Stevo F Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Since we bought our 2005 Impreza OBS a year ago, we had slow leaks in both back tires. Actually the used car place probably never checked them as I found the left rear had 12 lbs. and the right rear has 22 lbs. Over the next few months the left rear continued to have a sloe leak. We had a tire place reseal the bead which helped for a few months but then it start leaking 2- 3 lbs. of air a week. The right rear started leaking at about the same rate as well. Since the tires were mostly worn and very noisy on the highway I had a new set put on. Sure enough the right rear was still losing 3 lbs a week. I took it back to my mechanic who installed the tires for us and he resealed the bead and installed a valve stem. Long story short, after all this the right rear tire is still losing 2- 3 lbs a week. This after replacing the tire, the valve stem and resealing the bead. Where else could this leak be that hasn't been fixed or replaced already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith3267 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Do you have alloy wheels. Alloy wheels can have porosity which is a casting defect. There is a coating that can be applied to the inside surface of the wheels to stop them from leaking. BTW, porosity, a mild case like yours does not weaken the wheel. It just needs to be sealed and it will be good as new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thank you. Yes, I have the factory alloy wheels. I've not had an issue with any slow leaks on other makes of vehicles with factory alloy wheels- is this something more common on Subaru? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Alloy wheels have a tendancy to corrode where the bead of the tire seals to the wheel and air escapes under the bead. The best fix for this is to clean and sand the bead area smooth then apply a clearcoat to prevent further corrosion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 The wheels had a bit of corrosion alomng the outside rims (I sanded and repainted this prior to getting the new tires). I suppose the corrosion could be along the bead too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Or maybe could change wheel style- this place makes WRX style wheels- anyone ever buy this brand? http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2002/subaru/impreza/driveshaft_-ar-_axle/wheel.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 My small town tire guy takes a grinder to the rims every time he dismounts an alloy rim , subaru's especially seem prone to slow leaks at the bead. Two minutes with the grinder on every rim pays off for him with less comeback repairs and happy customers . I'm sure that if I had a can of clear coat he would take the time to spray and dry them for me. A large tire franchize may not offer service like this ... (liability)... i'm sure they would be glad to sell you new rims though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jseabolt Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I've had this problem in the past with other cars with alloy wheels. One trick I have used is to take the wheel off the car, remove the valve stem insert (using a special tool that sells for like $3.00), press on the edge of the tire to separate it from the rim and pour some dishwashing liquid around the lip of the tire (both sides). This helps make a better seal. I have also used that sticky brake caliper grease! Years ago (like 1991) I bought a 1986 Honda Prelude SI and bought a set of American Racing 5 star wheels. One of them kept loosing air. After 5 trips back to the tire store, the guy finally took the wheel off the car and did something to it. I'm not sure if he installed a tube or what. I never had anymore issues with it. The tires were in good shape so I just had them swapped over to the new rims. The weird thing was when the tires were mounted on the original wheels, they did not loose air. Just when mounted on brand new rims did this particular tire started loosing air pressure. On yet another occasion, one of the tires on my Baja was loosing air pressure. I'd have to top it off once a month. I discovered I had ran over one of those metal roofing screws and wore the head down to the tread. I had probably put 3000 miles on this car during this time. Making two 800 mile round trips to the beach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith3267 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) As far as I know, Subaru's are not more prone to this than any other manufacturer. I doubt that Subaru makes their own alloy wheels, automotive manufacturers buy these from vendors that often make wheels for other manufacturers. This seems to be a bigger problem with aftermarket foundries that do not make OEM wheels. Most of the time, the area of concern is around the bead, so a bead sealer will do the trick. The reason is that most porosity is below the surface so it gets exposed when the bead is machined. Usually the rest of the wheel is "net cast" and not machined. Edited February 15, 2015 by keith3267 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I once had an annoying slow leak on one tire that was difficult to find. This was probably not what happened to the OP, since that involved two sets of tires. But in my case, what I eventually discovered was a small bar-code label, that was accidently left stuck on to the tire's bead. At first, I couldn't find it. I had no facility to totally submerge the tire in a water bath - that's the best way to find a leak. So I tried hosing the wheel and tire with water, and checking for bubbles. At first nothing; and then about a year later, when I tried the hose again, I noticed a very small bubble forming at the rim-seal. Sure enough, when I deflated the tire, and broke the seal, there was the offending bar-code label (about 1cm x 4cm). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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