2017 Silverado wheels losing air on my 2002 Yukon XL

[YukonMike66]

So even though my Yukon is a 2002, i put this in this section because the wheels are off a 2017 and the tires are from 2022. They are currently on a 2002 Yukon XL but is irrelevant for this conversation...i think. The guy had these tires put on his 2017 Silverado about a year ago. He put 1100 miles on them and then decided to do what many people do and switch over to massive 26" wheels and tires. He rolled these wheels and tires into his garage where they sat for the last year. I aired them up to 33PSI while they were off the vehicle, mounted them on my Yukon and its been sitting for a week while i fix a door. I just went out and one lookked low, i checked it and it was at 17PSI, the rest were sitting at 30PSI. All the tires have lost some air pressure. I took the worst one to a local shop and they said they couldnt find a leak, they aired it back up and i have installed it. Could it just be from the wheels/tires sitting for a year...should i got out and put some miles on the wheels/tires and see if that fixes it or find another tire shop? I just cant afford to drop $20-$25 a tire to have them check for leaks just to tell me they dont have any leaks. My neighbor said that maybe air pressure in tires are different off the vehicle vs when they are mounted...but i would think the pressure would go up, not down..simply from the weight of the vehicle adding "pressure".

 

[B-train]

Look at the wheels for general corrosion. Then pull off the culprit, air it up, then lay it on its back and spray the face by the bead and valve stem with soapy water and watch for bubbles. The leak will most likely show up and a group of very small bubbles that keeps growing. Flip over and repeat.

You either have a bad valve stem, or some corrosion on the bead seat of the rim if there isn't a nail or something like that. You can do the tread as well.

Mark the tire with crayon for the valve stem, break beads, clean with wire wheel, apply bead sealant, and then air back up. If they are balanced right, then with the marks in the same spot you'll be back in business w/o rebalancing

 

[YukonMike66]

Look at the wheels for general corrosion. Then pull off the culprit, air it up, then lay it on its back and spray the face by the bead and valve stem with soapy water and watch for bubbles. The leak will most likely show up and a group of very small bubbles that keeps growing. Flip over and repeat.

You either have a bad valve stem, or some corrosion on the bead seat of the rim if there isn't a nail or something like that. You can do the tread as well.

Mark the tire with crayon for the valve stem, break beads, clean with wire wheel, apply bead sealant, and then air back up. If they are balanced right, then with the marks in the same spot you'll be back in business w/o rebalancing

I just saw your reply...strangely enough, i was in the middle of doing exactly what you outlined had to do it many times before. I laid the tire and wheel on its back, aired it to 45psi and sprayed soapy water around the valve stem and bead...no bubbles, flipped it over and did the same, no bubbles. I aired it down and broke the bead to look at the rim...rim is spotless...wheels came off a 2017 with only 14k miles on it. Aired it back up and dunked the whole entire wheel and tires in a kiddie pool out back...no bubbles...so i put it back on the vehicle, i guess shall see what happens.

 

[Fless]

Maybe someone messing with you, letting the air out?

 

[B-train]

I just saw your reply...strangely enough, i was in the middle of doing exactly what you outlined had to do it many times before. I laid the tire and wheel on its back, aired it to 45psi and sprayed soapy water around the valve stem and bead...no bubbles, flipped it over and did the same, no bubbles. I aired it down and broke the bead to look at the rim...rim is spotless...wheels came off a 2017 with only 14k miles on it. Aired it back up and dunked the whole entire wheel and tires in a kiddie pool out back...no bubbles...so i put it back on the vehicle, i guess shall see what happens.

Interesting......maybe @Fless has a point. Keep us posted. Maybe you'll find the leak, or the little brat....

 

[Scott in AZ]

??????

 

[Joseph Garcia]

It is quite common for larger size wheels to have instances of slow bead leaks. Take it to a shop that is known for patience and good results in diagnosing issues, as the solution will most likely involve 'polishing' the wheel's bead surface to remove any small particles/corrosion, and this work takes some time to perform properly.

 

[YukonMike66]

So, after having a few shops tell me their were no leaks..i started thinking about it and the pressures the tires would be under when they're filled with 32-35PSI AND have a 5,000 lb vehicle sitting on them...so, i bumped the tire pressure even higher when off the vehicle....50PSI, and, lo and behold...i found a pinhole leak in the sidewall of two tires....both wheels were marked inside the back or the wheel with either "LF" or "LR"...I'm guessing these tires were "vandalized" by someone sticking a very small object through the tires while it was parked with the previous owner of the tires. One wheel would only leak down to a certain point then it would seal itself, so to speak, and it wouldn't leak down any further...the other one was really odd...When you would air the tire up and put the weight of the vehicle on it, it would let air out and keep letting it out...but if you inflated it without the weight of the Yukon, it would leak like the otther one and stop at a certain point. Anyway...i now have to replace $600 worth of tires that only have 1100 miles on them. Hope that all made sense.

 

[salisburyv]

that blows man... sorry about that. i've had a similar misfortune with recently purchased tires. There are some guerrilla mechanics (and i'm being nice) at the entry of where my work is, its the only entrance. So far, 2 tires with nails or pieces of metal, 1 had a piece of a razor blade. within the first 2 weeks of getting them. 1 was repairable, one wasn't. so i bought 2 new ones and i'll keep the other "good" tire for a spare. i now have a screw in the outer tread block on a new tire. unrepairable. before these guys came around.... 1 nail in 6 years. perhaps its just a coincidence, jury is still out...

 

[YukonMike66]

that blows man... sorry about that. i've had a similar misfortune with recently purchased tires. There are some guerrilla mechanics (and i'm being nice) at the entry of where my work is, its the only entrance. So far, 2 tires with nails or pieces of metal, 1 had a piece of a razor blade. within the first 2 weeks of getting them. 1 was repairable, one wasn't. so i bought 2 new ones and i'll keep the other "good" tire for a spare. i now have a screw in the outer tread block on a new tire. unrepairable. before these guys came around.... 1 nail in 6 years. perhaps its just a coincidence, jury is still out...

We had something like that happen where we used to live. Some guy with a ton of money bought 150 acres out by us...he used the same road we did and he tore down an old house to build a new one...during that process or dragging out the old place (walls, roof, beams, general lumber and other junk)...he littered the roads with debris...we had something like 12-13 punctures in less than a year. Prior to that...1 flat in 7 years.