I have a set of Halibrand wheels and one has an annoying slow leak right in the center of the wheel. its not a rim or bead leak I'm assuming its a porosity leak. any thoughts or experience with sealing it up ? I was thinking of cleaning the inside of the rim and painting it with clear paint but not sure if it will flake off after time. I did some web searches and most are saying fix-a-flat. I won't be doing that !
The tyre bloke where I worked reckons the only way to fix this sort of thing is to remove the tyre and paint the inside of the rim, doesn't matter what type of paint. He does this with all tubeless rims.
Where is the tire mounted if not on the rim of the wheel ? That's all there is, from one flange (or bead area) down the center of the rim area, and back up to the other flange. Any porosity in the rest of the wheel, will have no effect on air leakage. Mike
That will fix the leak , the issue running early wheels tubeless is where the tire seats on the rim . It will almost always leak , around the rim , between the tire and rim . My would leak as the tire rotated , the leak was always on the top the bottom was being smashed into the rim , tighter than Dicks Hat Band .
paint is what I was thinking but I wasn't sure if it had to be a certain type , like epoxy or something else
Some of that POR 15 paint should do ya. Paint all the way across and up the inside of the bead area to the very top. I've seen that white, cheesy oxidation "grow" between the tire and rim bead which will cause leaking.
We always painted f5000 and canam wheels to seal porosity and run tubeless. Rim and bead sealer at your local parts emporium will do the trick too. Used it on many riveted steel rims. Good stuff. Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Don't try this quick fix. A couple of months ago I had to shift a project car 600 klms (about 450 miles) on a trailer. One tyre was pretty ordinary and the rim not much better. Loading it late at night ready for an early start, tyre kept deflating. I pumped the tyre up and with a jack under the suspension to take the weight off the wheel, removed the valve. I then squirted a big dollop of Silastic in through the valve stem, reinstalled the valve and overinflated the tyre. The Silastic oozed out of the tyre bead and 4 months later that tyre is still inflated.
I may get flamed for this but most balance problems are on the greater circumference areas of a wheel. The closer to the centre, the less chance of problems such as the inner rim. Just think of the carnival ride that was a spinning disc. As it spun, those on the outer edges got thrown off easily. Those in toward the middle stayed on longer.
Shift wizard nailed it. I've used POR 15 several times on inside of riveted rims, wire wheels and on rims that are porous from rust. Works great.
The aluminum wheels on my 3W have been run since '86. The supplier suggested that I paint the rims on the inside with a clear spray can paint. I recall using a clear lacquer and have never had a leak. On riveted early wheels I always run tubes.
I cleaned and sanded the inside of my Dragmaster rim, taped up the outer lip, and spray painted with etching primer,followed by epoxy black. After it dried, I masked it off, and sprayed the very center with flex seal. No more leak after I year so far.
Simple fix. I've got a set of Americans(old) that had leak ,porosity . Wal-mart clear , about 3-4 coats should do it. Spray the wheel between the beads.Spray, let dry, repeat. As many times as you like.
I read a lot of good stuff about POR 15. spray paint would be much easier but I don't know if I would be able to clean the rim good enough for spray paint to stick to the porous area. haven't seen it without a tire yet.
Northern has a really nice gas tank sealer that I thought I might use on wheels as needed. It is blue, and leaves a nice thick coat on things, and I believe it would be ideal for this kind of use, and be durable. It sets up firm, but still has some elasticity. Most of these products stay mushy. That said, it is still theory, as I haven't had to use it yet.
good point on elasticity. shouldn't crack from heat and cool . maybe I'm making a big deal outta nothing but I would rather dismount, repair and remount once.
I had a 95 Ford truck and when it went to -35F or colder one tire would slowly go soft. The colder it got the more the tire was affected. The tire shop said that it was a porosity leak and they had seen it several times. The porosity is apparently affected by the cold. Their remedy was to take the tire off so the owner could paint the inside of the rim with Tremclad or Rustoleum. The truck retired itself before I did anything about the tire.
A friend of mine always ran his Goodyear slicks tubeless,,,but the sidewalls are so thin,,they would leak down in the trailer. He started using Ivory liquid inside. He would take a bottle and squirt a fair amount inside when the slicks were new and smear it all around inside. Then he would let them set overnight and dry. After that it could sit in the trailer a few weeks and they were still fine. On the wheels,,,I remember that all the new Centerline wheels had a bead of silicone in the groove where the two halves were put together,,they never leaked . Tommy
Just too old for all the New Years Eve crap. Bonnie is already asleep on the couch and I'm headed to the garage for a beer and a cigar. Happy New Year to my fellow HAMBers
Bead sealer, made for the job. Stays flexible. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7101204?partTypeName=Tire+Bead+Sealer&keywordInput=bead+sealer
The best way to seal them is to find a local casting company that offers vacuum impregnation. This is how porosity is sealed on any part where porosity can't be tolerated. It's a simple and non-costly process. - EM
Thats the best , vacuum impregnated glue or sealant, used to be a few local foundarys but they are probably in china now