Hello.  

I'm new here so forgive me if I am repeating a previous question,  This may have been discussed (I searched but couldn't find anything specific. )

 

I've got a 2010 Yeti with 17" alloys and all 4 leak air.  I had 4 Pirelli's fitted at the Burton Pirelli performance centre - they told me that the rims were leaking but they had sealed them as best they could.

 

The problem is getting worse now and I need to either replace the rims or get them refurbished - what is the consensus - I have nearly new tyres so I'm reluctant to go to 16" steel and I can't find 17" Steel....

Cost is not really an obstacle - but I'd obviously like to avoid unnecessary ££....

 

Any ideas/tips/help would be massively appreciated?

 

Chris, Derby, England.

 

Skoda Yeti 140 Diesel 4x4

 

Are they the standard Skoda wheels or after-market?
I find it strange that all 4 wheels have become porous.
What were they like before you had the latest tyres fitted?

Hi Urrell

 

Thanks for your quick reply.

 

They are standard Skoda Wheels, I've had a second opinion from my local garage who removed all of the tyres and confirmed corrosion to all 4 to varying degrees, the rims are actually free from curbing etc, 

It's spent it's life in Scotland and I wonder if the salt on the roads has caused it.

 

The two near side wheels are worse and go down from 38psi to 18psi over about a fortnight.

 

The problem existed with the previous tyres which were on it when I bought it - and part of the reason I bought new from a good dealer was to solve the problem!  Frustrating.

 

from your questions it sounds lie its unusual?

 

 

I had a similar problem on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic, the rims where the tyre bead sealed had corroded, when I took the old tyres off I wire brushed the corrosion off and lacquered the bead area leaving them for a few days for it to harden before fitting the new tyres, they have gone from loosing most of the pressure in a week to about 2 pounds in 6 months.

Interesting.  I was weighing up getting the wheels powder coated - but wasn't sure if this would solve the problem.... sounds like it might.  

 

I have spent the last 12 months pumping up tyres and I've finally had enough :-)

 

14 minutes ago, IsoChris said:

Interesting.  I was weighing up getting the wheels powder coated - but wasn't sure if this would solve the problem.... sounds like it might.  

 

I have spent the last 12 months pumping up tyres and I've finally had enough :-)

 

Your local wheel / tyre company can probably help. We had the same issue on my wife's 07 Sirion. They were cleaned up but may only be temporary fix for 2 years or so,  cost me £5 or £10 per wheel. 

Hi Redboy,

 

I've tried having them cleaned up and sealed with a goo the local chaps recommended - for £20 per wheel - but as you say it's only lasted about 6 months before they have started to deflate more quickly.

 

I've just exchanged messages with a firm offering acid dip, prime and full powder coat refurb with loan wheels for £50-60 per corner - which will tidy the car up a bit too - and save my leg from pump fatigue :-)

About to take the plunge.... 

 

Thanks for your thoughts - 

 

Hi IsoChris,

Your last post about getting them fully refurbed sounds like the way to go and cheaper than new rims I've found that the goo migrates getting squeezed out and then you have the tyre bead on the bare rough corrosion. I've re-lacquered rims but after a while and a bit more corrosion they started to leak underneath the lacquer.  

I have had old alloys shotblasted, powder coated silver and then lacquered and the tyres never lost any pressure over 20 years, it could be that they were good alloys back then but they were leaking from the beads when I got them.

 

I also had one alloy that would always leak no matter what we did yet you could never see a bubble in a water bath, after about 5 years my CT tester friend finally found the fault by bending the valve stem through a large angle with a soapy water spray, the brass outer valve core was not bonded into the outer rubber but only leaked when deformed, presumably it was happening at high speed.

 

First and only time that I have seen a Schrader valve leak in that way, that wheel had been off & the bead cleaned up &replaced with beadseal countless times before finding the real culprit.

That's certainly unusual. 

At the IoM TT the scrutineers check the Schrader valves have got the shorter core fitted (less centrifugal force) and sealed dust-caps because they can deflate at "double ton plus" speeds.

Those consequences are bad for your health!

As I said once in 45 years of motoring, until then I had always checked for leakage from within the outer threaded brass core (spit bubble) visually checking for perished rubber (never ever seen) for leaks at the base where its pulled through the rim, I had never considered that the brass core could not be bonded in and yet not leak air when static.

 

It must have been a bad batch but its possible that a car could have had 4 like that fitted during a tyre change.

The problem might be caused by using an airline. Water builds up inside the compressor's tank, so that when you top up your tyres with air, you also inject water.

 

I always use a bicycle track pump to top up my tyres (only once every 6 months...as they don't lose more than about 3psi during that time period) as that doesn't inject water into the inside of the tyre.

 

Any water inside the tyre will corrode the rims around where the tyre beads sit.

 

You can get 6.5Jx17 ET38 steel rims from the Kodiaq.

 

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/rim-selector?type=steel&vehicle_ids=639488607098246256

 

Not exactly the same as the 7Jx17 ET45, so 0.5" narrower and the ET38 offset moves the centre of the tyre outwards by 7mm compared to the ET45 offset. These steel rims would probably be better with 215/55R17 tyres on the Yeti, which is the size the Karoq and Superb MK3 uses.

 

Edited 27 April, 20215 yr by Carlston