Tyre losing pressure over a week

skyjumper

hi guys need some advice

Never had a problem with my tyres in the past. one of the back tyres has been losing pressure over a period of almost a week. i try and inflate it whenever i pass through a garage.

not sure if it's a flat tyre, as there is always some pressure left in it, and also takes more than 5-6 days, gradually losing pressure.

any advice/ suggestions??

thescouselander

Either you have a slow puncture or the valve is leaking. The valve can be tested by smearing a bit of washing up liquid and water over the end - if its leaking it will start blowing bubbles at you. If the valve is not leaking you have probably got a puncture.

In the event the valve is leaking you could try replacing the inner of the valve - these are available from Halfords or most other motor factors. If that doesn't work you'll have to get the whole valve replaced.

Hintza

I've got one of those, started when they fitted the tyre to a new rim. It was in the garage recently for some reairs and they came abck saying they found the puncture. It's still going down about 4-5 lbs a week grrr.

skyjumper

thanks thescouselander and Hintza

Tried the washing up liquid technique and there is no bubbles. But I guess it looks more like a slow puncture. I may have to shell out some ££'s to get it sorted.

thanks any way

freakybacon

Is the wheel of the tyre which is leaking an old alloy wheel? Sometimes they can become porous, and that may be the cause of the slow puncture.

Common fault with Chrysler PT cruisers (along with the turning circle of an oil tanker....)

oldagetraveller

I had similar with a rear tyre and on very close inspection I found a small nail embedded at the bottom of the tread and not visible with a cursory examination. Do not remove the nail of course.
Can you remove the wheel and tyre and dunk it in a large enough tub of water to see where the air bubbles are escaping from?
I've also had escapes from a dirty rim (steel wheel) which a wire brushing sorted.
If the valve is o.k. and the air loss has suddenly begun to occur then I would suspect you've picked something up in the tyre.

Inactive

Just take it to a tyre company and get it fixed, a tyre with low pressure is potentially dangerous.

They will fix it in 20 minutes.

Premier_2

It could be leaking around the rim of the tyre, rather than an actual puncture.

A tyre fitting company should be able to seal it for you if it is.

Whatever the cause, the tyre fitting company will identify it and recommend a suitable resolution.

pogofish

If you have worked through the above, then, if it is a tubless tyre on an alloy wheel, it could well be that the coating on the alloy is breaking-up and letting air out slowly.

Some wheels can be tubed instead but in most cases, taking the wheel off, removing the tyre, valve etc and having it beadblasted and recoated by a specialist coatings firm is the most common option. Ask for a reccomendation at your local independant car store/tyre firm - Don't go to the big chains/main dealer garages as they will inevitably rip you off/try to flog you a new wheel.

Sirbendy

I had mine done 2 weeks back...according to the logbook it had been resealed etc etc several times by the PO.

Turned out it had 2 staples DEEP in the tread. £12 and one mushroom patch later, it's fine.

Take it to a tyre specialist - it'll take minutes and cost very little.

hewhoisnotintheknow

very foolish to drive around with a known tyre fault, get it looked at asap