Hey guys I have a slow tire leak in one of my tires, I am alittle on the uneasy side of taking it to be inspected somewhere, last time I took my car somewhere they scratched my wheels all to hell from mounting the tires and such, im just wondering how you guys would recommend to check a tire leak so I can be safe and sound on them not damaging any of my rays wheels. the tire looks ok from what i can tell externally.

 

Jack up the car and remove the wheel and take a look. Bet you have a screw or nail or some other road crap in it.

 

Yeah i havent taken it off yet, but from instecting it by rolling the car I dont see anything, maybe a leaky valve?? The leak is incredibly slow, not major. I just dont want to have to deal with someone unmounting, fixing,remounting, and rebalancing a brand new setup and mess my Rays Wheel all to hell.

 

If you can't find any physical damage, I'd say chances are good that it is due to a bad valve stem. The only solution is to probably take it to a tire place. Maybe there's one in your area that comes highly recommended?


Cabo

 

You really should take the tires out and inspect them. I don't understand how you can really check for problems while they are still on the car. I check my tires througly whenever I do tire rotation. I did find a nail in one of the tires that caused a leak. If you don't see any visible causes, get a large bucket of water and test for leaks.

If it's bothering you that much, just take them off and check.

 

I have checked by rolling the car back and forth to inspect the whole tire, I will probably take the wheel off and check, but first im going to try replacing the Valve stem inside, or tightening it up to see if that helps stop the leak .

 

Worst case scenario is if your rims are dented or have a crack.

 

Take your tire off and put it in a large bucket of water (or bathtub?)to see if you find any air bubbles coming out of it. If you can't find a large enough bucket of water, splash water around the tire to see if you see air bubbles appearing. Make sure you splash some water on your valve stem.

 

Spray it down with a mixture of green lysol and water, then check for bubbles. Dont use plugs!!!!

 

Bathtub method always works.

Fill it so half the rim is submerged. good luck.

 

Went and bought one of the valve stem tools and tightened up the valve inside, im hoping maybe it is my valve stem leaking and tightening help...

 

Did this fix your problem?

 

Doesnt seem to have but it does maybe seem like it slowed the leak if anything (may not have) Dont know what else it would be.

 

You really need to take the wheel/tire assembly off the car and submerge it in water to see where the leak is. You can't tell by just looking at it. Try it in the bathtub as some suggested. If the leak is on the sidewall, you can't repair it. If it's in the tread, you'll need to dismount the tire and repair it from the inside with a patch. I don't recommend plugs either. You can check Tire Rack's list of recommend installers in your area. They might be a little more careful with the mounting and dismounting of the tire.