Undetectable puncture

E39MSport

Noticed the rear off side was quite deflated the other day. It's a reasonably new vredestein with sod all mileage.
Took the wheel off and left it with the crowd in Maynooth.
Next day they tell me theres nothing wrong with it. Another place can't find anything either. They took the tyre off and resealed it.

I put it back on last night and it looks partially deflated again. I'll get a gauge on it later to confirm.

Its gonna be a right pain in the a55 if I have to bin it.

Wheel is fine. Valve was checked.

Any suggestions?

Saab Ed

Could be that the rim itself is porous. It can happen with older wheels. Place the rim in a large barrell of water but lie it face down instead of face up as they would do in a tyre shop. Watch for very tiny bubbles coming from behind the paint on the rim, and I mean tiny bubbles.

Anan1

Is the car always parked in the same place? Tyres can look quite flat even when they're not depending on angle, slope, indentations in the tarmac etc. Failing that, try Saab Ed's advice.

E39MSport

Anan1 wrote: »

Is the car always parked in the same place? Tyres can look quite flat even when they're not depending on angle, slope, indentations in the tarmac etc. Failing that, try Saab Ed's advice.

That's what I thought but she was definitely defalting. I had to jack it up to take the pressure off the wall.

vw4life

mix up some washing up liquid and water and spray it over the whole wheel/tyre,then play find the bubbles

E39MSport

The dude in the 2nd garage was checking it in water for about 20 minutes without success.

It seems like its only deflating with the pressure of the car on it.

R.O.R

I had a similar issue years ago with an old MG metro. Alloys were pitted around the rim so couldn't get a proper seal against the tyre and needed pumping every 2-3 days.

1/4 can of tyre weld in each tyre sorted it out.

E39MSport

Cheers.
Wheels are in pretty good nick though. I'd be surprised.
I'll drop it into a tank of water when I get a chance.

Saab Ed

R.O.R wrote: »

1/4 can of tyre weld in each tyre sorted it out.

The only problem with tyre weld is that the tyres go out of balance a lot after you've used it. That and the fact that if you are unlucky enough to get another puncture that the tyre weld wont seal, then you'll have to get a new tyre as you can't repair a tyre thats had tyre weld sprayed into it.

gofaster_s13

Saab Ed wrote: »

you can't repair a tyre thats had tyre weld sprayed into it.

Yes you can, it just washes out with warm water.

CaraFawn

E39MSport wrote: »

Cheers.
Wheels are in pretty good nick though. I'd be surprised.
I'll drop it into a tank of water when I get a chance.

You could have a big dent on the inside of the wheel, causing air to escape?
Do you have the same tire on any other side? I was thinking it could be the wrong tire, but if you have it as well on some other side, it probably is the wheel.
Maybe swap your wheel with the one from the boot?

Saab Ed

gofaster_s13 wrote: »

Yes you can, it just washes out with warm water.

Sorry , I worded that wrong. You shouldn't repair a tyre thats had tyre weld sprayed into it because you have no idea what other damage has been done.

For example you might well have stopped the leak but in the interim you could have driven on a semi inflated tyre for god knows how long doing untold damage to the bead, sidewall and radial belts that make up the casing of a tyre. Sure you'll have plugged the leak that caused the air to get out in the first place but you just wont know what other damage is done.

Esel

^ Then you shouldn't repair a tyre that has been punctured!

If the Tyre Weld is used as per instructions, there should be no possibility of subsequent damage to the tyre.

Personally, I carry a small compressor (as well as Tyre Weld), and it has got me going lots of times without ever having to resort to the Tyre Weld.

I wonder how easy it is to clean that stuff from the tyre (and rim), and how much extra would the repairer charge. Anyone any experiences in this regard?

E39MSport

The Tyre place also suggested tyre weld.

Thanks all.