Leaky tire valve stem

[RITTER]

why not just replace the valve, they dont cost that much.

then you have to break the bead in the tire and if you don't have a tire machine it's a pain in the a$$. And look at his signature, you don't want to piss him off..

:lol:
You can run the tire over with another car, breaks the bead nice and quick

 

[Bonnewagon]

That's what my Uncle used to do! But he also had a tool that looked like a bicycle inner tube that you wrapped around the tire, hooked it to compressed air, and it squeezed the tire right back into place on the rim, genius.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Now THIS is a tool! http://www.ameintl.net/uploadedfiles/files/AMEValveStemFlyer.pdf

 

[pontiacgp]

That does look like a great tool if it's real...it's made by the AME company, isn't that the same company the Wile E. Coyote used for contraptions to get the road runner?..

 

[Bonnewagon]

No ,that was ACME. And they make great fishing lures, like the Kastmaster. The tool is real, here is the patent application. http://www.google.com/patents?id=0iJ3AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q&f=false Pretty smart.

 

[pontiacgp]

of course I knew it was ACME and I knew you was old enough to know who ACME was ...beep beep

anyway that tool is really simple and looks like it will do the job..how did you find it?

 

[Bonnewagon]

By snooping around on the net looking for a place to buy the common screw-on stem tool. Which I found it at Pep Boys for $5. But that kit is a real savior if you don't have a tire machine handy. Anyway, I was at my buddy's shop today and I wanted to yank that stem out and seal it- and of course it broke right off. Rubber rot all around the base. So I used his tire machine to break the bead and put a new stem in. Turns out ALL the stems were shot, so I did them all, and rebalanced all the wheels. Then I remembered seeing something on the net about a huge recall several years ago involving cheap Chinese valve stems that rotted quickly and caused leaks/accidents. Sure enough, the numbers on the bottom of the stem were those that were recalled and the time line was right. So if you did stems 3-4 years ago, go out and bend them over. Look for severe cracking- and if so change them out.

 

[pontiacgp]

they get you everywhere....

that may seem like just an annoyance if it causes a slow leak but if that let go at highway speed it could result in an accident or a ruined tire..I know I'll be looking at mine

 

[robhowardiii]

Pep boys offers free flat repairs. Just tell them to put some bead sealer on the valve stem and put a new one in.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I had to resurrect this topic because I got bitten again by a cheap *ss Chinese valve stem. Slow leak going on for several years now, takes a month to go down, and being on snow tires I'd forget about it until the next winter. I tested with soapy solution yet no bubbles anywhere until by accident I bent the stem way over and bingo! - bubbles. So what to do? I didn't want to demount the whole thing and re-balance just for a damn stem so I did a variation what Ritter suggested. I used the brake drum and a short piece of 2X4 to break the bead on the stem side only. Jacked up the car, removed wheel, dropped axle/drum/2X4 down right on the bead. That popped it open easily, and I cut the old stem off and slipped in a new one with some neoprene sealer for good measure. I have an inexpensive screw-on stem tool that screws in place of the cap and you pull the new stem through the rim. Then I wrapped a steel cable around the tire and used a tire iron like a tourniquet to squeeze the tire up against the rim so the bead resealed and then pumped in compressed air until it snapped back into place. The other side never got unseated so the balance was maintained. I remounted the wheel and now time will tell if that did the deed. WHEW!