Ive been dealing with a loss of about 1psi a day in one of my tires for the past couple weeks. I figured its going to be the valve stem or the seal around the tire and rim. I just keep filling it back off every couple of days. But this is getting anoying, do you guys think if I took a can of fix-a-flat and just sprayed some of that goop in the tire I might get lucky and plug that leak?

Also would a regular can work or would I have to get one of those cans that works for truck tires (for my 33in A/T).

 

You COULD use Fix-a-Flat, but it's not guaranteed that it will fix it, AND it could screw up your tire more than it would help. In addition, if you ever needed to patch the tire in the future, they might not be able to get a clean patch on the tire, so you'd be looking at a nice $140 or so to get that new tire if you ever had a problem

Take it to the dealer, Discount Tire, or Firestone and have them find the leak and patch it up. This will cost you probably $20 to do and you will have done it the right way.

 

I had a slow leak that lost about 1 psi a day.
I had picked up a finishing nail and it went in head first, that made it hard to spot the nail tip.
I pulled it and marked the spot for the repairer.

Once I pulled it, it went from 1 psi a day to 35 psi an hour.
Best to let the tire guys remove it.

 

Yea, thats what i would have done, but I havent been able to find a puncture in the tread. No nails, no nothing. And thats when I figured it would be the seal or valve steam.

Do you guys know about how much that may cost to get fixed? 20 or 30 bucks isnt all that bad, but anything much over that, just wouldnt be worth it, I would just keep filling it up every couple of days until I need some new meats.

It sucks i got the warranty on the tires from Discounttiredirect.com, but they will only replace the tire if its unrepairable. Kind of makes me want to put a nail through the sidewall and get a new one.

 

I got a patch on my 32" Pirelli Scorpions at Discount tire for $7 about a year ago. It was still holding up when I sold the Isuzu Trooper.

 

Twenty sounds about right around here but, that finishing nail didn't cost me that. I had been riding on my spare for a few days and had the tire in the bed.
Just hadn't gotten around to getting it fixed.
I dropped the truck off at the Ford dealer for some warranty work and by the time I got back to pick it up it was after 5pm. My service writer noticed the tire in the bed as he was handing me the keys, asked me about it and I told him I had picked up a nail.
He said 'let's get it fixed' and rolled it into the Service area. Everybodys gone.
This guy has a family and life outside of work too but, he proceeds to take off his tie, roll up his sleeves and plugs it himself.
No charge.
That's why I go back.

 

Raoul - I have a very similar story to that as well and all that good service keeps me going back to my service guy too. They're mostly very good guys who have Ford trucks just like you do (or at least my service guy does). He has the "It doesn't do a damn bit of good to tell someone what they want to hear, because rarely does something turn out like that" philosophy.

The dealerships today (for the most part - sadly I cannot vouch for them all) are much different from the way they used to be in the 70's and 80's - back then they were trying to take advantage of you. Now they realize that you have an option of where to take your vehicle and will do their damndest to make sure you keep bringing it back to them.

Bottom line ruff - do you wanna pay $140 to replace the tire when you have a blowout because the tire isn't running like it's designed (since it has a hole in it somewhere), or do you want to spend $10-$20 to have it repaired the right way? Or, do you want to spend $5 on Fix-a-Flat and trash your tire? The decision is up to you.

 

All the work done on my truck I do myself, along with some help from the family (Father, knows about everything), so unfortunately I dont have a normal mechanic I go to. But its nice to know there are still people out there that wont take advantage of the situation and actually help a person out, you just got to find them.

Anyhow 40 bucks isnt a big deal to fix it. Anything more wouldnt outweigh the consequences. Just refilling up the tire every now and then. As for the blowout, thats not likely to happen and the performance is just as good as a tire without a 1 psi leak a day. Hey, and if it does blow, I have the insurance that on the tire that will replace it for free (its a 270 dollar tire).

But again thanks everyone for their input. Thats what this forum is about. Now I know not to put that can of goop in the tire.

 

Also remember that the PSI will vary in different climates. When it's hot the air will expand and when it's cold you will loose some pressure. So it's not uncommon to be off 1-2 psi on different days.Discount tire/Americas tire should fix it for free or very little cost. Many times that FREE turns out to be a sale for them so (BE CAREFUL). It would be helpful to see where the tire is leaking air. You wouldn't to hit a large pothole and the tire to burst either. The fix-a flats are nice but leaves a residue in the tire and can explode when they are removing the tire from the wheel. So you need to let them know if you used one on that particular tire. Also if you use a fix-a-flat and check the pressure; some of the gunk can get into your tire gauge. 20-40 bucks would be better than a new tire completely. Good luck.

 

sears $17 bux... they will show ya what was in there if anything or show u wat was wrong.... fill the tire to 45 psi.. with it off the truck... but a soapy water solution on the valve stem and move it back n forth... sometimes the stems only leak when they get pushed... also i kno gm's and chryslers get alot of oxidization on the inside of the rim lip... this pushes the bead of the tire out when there is weight is on that part pushing air out. at work we take the tire off.... clean with a wire wheel... clean the bead of the tire with rubber cleaner and reinstall it... i would let the tire guys do it... if u screw with it and ruin the tire... ur buying a new one.. if we screw it up at work.... were buying a new tire.. and on a 4x4 u legally cant replace just one tire so we have to buy all 4. (one new tire will hurt dif's) .......just my opinion...