YACT: Tires consistently losing pressure...

[godmare]

Originally posted by: Ikonomi
By the way, my dad wants me to deflate the tires, and put a can of Flat Fix in each one, and then reinflate. He thinks this will fix the leak, whatever it is. Will this actually work?

He was threatening to do it himself (I'm pretty sick right now and don't want to go out of the house much), and I'm trying to avoid that because he will inflate my tires to 43 pounds, which is way too much, especially if they're cold.

Do you think his plan has merit?

Fix-a-0flat is for temporary emergency repair, like on the roadside. This is not the way to repair the tire.
You can get patch kits, etc., that obviously require tire inspection, but it's (usually) much safer to have this professionally done.

 

[Ikonomi]

I just went and checked my tires and adjusted them to 35 front and 32 rear. The door label recommends 30 pounds, and 35 for high speeds.

The front ones shouldn't leak anymore -- they've never gone below 34 or so on their own. Honestly, I didn't know if I was doing the right thing keeping the tires so high, and apparently I wasn't. It's still odd that the fronts look underinflated at 35. It's just the way the tire is made, I guess. I don't know. That's what lead me to air them up so much in the first place.

I'm going to bed, but I'm going to leave my dad a note explaining and telling him not to do anything to my car. He's a strong-headed sort of person, though, so he's probably going to get upset at me and think I'm dumb. But I really don't want any of that canned stuff in my tires, especially if it's going to unbalance them. That's the last thing I need.

Thanks for everyone's advice. Sorry if I came off as stupid about tire pressure. I was just uninformed, and didn't know what to do with a car with two different makes of tire on it.

 

[Ikonomi]

And I just had an argument with my father because he apparently thinks you guys are a bunch of crackpots for suggesting I fill the tires according to the door label. God forbid I do something that goes against his opinion.

Every fvcking thing is a struggle, I swear.

 

[KokomoGST]

Originally posted by: Ikonomi
By the way, my dad wants me to deflate the tires, and put a can of Flat Fix in each one, and then reinflate. He thinks this will fix the leak, whatever it is. Will this actually work?

He was threatening to do it himself (I'm pretty sick right now and don't want to go out of the house much), and I'm trying to avoid that because he will inflate my tires to 43 pounds, which is way too much, especially if they're cold.

Do you think his plan has merit?

Nope... that stuff is a temporary fix. Its usually just a water-based sealant and won't hold pressure well.

You didn't happen to perchance hit a pothole or slap the car around on some curbs? If you dinged your rims really good you will cause a slow leak that you can't fix without getting the rim repaired. I find it quite common at work because our area is riddled with "ninja potholes" and bad drivers.

Also people didn't mention that a lot of tires out there, even high performance summer tires including my Kuhmo MXs, aren't ever going to be "square" to the road. Then there are some tires that are nearly completely square (Falkens come to mind). It's just the way the tire was designed.

EDIT: tell him a Toyota technician... including his Toyota master tech instructor told you to follow the door panel instructions. Where's Roger...

 

[CFster]

Originally posted by: Ikonomi
And I just had an argument with my father because he apparently thinks you guys are a bunch of crackpots for suggesting I fill the tires according to the door label. God forbid I do something that goes against his opinion.

Every fvcking thing is a struggle, I swear.

All you have to do is show him the owners manual. It's stated clearly.

Ask him what he's going to think of himself when you have a blow out going about 75mph.

Courtesy of another ASE technician, who's also a service manager at a wholesale automobile auction that sells well over 150,000 cars a year.

Oh, and here: Tire pressure guide.

Another

Another from the AAA.

 

[Ikonomi]

You didn't happen to perchance hit a pothole or slap the car around on some curbs? If you dinged your rims really good you will cause a slow leak that you can't fix without getting the rim repaired. I find it quite common at work because our area is riddled with "ninja potholes" and bad drivers.

Well, I have hit a few potholes, but only the small ones. And definitely no curbs! I drive very carefully around things that could damage my car, as it's the only one I've got. Man, I'd hate to bend a rim... *shudder*

Anyway, thanks for the backup, you two. :thumbsup: CFster, I'm reading through the first of those links. Thanks.

Some people aren't sure where to set their tire pressures. The one thing that is certain is that the maximum inflation pressure on the sidewall is not the right one to use.

 

[Quixfire]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The tires are riding like... you know the diagonal part between the tread and the sidewall? That part is almost completely flat on the pavement. The sidewall is noticeably bowed out, like on a tire that's low on air (which I guess is appropriate).

That's what I meant. I don't know how else to describe it.

First, congrats for figuring out what the correct tire pressures are for your car. Just make sure that your car has the correct size tires listed on that label for those pressures.

Secondly, in your quote above you stated the tires are riding on the edge of the tread, ?you know the diagonal part between the tread and the sidewall.? Is this in the inside or outside edge and are the tires showing any abnormal wear?

In addition here is my method for finding leaks in tires. First do a visible inspection for any debris such as nails, screws, or broken glass. If there aren?t any visible signs of a leak take a solution of dish soap and water, about a teaspoon per quart, and put it in a spray bottle. Spray around the tire especially the bead seal area and the valve stem with the cap removed; wiggle the valve stem when doing this. The bead seal area is where the tire and rim come together, pay special attention to any area where the wheel weights are. If you still are unable to find the leak, remove the tire from the vehicle and submerge it into a container of water, I like to use a $5-10 vinyl kiddy pool, and look for bubbles.

 

[Ikonomi]

Secondly, in your quote above you stated the tires are riding on the edge of the tread, ?you know the diagonal part between the tread and the sidewall.? Is this in the inside or outside edge and are the tires showing any abnormal wear?

Well, I've only seen it on the outside edge. It's not as bad as I thought it was -- they aren't riding as much on the edge as I initially thought I noticed. I personally don't see any abnormal wear, but I was taking my dad's word for it when I originally posted, as my mom had my car out of town at the time so I couldn't check.

I'm going to remember your methods for leak detection, though. I'm going to check the valve stems with the soapy water (also recommended by others) just to make sure, but I honestly don't think they're leaking anymore. I guess they were overinflated.

As an aside, I tried that formula in CFster's first link to determine tire pressure if you have no other way of finding it. My car, weighing in at 3600 pounds or so, kind of skews the result. It came out to 41 for the front, or something like that.