The two tires on my passenger side had been deflating at a rapid pace. I would fill them up to 44 PSI and a couple days later they would be down to around 20. I noticed that the tires were starting to get worn and cracked so I had them replaced. I told the store that did the install about the issue and was told they would look into it. As part of the install, the store does an alignment check, I didn’t hear anything in response to the issue when I picked up my car so I believed the issue had been resolved and the old tires were the cause. I should have known better.
Only a couple days later and the PSI on the new tires is going down at a rapid clip again.
Air can only be lost in certain ways.
The valve stem.
The bead area of the tire.
The wheel rim itself has a porous castings and air is leaking through a pinhole.
First step should be dropping those wheels into a tank of water. It could be that the tire store made an incorrect assumption that the old tires were the cause of the problem and did not investigate it further with the new tires mounted.
Valve stems is the best first guess.
Bend the stem back and forth and look at it.
Is there weather cracks ?
When you bend it , do you suddenly HEAR air escaping ?
Passenger side only ?
Have you been curbing your long valve stems for a while ? ( one good reason not to use stems too long )
Investigate the valve stems first.
Then have the rim and tire removed and set in the water tub. ( At that time take the cap off of the stem to see if it’s the valve core leaking. you can also check the core by putting a finger of spit on the tip to see if air escapes there )
Additionally, even though I can commiserate with someone who needs to frequently re-inflate his/her tires, 44 psi is…more than likely…too high a pressure.
Do not inflate the tires to the maximum pressure listed on the tire sidewall because that is…the maximum allowable pressure…not the recommended pressure. The correct tire pressure numbers can be found on the label affixed to the driver’s door jamb and/or in the Owner’s Manual.
And, whoever told the OP that bad wheel alignment could result in your tires deflating is…just plain wrong.
Thanks all. I do not believe it to be a valve stem issue, like knfemimore said, they replaced the stems when they put on the new tires and the one old tire i had was fine until they switched it from the driver’s side to the passenger’s side.
you have a pretty fast leak. just drop it into a tub of water, and report back. bath tubs are great for this, or else use the suds from dishwahing soap spread onto the tire as a lesser effective option.
Texases is right, switching a tire from one side to another will not cause a leak. Rubbing against the curb could cause problems. Kids or other trouble makers could be messing with your tires on the sidewalk side. VDC is right about the 44 lbs pressure. That just sounds too high. Check your door label for the correct trire pressure.
Then you have to look at the rim seal itself on the tire or the wheel itself. I just mix up a strong solution of water and dish soap and use a rag to put the soap on. Usually you will be able to see a bubble where there is a leak.
I’d like to know the year and make & model of the vehicle. Ford in particular had a series of years of alloy wheel problems. The cast rims were pitting badly and were also becoming porous. Much worse than most.
Check out were you drive there might be a road hazard on the left side along the way,a thorn bush or piece of barb wire for instance,especially if it keeps happening(if you ever walk beside a busy multi lane,you would be suprised at the the amount of junk laying there just off the tire groove-Kevin
I agree with those here that mentioned to soap up the tire and watch for bubbles.
Make sure to pull off any hubcap, and valve cap, that will obstruct your view.
Park with the valve stem down and soap up the tire, the valve stem area, and the tire bead( where the tire meets the rim) and be patient, it may take 30 seconds to see the bubbles to begin forming, so dont rush it. wiggle the valve and soap up the valve also. Look close either you will see big bubbles at the leak or a cluster of little bubbles that keeps growing bigger and bigger. Give it two or three coats of soapy water to be sure you did not niss one little spot. If you find nothing…pull the car forward untill the valve is at the top and do that half of the tire.
It’s sometimes tough, but try to soap the inside bead area too. Sometimes the worker that changed the tires may have forgot to clean the bead area of the wheel with a wire brush and the bead cannot seat perfectly with rust and corrosion built up.
If you find a leak at the bead or the valve and stem, the tire shop should reseat the tire for free because it was not cleaned properly when they mounted the new tires
I did one today for a friend that had just a little wire or nail in the tread. I had to soak it a few times to really find the leak. I was able to insert a plug and he wont have to fill the tire every morning and I can get my tank back from him.
hmmm … so switching the tire from the left side to right side is all it takes? Is there any unusual wear pattern on the tires that have been on the right hand side for a while? Do the treads look much different than the treads on the left? If there isn’t any difference, the only thing I can think of is that somebody is letting the air out of your tires for some reason, probably teenagers playing a prank. Try parking your car in a secure spot (like in your garage) from Friday night to Monday AM, and measure the pressure difference from Friday to Monday on all four tires.
Dismount the tires then clean the wheels with a rubber encapsulated wire wheel. This makes the bead seating area of the rim like new again and prevents leaks.
This is the only thing I have found to do a nice job of cleaning wheels without damage. For use with die grinder.
When the good tire was switched to the passenger side and then started loosing air I give a +1 to it being a prank. The reason the left side is ok the prankster may be spotted more easily. Take the car back to the tire shop and they have a tire dunk and can easily spot anything.
When the good tire was switched to the passenger side and then started loosing air I give a +1 to it being a prank. The reason the left side is ok the prankster may be spotted more easily. Take the car back to the tire shop and they have a tire dunk and can easily spot anything.