Aluminum Wheel Problems

After returning from vacation the other day I had a flat on the rear of my AV. Luckily it was in my garage when I noticed it. I aired it up and covered it with soapy water and no leak. So I took it to the tire shop and ask them to check and repair it. They checked it over too and couldn't find any leak.
They told me it was a common problem with aluminum wheels that they will get corrosion at the tire bead and cause a leak.
They removed the tire, checked it good, cleaned the rim and put it back on. That has been a week ago and the tire is staying up.
Has anyone else had a tire go down because of aluminum corrosion?

not me on the avy or any other vehicle I have had with aluminum...which is pretty much for 20 years worth of driving....

Any chance of any little 'gremlins' letting air out? Or, did you check the tire pressure recently and the valve stem might not have re-seated well leaving a slow leak? I've never had any trouble with Aluminum wheels, and don't see how an air tight tire bead would be subject to corrosion.

Yes I know it sounds a little screwed up but thats the story they gave me.
I have had alluminum wheels on my cars too for the last 12 years and no problems but I thought maybe this may be a problem with these stock AV alluminum wheels.

I have heard of situations where the cast aluminum can be a little porous, and leak slowly.

My old Blazer had aluminum wheels, and one had a slow leak: it would lose a couple of PSI over a week while the others were fine. I had it checked out, and no leak could ever be found.

It was slow enough that it didn't bother me too much. I have an air compressor, and a portable air tank, so I just kept the tank in the garage and refilled the tire as needed.

-- SS

Cast aluminum wheels can leak because they have porosity in them. However, most wheel manufacturers use a loctite-type material to seal the wheels before shipping. The wheels go into a big vacuum chamber, the wheels are immersed into the fluid for a certain amount of time, the vacuum allows the loctite material to be drawn into the porosity, unless it is too large, and the wheel is then sealed when the loctite cures in the absence of air. That said, large porosity can cause a wheel to leak.

Most leaks will seal themselves over time - aluminum oxidation will seal the leak point. It would be the exception rather than the rule if the wheel was leaking.

Hope this helps.

MBT

One of the reasons for the rather plebian forged aluminum wheels on the 2500 is the fact that they are rated to 95 psi - the other of course is 3000 lb load capacity.

If you are going to run "E" rated tires that is important since many "attractive" wheels will not hold 70+ psi.

DO they make forged aluminum wheels in lieu of cast?

the casting process is inherent in have air pockets etc...nbut not forging.......

Oh well this is why I check air pressure every fill up!

ygmn said:

DO they make forged aluminum wheels in lieu of cast?

the casting process is inherent in have air pockets etc...nbut not forging.......

Oh well this is why I check air pressure every fill up!

Click to expand...

Absolutely, but mostly in the 15 - 16 inch range - MickeyThompson, Alcoa and Eagle Alloy all have forged aluminum wheels that will stand up under torture.

The stock 16x6.5's on the Chevy and Ford HD's are all made in Hungary. Forged wheels are not prone to cracking like the cast ones and they are built for weight load, not cosmetics.

Oh yeah ALCOA....I remember them at some shows....they make them big rig wheels.....and touted the weight savings....

DOHHHHHHHH...nevermind