Argh How to find a slow leak

[John316]

One of our tags has a VERY slow leak. Overnight it lost 7-8 lbs. Over time it was slowly working it's way down. I took it to TCI and they couldn't find the leak. One guy thought it was the valve stem and replaced it. No joy.

Today I worked it over myself. My first thought was the bead. I used the kids bubble solution and soaked that tire. The bead does not appear to be leaking at all. Sidewall looks good. Valve stem looks good. Tire does not have anything stuck in it, that I can see.

Does anybody have any ideas? I really hate to spend $600 on a new one, just because I can't find this little leak.

Thanks,

John

[robertglines1]

Stem or core?  Have had both leak.  Core screws into valve stem.  wiggle stem around while soaping/ easy.  Also ck around bead of tire.

[Tenor]

Do you have valve stem extenders?  Those have to be on very well!

Glenn

[robertglines1]

Dish soap works better (mixed with water) stays on longer. If he did not break tire down he did not replace stem.  Bob

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Find a water trough or bath tub and hold the tire in there and slowly rotate it and look for bubbles.

[Len Silva]

The tire shop should have a tank gig enough to submerge the tire and look for leaks.  My wife would really be pissed if I used the bathtub.

[Lin]

Since it is leaking down overnight, it can't be blamed on some sort of road phenomena.  It may help of over inflate the tire while you are looking.  If you can't find it with soapy water, a shop should certainly be able to in a tub.  Of course, it is possible that there is a crack in the rim itself and no one is looking in the right place.

[John316]

Thanks guys. I will try taking it to the guys with a tank tomorrow. I doubt their expertise (they have a name in town), but what can they mess up trying to find a leak?

Bob, they didn't break the tire down to replace the stem. Said they didn't need to and there is a new stem on there. It doesn't appear to be leaking. I have soaked all of that, to no avail.

Lin, I checked the rim. Nothing.

I will add plenty of dish soap (with sugar) to my solution. We also don't have valve extenders.

Any other ideas? I really appreciate it! Thanks.

John

[robertglines1]

How did they get the bigger steel/brass inside end out of and into the smaller hole in the rim?  and the washer on it inside?  I'm confused.  Might be my lesson of the day.  I learn something every day.   Bob  Just got me wondering--- that hurts..Probably just terminology they just broke bead back and installed it.

[robertglines1]

Pressure proreading???  or pressure gauge?

[Utahclaimjumper]

Ill bet he got rubber stems,, the only type that can be installed from the outside of the wheel.>>>Dan (Just happened to think,, they COULD R&R the stems by just beaking the bead on one side.)

[robertglines1]

You  know I had same thought about bead breaking on one side. Tuffer than me.. pretty stiff sidewalls. I walked up to shop and looked at Alcoa with 315 on it.  Dang good tire guy. Bob

[John316]

Bob, to be honest, I don't know. Sorry. They just told me that they didn't have to break the tire down to put a new stem on it.

Dan, I can take a pic, but it is a brass stem. I don't know how/what they did, but I have a brand new stem.

I saw it had an issue from the pressure pro. Then I was checking it with a gauge.

Thanks for the ideas. We will see if our local friendly tire guys can figure it out.

John

[luvrbus]

Could be the wheel is it steel or aluminum the latter are bad about wearing on the seating surface inside the tire

[John316]

Clifford, it is steel...

That is interesting though