't seal after checking the pressure & they'd loose that tire before the next scheduled stop. They tried the transmitter mounted inside the tire but went to the valve stem transmitters for ease of service. They then found the tire failures came from road damage not low air.

With what tires cost, the monitoring system is a 'no brainer' for me.

ymmv

[Len Silva]

I have a 1990 Dodge pickup that I bought 17 years ago that has the original metal valve stems and never a single problem with them.  The do tick off the tire guys when they can't just pop out the stem when replacing tires.

Len

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Kyle,

All the rims, tires, and valve stems are a little over a year old..
And all 4 stems are bent over from the sensors but, only 1 cracked so far.

Nick-

[kyle4501]

Hey Nick,
It sucks to pay good $$$ & get crap. 

My tire guy said he has a ~10% failure rate on the new valve stems when he mounts the new tire. He checks them then "cause it's easier than removing the tire again a week later". He has tried various manufacturers & these are as good as any.

The metal stems are better, but I've had those leak too.

I wish I could train my air to behave better & stay put! 

I'm still lookin' for the free lunch!

BTW, I just had another thought - is it possible the hole in the rim is cutting or stressing the stem?

NICE RIG !

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Thanks Kyle..

Installed the new metal stems today.  [getit done!]

I take bad pics...lol

Nick-