A couple of nights ago, my front left tire went completely flat overnight. Thinking I had picked up a nail, I took it to a shop nearby. Nope. The wheel has two hairline fractures on the outside. They are so thin that I can't even get a fingernail in them, but they were leaking air upon doing the car wash detergent bubbly test.

So I had the tire dismounted and I checked the inside of the wheel. Cleaned it up and I tried to find a crack. Nothing. Not a damn thing anywhere on the inside. Just the hairline fractures on the outside.

I'm dumbfounded. The crack isn't all the way through, so how is it leaking air?


Btw, third cracked wheel in less than two years. The first two were BBS on the same pothole. I focking hate the potholes around here.

 

That suuuucks. Maybe it is around the bead It sounds weird that a tire would go flat overnight due to a single hairline fracture. I suspect more damage. Keep looking.

edit: just reread. You have 2 fractures. Still... if they are not all the way though then I'd look for other damage.

 

There are most likely very tiny cracks in the inside of the wheel as well. You probably cannot see them. Remember when you looked for cracks on the outside by doing the bubble test you had a fully pressurized tire. The air was obviously coming from the inside of the rim. When looking at the inside to determine if there are any cracks you don't have the luxury of air being pressurized on the exterior of the rim. Another possibility is the aluminum may also be slightly porous in the inside, but held air until the exterior was cracked.

I've cracked a couple too. Pain in the butt. Both were welded up and balanced without any problems so far.




Terry

 

This happened on my Prelude as well. Air just kept on leaking from one of the tires, drove me nuts.

 

Same exact thing happened to me a few months ago. One of my tires mysteriously went flat over night. Took it to a shop and they looked the tire up and down for nails or other debris but couldn't find anything. Put it in a dunk tank and found the source.



Do you have any pics of the cracks? Any idea how they even got there? Mine came from hitting something (obviously) and couldn't be repaired due to the location and that the rim was bent. $550 later..

 

If the wheel is bent/warped, it'll leak air as well.

 

that sucks... try going to a metal shop for a quick weld, im sure it will be better/cheaper than a tire guy trying to weld your wheel and over-charging you for it

 

Have you checked the valvestems? I've heard reports of leaks from the valvestems. Possibly stripped or not tightened enough.

 

 

^Holy hell. I'm assuming that one had to be replaced?

 

No. A few hits with a hammer and it was as good as new. And of course after the hammering it needed to be buffed and polished again. So I guess it did buff right out.

 

Glad the roads in my neck of the woods are pretty much pothole free.

 

Depending on the cracks, i can probably fix them for you. PM me. It won't be a permanent fix, but it will band aid it for now.

 

yup lucky me i had replacement in my basement

 

+1

 

dam that sucks bro, good luck fixing it or replacing

 

I took it to a welding shop and the guy said I should just buy a new one. The cracks are on the outer lip and he said it will leave scars.

So I came back and tried to order one from Tire Rack. It was sold out in my size. The day before that, it was still available but I held off hoping that it was repairable.

FML.

 

Find a wheel repair shop. They will be able to fix it.

 

I second that, if repaired correctly it'll work just fine, and it's waaay cheaper then having to replace a wheel