Cadillac Escalade Slow Wheel Leak Fix - Seal Bead Corrosion

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey everyone, just as a follow up (in case folks were wondering if the diy repair was still holding up), it’s been 2 years now and the rim and tire have not leaked at all. All the best ! Steve

[@Taser3141]

Very informative. I have a cracked rim that was welded. The original tire was remounted using bead sealer with no leaks. New tire mounted by a different business and now it leaks again. Going to attempt for the first time to repair the leak myself. The details you added about proper cleaning and prep were especially helpful. Thank you for sharing.

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks ! Yep, most tire places will not take near enough time to properly clean up the rim if the bead surface is corroded or damaged since time is money for them unfortunately. The black sealer stuff they use only seems to last temporarily when the surface isn’t prepped good. Thanks again and all the best ! Steve

[@danielramsey1959]

My 2014 has serious corrosion inside and out, finally decided to just buy new rims.

[@StevesDIYs]

Yep, this one will need to be replaced as well in a few more years I’d say as it will just continue to corrode once the corrosion starts, but so far the fix has been doing good and I haven’t even had to add air to it.

[@esiljander2362]

Nice, I coated my bead seat with silicone grease, hope it works good too. It's rubber safe grease.

[@StevesDIYs]

I’d say as long as the corrosion is removed and the bead is smooth again, it would work based on mine. Mine still hasn’t needed any air added since the video was made so hopefully it will hang on a few more years lol. All the best ! Steve

[@cannedham3774]

sucks because we pay so much for tires and installation at these high volume shops and they dont take the time out to clean the bead before mounting.. they just slap bead glue on it and if it keeps leaking they tell you to buy new rims.. wife came how with a quote for $2200 for new rims and they said if we dont do it they wont replace our tires next time.. we been customers at our local discount tire for about 10 years.. we went to a local small business for tires and they took the time to clean them before installing tires and we havent had an issue since..

[@StevesDIYs]

Yep, almost every time I take tires to the chain shops around here ( like Discount Tire ), I get hassled that they can’t mount the tire back on the rim and even one time told me they wouldn’t allow me to leave without replacing a tire because the tire was damaged ! I wish I would have gotten consent to have videoed on their property as I took video footage of my interaction with the manager, but when I asked, they said it was private property and no videoing was allowed. You would have gotten to see the manager making the same comments that they could not remount the tire with the bead and chrome damaged and that the rims must be replaced. To beat all, they even damaged the bead on one of my tires on my 650i when I had to replace the TPM sensor and then told me it was damaged and the tire had to be replaced. The reason why I know 100% they damaged it is because they installed the tires and they had NEVER been removed from the rim until that day lol. Upon pointing this out, they simply said…well we aren’t responsible for tire damage since they were run flats and are very difficult to remove and reinstall. I too also try to use a local shop if at all possible as I tip them ahead of time so they will be sure to be careful and will take the extra steps to clean the rims properly before installing.

[@rodneygooding9459]

Hi - appreciate the tips, I'm buying some old rims for my new car as a winter set so i may just clean them up proactively before getting tires put on, is there a recommended paint or did the Rustoleum hold up fine? Would it make sense to paint sll the interior of the wheel that the tire would sit upon instead of just the rusty spots?

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey ! Yep, the Rustoleum is still doing fine and I still haven’t had to add any air at all to the tire so it seems to be pretty good about keeping the oxide from forming again. I actually never have started the hunt for a replacement as it did better than even I expected lol. Seems that the most important things are to be sure to peel up any delaminating chrome so the dusty corrosion can be completely removed and won’t start forming again. As for sealing all the way around the bead area on the rim, I indeed usually do that for my tubeless aluminum motorcycle rims for sure when I change tires and have never a bead leak on those. I would say that would be the best way to do it and had I thought this rim would have actually sealed up this well, I would have completely painted the bead sealing areas on both the inner seal lip and outer lip. Glad the video helped some and all the best ! Steve

[@bennettfam1069]

What did you use to mark the rims green?

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey ! The green marker marks (that won’t come off unless something like acetone or carb cleaner is used) are Uni-Paint PX-30 oil based paint pens 👍. The word “out” that I wrote on the tire with it as well is actually still visible on the tire after two years as I never wiped it back off lol ! They aren’t UV resistant paint pens though (in case you were thinking to use them as touch up pens) so the color fades pretty fast in the sun. All the best ! Steve

[@stevenkerwin4041]

My theory is that the white powdery stuff is porous and lets the tire breathe resulting in air loss.

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey man ! I think you are exactly right 👍. The white powder is oxide from the aluminum where it is corroding and once it builds up, it allows air to escape through it. Since the chrome layer doesn’t corrode near as fast as the aluminum, it also creeps under the chrome layer that the tire’s bead is sealing on and the air then can escape through the cracks in the chrome on the seal bead area. That’s why it’s important to remove all of the white oxide as well as peel back the damaged chrome spots so the paint can bond back to the good aluminum surface. Probably won’t last forever as it will just oxidize again eventually, but should go for several more years till it needs sanding again. It’s still holding air perfectly and I haven’t had to put air in it one time since the fix so it doesn’t seem to corrode back very fast once cleaned up good and repainted. All the best ! Steve

[@pebbles1340]

Had I known Chrome rims were going to flatten my tires, I would have never purchased them. Sucks!

[@StevesDIYs]

Yep, the factory chrome on these rims was pretty thin…about ten years is all that they were good for until they started oxidizing and leaking in the beads ☹️

[@devindeocampo]

How's it holding up?

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey ! Yep, still holding air perfectly 👍. I haven’t had to put air in it one time since doing the video.

[@devindeocampo]

@@StevesDIYs Cool! Nice work 👍

[@Syntax73]

wow this is involved i have 3 leaking

[@StevesDIYs]

Yep, it does take a bit of work to clean them up, but well worth it vs. the cost of new rims or dealing with having to air the tires up all of the time. The one I fixed in the video is actually still holding air perfectly and I still haven’t had to add any air to it. All the best ! Steve