Bead Leaks

[Mr. Moose]

I have a 2001 bigfoot with 22" tires and tracks however am constantly adding air because of bead leaks. i have had the tire shop break and rebead the 4 tires in question a couple of times and they have cleaned the beads , lubed the bead etc. they do know what the are doing however can not solve the problem. i am running 5 1/2 lbs and they stay up most of the time. i was considering putting slime in the tire and hoping that might seal the bead leak but i don't know of any tire shop that would touch the tires with that stuff in it. does anybody know of what might help with this problem.(three tires went flat in the past 3 weeks just from sitting in the cold--its cold in Winnipeg,Manitoba) thanks

[Slimpickin]

I put 16 oz of slime or equvilent in each tire. Make sure the rim and tire are clean. Use a wire wheel in a drill. I built a six inch deep ring which just fits over the rim and it will push the tire off the rim. You can use a jack under a truck bumper or a loader tractor to push the tire off. Install the tire, then let out the air and put in the slime. Drive the machine around for a while. If that doesn't work add another 16 oz and air up and drive it. I haven't had a flat in a couple of years.
I don't care if the tire shops will fix them or not. Unless you own a tire shop put in the slime. Get some patches and find someone to show you how to install the patch, unless you like spending a lot of time and money in tire shops. On a hunting trip last fall a friend hit a stick which punched a hole in a new argo tire. We put in three pluggs, 16 oz or slime and he's still going today. The tire was brand new, $150.

Slim

[thebuggyman1]

I had similar issues with some older tires. The rubber stiffens with age, where new supple beads conform to the rim easily, older does not. I glued my beads on with permatex # 80062 gasket sealant. (Thanks for the tip Roger) I also put in slime in case I run over thorns or something similar. If you do the calculations on the bottle it comes out closer to 30 oz. or 1/4 of the gallon jug (128 oz.) The 16 oz may be a little light.

[micmac]

I would definitely make sure the beads are clean then repaint the rim. I use NAPA tire bead sealer on the beads (its a black rubber cement) then fill the tires with air. I let the cement set up for a couple days then put slime in the tires. Seems to have worked well so far. I'm using this on my racer so I'm not trail riding, running tracks or extreme low pressure so I'm not sure how it would work in those applications. Also un-mounting may prove to be a challenge. I've tried the tubes and sheet-metal screws before and found that the screws can cut the metal wire in the bead then the tire/ tube just comes apart at that point.

[plott hound]

i just had all my tires off the rim then back on and sealed with bead sealer.5 days later ive got 6 tires holding air and 2 flats.dismounted the 2 leakers and found the cord in bead was broken.went out and bought 8 new tires and found the new ones lock the bead way better then the old ones.used bead sealer on new ones as well,5 days later no leaks.

[ememechanic]

I just fixed two bead leaks yesterday and have to pop the tracks off today again because of a blown bearing. For the leaks I use a tire bead sealant from Crappy Tire, and yes, the Manitoba cold is hard on those tires.

[cj-ate]

I have had good luck using black silicon caulk from a tube. Just run a bead around the tire beads before I seat the tires, add air and let the silicon set up. Its thicker than bead sealer (just black contact cement in my opinion) and it flexes well. If you use slime and it does not work its a mess.

[DerekF]

Here is my sad, long, expensive "air-in-tires" story...............
I have fought with leaking tires for the past three years. tried everything. getting the tire shop to reseat them. No good. tried Bead sealer, nope. Ended up buying a new complete set of rims and tires. I now have two sets (16 tires/rims) and for the most part, when it gets cold (I mean Yellowknife NWT where I live cold, not regular cold) , NONE of them will hold air for any length of time, and for sure they won't hold air if you try to drive them with under 4 psi. There just is not enough flexiblity in the rubber to hold air. I was hunting in Peace River last Nov and while trying to get a couple of tires fixed to hold air (again) the local tire guy explained it in a way that made the most sense to me that I have heard. He said that in the cold and with low PSI, the tires slip on the rims more, they wear the seal on the bead out eventually, and then there is not much you can do to get them to hold air.

Happy ending: He put two tubes in the tires and I have not had one problem since. I put tubes in all my tires and it is -41 today, they all still are inflated.

End of story.

[Groundhog]

Interesting story there Derek. Sounds like you are way up there in Canada. -41 deg is brutal, I bet you prepare carefully for your rides!

[TerryA]

Bead leak are a pain! I finally solved mine with tubes. I tried the cleaning, reseating thing but every cold morning I had flats. Tubes solved the problem for me.
Good luck