Why are my front tires flat all the time!!!

[alchemysa]

Actually if I was going to guess the problem I would guess that as it gets colder the metal shrinks affecting the bead. .

Thats sounds like a good theory to me.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I had the same problem with the tires on my Jeep leaking down in winter when I was living in Fort McMurry. Finally I took them to Canadian Tire and had them checked. They found no leaks but suggested that they take them off the rim, clean them and DRY them good. Claimed that sometimes water gets in next to the tire bead seat and when it freezes it creates a slow leak. Well they took the tires off, inspected everything, dried them and the rims with compressed air and used drylube to reininstall them Never had a problem afte that.

 

[jgrreed]

I had the same problem with the tires on my Jeep leaking down in winter when I was living in Fort McMurry. Finally I took them to Canadian Tire and had them checked. They found no leaks but suggested that they take them off the rim, clean them and DRY them good. Claimed that sometimes water gets in next to the tire bead seat and when it freezes it creates a slow leak. Well they took the tires off, inspected everything, dried them and the rims with compressed air and used drylube to reininstall them Never had a problem afte that.

Aaahhh, Canadian Tire..... is there anything they can't fix????

Was the pompous *ss below on the air when you lived up there??? For those of you that haven't ever seen him, he was a very smug 'character' on CDN tire commercials for about 2 years. The jyst of him was that he was Mr. Always Prepared with his new gadgets from CDN tire, and that his neighbors were all either grossly inefficient or grossly unsafe because of they were hand sanding their fence or forgot to get the new Mastercraft silicon wiper blades!!! Most of Canada HATED him, so much that Macleans magazine actually dedicated most of an entire issue to his pious attitude. He was getting hate mail, phone calls, etc!!! He's off the air now, thank God.

I've learned my one thing (actually 2) for today..... had no idea how to spell pompous or pious until now!!!

There's my little bit of Canadiana for you all today. Tomorrow...... "How we invented Basketball".

-Jer.

ps - We really did. Dr. James Naismith, 1891.

pss - Hockey IS NOT our national sport, Lacrosse is. Well, actually I just looked it up. In 1994 the government declared hockey as Canada's winter sport, and Lacrosse as Canada's summer sport. Who knew??? Drinking beer lasts all year.

 

[J_J]

I am going to add a little more to this thread. There is no way that someone can not find air leaking of a tire/wheel. It is only logical that if a tire/wheel is leaking air, it must be going somewhere. A good soapy water bath will find it. Even if it takes a couple of hours. If a tire leaks down in 12 hours, there is no way you can not see it. I have seen where a tire will not leak at 45 lbs, but will leak at 32 lbs. Maybe the high pressure sealed the bead better, or squeezing the nail embedded in the tire that you can not see. Who knows. Maybe the midnight air gremlins are up to their dirty tricks.

 

[Bedlam]

I agree JJ. Ive had stubborn ones that the bubble would barely pop out it would hang up in the tread and be hard to see but Always find the leak.I would suspect a rim leak myself by the sounds of it

 

[kthompson]

Is it possible different compounds react to lower temps more than other tire compounds and that some will "curl" in or away from the rim, giving you a poorer seal? I tried to decide if there seemed to be a trend along the colder weather people her compared to milder winters locations.

I know I like tubeless better if possible on tractors just for repairs. Especially when filled with liquid. Then it is not just tubeless who loose air or get slack. Noticed my M6800 rear tires were baggy this past Saturday. They are filled with water antifreeze and no sign of leak. But temp had dropped a good bit since I have used that tractor.

 

[studor]

JJ and Bedlam
You are both right -- someone could find the leak -- if you could duplicate the temperature drop and wanted to watch it overnight -- course you have to use anti-freeze cause ice won't work too well as leak detector fluid. As others have said it is usually the seal of the tire to rim, not a puncture. Materials expand or contract at different rates as temperatures change and unfortunately moisture (or crud) trapped between the rim and the tire will cause the seal to fail as the temp drops and the air pressure inside the tire changes -- and in the morning -- flat tire. You could spend a lot of time trying to find the leak -- or clean and reseal the rim to tire or put in tubes that do not require the seal to be as airtight. Just one of the joys of sub zero living. Of course if it is cold enough the tire is flat on the bottom anyway for the first few miles (ahh the infamous cold tire thump ).

 

[Egon]

Just like Studor says!

Come the cold some things get done different.




Slow leaks on tires in conditions that are as cold as Hinton has been experiencing are not uncommon. Usually they are rim leaks. If the rims are aluminum they may be even more prevalent.

This type of leak is hard to find as it only happens at cold temperatures. All those leak indicators are well frozen at those temperatures. The water bath would be quite solid.

You gotta take the rim and tire inside, separate them and then clean the rims real good. Next comes a sealant [haven't a clue on what type] and then have the tire replaced on the rim and fully inflated. Then the tire had best be left to sit in the shop so the sealant can cure a little.

Had two slow leaks like that on car tires this winter and our temperatures were balmy compared to Hinton.

 

[J_J]

NAPA sells a tire bead sealant, and I am sure several of the others also. Scrape, wire brush, burnish, tire bead sealant, usually does the trick for a while.

 

[Bedlam]

Ive used the bead sealer with good results, then being cheap I have been using the yellow stuff that is made to be put inside the tires from walmart. a liberal bead of that around the rim does well.
Another post here said they use RTV gasket sealer (form a gasket).This is what I'm going to try sometime seems like it would work just as well.
But a good cleaning and wire brushing of the bead seat is needed .

 

[jgrreed]

Tubes are in.

Some things aren't worth the struggle to me, so for $90, and the 20 minutes is took me to block up my machine, remove the tires, and put them back on I now have peace of mind that next time it's -32 degrees out and the wind has placed several truckloads of snow firmly packed on my driveway, I can plug her in for a few hours, and it'll be good to go. Worse yet would be if I was away working and my wife was left with a tractor she's a little shy of at the best of times, with flat front tires.

I know someone's gonna say that I can still have a flat with the tubes in, but I'll take those odds.

-Jer.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Still have to watch out for the old ice in the valve core. Nothing like being out in -40 temps with a hair dryer trying to thaw the ice out so you can air up a tire that is leaking down because of the wet air that was put in in the summer and somehow always manages to condense in the valve on the coldest day of winter. I sure would not have believed that could happen if it hadnt happened to me. Before anyone says it, yes I had valve caps on. THe ice was inside the valve stem and was holding the valve open.

 

[Egon]

Tubes are a smart way to go!

Mother winter has a away of winning out.

Do you have one of the inexpensive 12 volt tire pumps around with a puncture fixing kit? They can be extremely handy.

 

[jgrreed]

Still have to watch out for the old ice in the valve core. Nothing like being out in -40 temps with a hair dryer trying to thaw the ice out so you can air up a tire that is leaking down because of the wet air that was put in in the summer and somehow always manages to condense in the valve on the coldest day of winter. I sure would not have believed that could happen if it hadnt happened to me. Before anyone says it, yes I had valve caps on. THe ice was inside the valve stem and was holding the valve open.

That's good to remember, but it's SO dry here it's not even funny!! Alberta's #1 export is oil, and #1 import is skin lotion!!!

Tubes are a smart way to go!

Mother winter has a away of winning out.

Do you have one of the inexpensive 12 volt tire pumps around with a puncture fixing kit? They can be extremely handy.

Do you mean the stuff in a can?? If so, I don't, but I should.

-Jer.

 

[Egon]

Do you mean the stuff in a can?? If so, I don't, but I should.

No, I'm talking about a little inexpensive ten dollar or so Canadian Tire 12 volt tire pump.

 

[jgrreed]

No, I'm talking about a little inexpensive ten dollar or so Canadian Tire 12 volt tire pump.

What's in the 'kit' to repair the hole??

-Jer.

 

[Egon]

What's in the 'kit' to repair the hole??

Some sticky long things and a big needle with a handle to push them in the hole and then pull them partially back out. Course you cut them off so you can get your needle back.

tire plug kit in Automotive: Comparison shop at BizRate

Some pictures. Note there are different types. Those shown are rather expensive. There are lots out there below the 10 dollar range.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Tubes are in.

Some things aren't worth the struggle to me, so for $90, and the 20 minutes is took me to block up my machine, remove the tires, and put them back on I now have peace of mind that next time it's -32 degrees out and the wind has placed several truckloads of snow firmly packed on my driveway, I can plug her in for a few hours, and it'll be good to go. Worse yet would be if I was away working and my wife was left with a tractor she's a little shy of at the best of times, with flat front tires.

I know someone's gonna say that I can still have a flat with the tubes in, but I'll take those odds.


Glad you got your tubes put in, that should take care of it.

Now you need a load of snow.

I won't say you can get a flat with tubes in.

__________________________
Bill


-Jer.

Do you live on a reclaimed roofing nail factory???



I think you can still get a flat if you live on a reclaimed roofing

nail factory.
_____________________
Bill

 

[jgrreed]

Do you live on a reclaimed roofing nail factory???

I think you can still get a flat if you live on a reclaimed roofing nail factory.

True, very true..... but I don't. I'm about 25 yards from the CN mainline though!!! No dangerous derailments yet....... fingers crossed.

-Jer.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Yeah I know about the dry air there and the hand lotion AND the static electricity, but some how I still ended up with water inside my tires. The tire guy at Canadian tire showed me the frozen stuff when he took off my tires. I suppose when the air is compressed it knocks out what little moisture is in the air and it condenses in the tires since all I ever used to pump them up was the little 12 volt pumps and no tank. Anyway, glad all that is behind me now although I really enjoyed living and working for 5 years in Alberta. Really liked the poor fishing you guys have there. When I questioned some of the local Canadians about the fishing, their standard reply was, "Well fishing is not as good as it used to be, the lakes are getting fished out" I will never forget the spring day when I was fishing on Lake Gregoire just south of Fort McMurray and caught 12 northern pike on 12 casts. Glad if was poor fishing, as I wouldnt want them just jumping in the boat, not with all those teeth.
But all the fish tales are another story. How can I tie that to a TBN thread?