Alloys

[Womble]

Hi all,
The rims on the alloys are coming away from the tyres on 3 wheels of my 98 Cooper (had to fit tubes). Is this a common problem and has anyone any advice of my next step? New alloys?

[THOMAS]

Not to sure about this but i think some tyres dont suit tubes,if they are tubeless tyres tubes tend to push tyres off of rims.So fitting tubes will make problem worse.

[Womble]

Thanks Thomas,
Had forgotten I put up a query on the forum, just found it again now, doh! I had to get the tubes fitted anyway cos the tyres were going flat every 2 days, no punctures in them. Now the car seems to be dragging a bit and I'm not as sure of her on the ould bends anymore, the trust is gone!

[The Marcos Graveyard]

The alloy can corrode sometimes between the tyre bead and the rim, which leads to a bad seal and the tyre will deflate slowly.
You can rectify this by sanding down the alloy at the contact points.

[Womble]

Thanks for that, MG. Do you think that's a specialist job or could any mechanic do it? I'd love to give it a go but am still at the stage of just admiring the pictures in the Haynes manual, the words mean nothing...

[The Marcos Graveyard]

It's only a DIY job if you can get the tyres off the rims yourself

once the tyres are off, it's only a matter of rubbing the metal down with a fine sandpaper to get rid of the corrosion and then paint as desired.

Then you have to get the tyres back on.

[Billy]

OR..... go off and get new wheels and flog the old ones in the For Sale section of this forum.

Just a thought,

Billy

[mustard]

you can get this tar kinda paste that will seal it rather than having to sand the rims. any tyre garage will be able to do it

[Billy]

Unfortunately the goo only works to a point. I had alloys on the everyday car and every time you'd hit a pothole, the tyre would lose pressure. Each time I'd go to the local tyre place and they'd apply the wondergoo. I eventually replaced the alloys with steel wheels and there's no problem since.

The advantage with steel wheels is that if they get a knock, you can whack it back into shape with a hammer. You just can't go that with alloys wheels as they are too fragile.

Billy

[Womble]

Thanks for the advice, lads, the wondergoo has already been applied and since I won't be taking any tyres off rims myself I reckon I'll just add them to the list for Santa!