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Bead Leak..

sgrammel

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Oct 27, 2009
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1,357
Location
The 'couv
I have a persistent bead leak...had it 'fixed' for a while, but it came back.

Are bead leaks a tire issue or a wheel issue, or a bit of both?

Any suggestions on how to fix once and for all?

Thanks
 
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EOC_Jason

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Jun 25, 2012
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Bentonville, AR
Depends... It could be a bent rim or a crack... Or the bead could be torn on the tire itself.

Should submerge the tire and find the leak(s), mark them, take apart and inspect both rim & tire to see what is damaged...
 

GreenNV

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Sep 1, 2013
Messages
346
I had the same problem on the front tire of my compact Kubota tractor. I brought it to a tire dealer who determined the problem was due to a seal leak. They re-seated the tire on the rim and put in a new valve stem; it never fixed the problem.

I tried Slime and it never worked. They may have a different product that helps seal leaks. I ended up purchasing an inner tube and that fixed the problem.

I do not know what kind of vehicle you have but on the Kubota with a front end loader, the weight can cause the bead to come loose; I learned this after doing some research. However, I never had the problem with the other front tire so it is difficult to determine the root cause.
 
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sgrammel

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Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
1,357
Location
The 'couv
It's a Lexus IS350 with aftermarket wheels. I tooke the tire/wheel off the car 6 months ago and did a thorough check..filled it to like 60psi and sprayed soapy water all over the wheel, tire, etc..found very slow bubblles on wheel at bead...had the local tire shop fix it..has been good until late..It is very slow..like 2 psi in 10 days.. I guess I have to do the same routine again..
 

ken w.

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Aug 16, 2012
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Western New York
You most likely have a bead leak.Most shops will brake the bead and brush in some bead sealer.If there is corrosion on the rim you should have it removed before applying bead sealer.
 
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hedhunter9

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Feb 7, 2013
Messages
124
Location
Northern Indiana
We usually clean the rim, clean the tire bead, then use bead sealer. This stops 90% of the bead leaks...
(a quick and easy fix that works only some of the time is to spray brake cleaner in the leaking area) (with the tire deflated)
Bob
 

rlitman

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Oct 18, 2010
Messages
24,678
Location
Long Island
I had it caused by corrosion. Took off the tires, scrubbed the seat with a wire brush, and wiped it down. Added lube, and re-mounted. It was perfect after that.
 

Aberdale

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Mar 13, 2009
Messages
1,380
Location
Ohio
I've had quite a few bead leaks on alloy wheels after they are 10 years old or so. I usually take them to a local tire shop. They buff the corrosion on the wheel, then add a sealant product to the bead when they reinstall the tire. This fixes about 90% of the leaks. A few have corroded badly enough that a tube was required to make it stop leaking.

'dale
 

Smokeshow69

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Dec 7, 2012
Messages
8,393
Location
Pacific Northwest
A common mistake that most make when fixing a tire bead leak is to apply bead sealer when the wheel and sealer is cold. This makes the sealer glob up and not seal correctly. You need to heat the wheel up to over 100 degrees . This way when you mount the tire on the wheel, the sealer does not ball up. A good way that we used to do this when I was a tire technician was to run the wheel through our heated parts washer after cleaning off all the corrosion on the bead and the tire. Stayed in the pressure washer for a couple of minutes and then came out hot to the touch. Dried off and then apply sealer to tire and wheel. Mount wheel and tire and let dry.
 
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