98 intirgue alloy wheels problem

has anybody had problems with their tires, because i've been threw to sets of tires in the last 2 yrs. reason being they don't hold air in . the tire place said it is the alloy rims their known to let air out after a while . i was wondering if alloy wheels are known to leek air why would they put them on cars. i put air in my tires every 5-6 days and their only 6 months old,they've been redone twice and they still leek air .should i get rid of the factory wheels before i mess up my tire walls again, thanks in advanced for your respones and hello all, im new and i have a 98 black olds intrigue gl 105000miles factory 12 disc changer with factory deck but infinty 10'' subs for even better sq this setup is very clear i would recommend this to anybody looking to add subs ( the bose system will divide music up better then any aftermarket deck will) thanks for looking

I'd find a new tire place before you find new rims.

I've heard of this before also. I was told the air slowly leaks out of the bead for one reason or another. All I can tell you is to make sure they clean the edge of the wheel before the tires are mounted or the bead will not seal as well.

thanks

After they clean them, most tire shops will put some dark goo around the bead that will keep it from leaking. I don't know what it is but it is likely some sort of glue.

You can also try Spray Adhesive around the rims after the tire is deflated. Clean the rim the best you can then spray the adhesive around the bead and inflate the tire. After the tire is inflated you can clean the excess adhesive off with WD40.

We are on a second set of tires on my wife's 98 Intrigue. The damn tires kept slowly leaking and I was convinced it was the stupid autobahn package wheels we got with the new car.

Does it come down to only:

1) replacing the alloy wheels (expensive)

2) removing the tires and adding adhesive like someone else suggested

Why do expensive alloy wheels do this? Why can't they hold the bead?

TIA,

Bob

It could be your cast aluminum wheels being a little on the porous side. Try adding a flat fixer or goo product inflated into the tire and see if it fills the hole. Take the whole tire off and insert into a pool and see where the air is coming from. Usually it's not the rim and something wrong with the tire.

You need the pool test. These rims are cast aluminum and not the more expensive forged types.

DO NOT use Fix A Flat in your tires. it will make your tires difficult if not impossible to balance. The dark Goo that people are reffering to is call Bead Sealer. Having your tire guy use a die grinder with a pad for aluminum (Usually Blue) clean the surface of the bead, and then apply the bead sealer. I have been able to seal rims that had crome flaking off this way and have never had a come back.

NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO REPLACE ALUMINIUM RIMS UNLESS THEY ARE BENT

I can remember a few Grand Am rims that would start to corrode near the bead area. The tires would even make a noise at lower speeds from this too. They would dismount the tire and clean the bead part of the rims with a 3m pad on a die grinder. I think GM has even has TSB's on alloy wheel refinishing.

Maybe refinishing the wheels per GM, then use a good bead sealer.

Renegade,

Now you tell me! Ha ha. I used it in both tires that were going soft again for the 332nd time. But, I followed the directions that said to drive at moderate speed for 4 or 5 miles immediately after using the Fix A Flat. That was over 3 weeks ago and the pressures are holding. I haven't noticed any wheel imbalance, so I guess its ok.

Bob

Oh lord.....don't use radiator leak fixer either......if you want your coolant to circulate!!

This would happen to me constantly on my rear tires, tried TONS of stuff never fixed it, just aired em up once a week and complained about it.

I had this problem when I had my Eighty-Eight. I had to put air in the tires every week. Take it to a tire shop and they will spray the entire inside of the rim with a plastic-like sealant. The leak may not be coming from the lip seal, but from porous metal throughout the rim, so simply adding a bead of caulk or sealant around the lip is not going to do anything. Over time, aluminum rims can suffer from hairline cracks that are practically invisible with the naked eye. With the pressure inside the tire, air will find its way through the hairline cracks.

This cost me about 15-20 bucks a rim and it worked perfectly. Never lost any pressure.

I have a 2002 Final 500 Intrigue that has had wheels leaking since the car was 8 months old. I just bought the car from my mother in law. She took it back to the dealer many times for low air in tires. The IDIOTS at DOAN Oldsmobile never found the problem or fixed it. They just kept on taking the tires off, grinding the bead area and sealing the beads.

I went to Rochester to get the car. It took me all of 5 seconds to bend down and see that the wheels at the valve stems are all corroded!!! ALL 4 WHEELS!!!!! Also the chrome is so thin that you can see through the chrome plating. Some of it is even peeling off...

I aired them up and headed for the dealer. After hearing all about 5 mechanics at school and another in Orlando on vacation, I was told I would have to leave it til next week.... CRAP ON THAT!! I drove the car 1400 miles home to the Tampa Bay area. A wek ago I took it to the local dealer here in Tarpin Springs. They want to keep the car, take the tires off the wheels and re-chrome the original wheels.. That would be great if they weren't so pitted!!

1-800-Oldsmobile is not helping me either.. They say the wheels are bad due to salt used on the roads up North. I say,(THAT'S CRAP)... An 6 month old car should not have trouble with rot on ANY part.. Let alone (4 wheels)!!!! The salt sure didn't make the chrome thin!!

Any ideas??? I can tell you that I am all done with GM......... Did I mention that the car only has 18,000 miles on it now?? 6K per year and this is what you get!! No wonder so many people are buying forign cars. We Americans don't know how to MAKE anything anymore..............