I agree with Sion. As matter of fact I could have written that post. So this is mainly a repeat. I have found leaks in the following places.
1 Tire: puncture (keep in mind the object that punctured the tire my not still be stuck in the tire), cuts in the sidewall.
2 Valve stem: from around the area where the stem passes throught the hole into the wheel and also from the valve core. The vavle core is the little valve that screws into the valve stem. Most of the valve cores that I found leaking were corroded.
3 The bead: This is the area where the tire contacts the wheel. It is very common on aluminum alloy wheels due to corrosion on the bead. The general fix was to grind the corrosion off with a wire wheel on a grinder and apply a sealant.
4 The wheel: Like Sion, in my days working on cars I found one bad wheel. It was a brand new aluminum alloy wheel. I've also seen leaks between the wheel halves on mutli-piece wheels.
Sometimes it takes a bit of time to find that really slow leak. A 9 psi leak overnight will show up right away. You've probably already taken it back in but anyone who has a bit of experience tracking down these leaks should be able to find this one pretty quick. It sounds like you made out pretty good on this car so don't let this minor issue get you down.
Oh, and pat yourself on the back. From my experience the tire has to be nearly flat before the average Joe notices that something is wrong.
Last edited by rs8001; 08-24-2003 at 06:50 PM..
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