Bead Leaks

[Jeep Wick]

I had this happen once, but I didn't need a shop. Just unbolted the wheel, unscrewed the valve and let the air out. Cleaned the debris, aired it back up.

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[zouch]

even before i ran beadlocks i would routinely air down to ~12PSI, and never had a problem with stuff getting stuck in the wheel and/or causing a problem. but i was always conscious of when i was making hard turns that put lateral load sideways on the tires.

also curious; what kind of tires is the OP talking about?

i do use beadlocks now, but mostly for the benefits running even lower pressures over snow or in the dunes.

I am intrigued by this. I’m not an expert and everyone’s terrain is different.

Although you have removed air to get to 20psi, a lot of people here wouldn’t consider that aired down. Non bead locks being run at 10, 12 or 15 on the high end is common. Has this happened to every one of your wheels at different times? Are you getting stuck and just spinning trying to get out and that’s what is forcing debris between the tire and wheel? Do the leaks happen on the inner and outer edges of the wheels? I believe you, just trying to understand.

 

[Wabujitsu]

I'm pretty sure your HMMWVs aired up / down automatically for you when you selected the terrain you were on. It's such a massive benefit that they automated it.

No, brother, the HMMWVs I drove, without exception, had NO terrain selection, no air mechanism, just a transfer case and gear shifter.

 

[Terrymo]

No, brother, the HMMWVs I drove, without exception, had NO terrain selection, no air mechanism, just a transfer case and gear shifter.

Ok not military but my Dad is a 90 year old Marine and I grew up around a lot of military. So I bet you had a few that even as simple as it was said…remind me again what the two levers do.

 

[Wabujitsu]

Ok not military but my Dad is a 90 year old Marine and I grew up around a lot of military. So I bet you had a few that even as simple as it was said…remind me again what the two levers do.

On the transfer case lever, “H” is for regular highway driving. “HL” and “L” are locked conditions for extra traction (“L” for extra torque).

 

[roaniecowpony]

A good friend bought one of the first civilian HMMVs. I recall his had a diesel engine, factory stereo, 4 nice seats, desert tan, soft top. It did have air up/down on the fly. It's been a few decades since I drove it, but my recollection was the air gauge was about in the middle of the dash. Unfortunately, it was parked at the top of a hill on his Apple Valley horse property and a fire, started by the park workers behind his house, burned it to the ground, just a puddle and some driveline parts left.

I think we had more use out of the 2 gamma goats he bought surplus from Barstow Marine surplus. You could put a whole party on that thing, while we wandered around the desert near his cabin near Baker.

 

[nU7OuxIx]

Our OEM BFG tires are fairly lightweight. Airing down to 20PSI might be a little too much for what you’re doing. I air down to 18, but you might be driving faster or crawling over more extreme rocks than I am. If I plan on driving over 25, I air up more.

That's a good point. I have the OEM KO2's and I don't know what load rating they are. I always thought that it would be safe to take it as low as 15, but maybe not.

The other ah-ha is that for this last time, I was towing a trailer. All the other times I was not. I know towing doesn't help not getting stuck. But I would think that towing wouldn't cause grit to get into the tire.

 

[nU7OuxIx]

I had this happen once, but I didn't need a shop. Just unbolted the wheel, unscrewed the valve and let the air out. Cleaned the debris, aired it back up.

I didn't even try it. The first time this happened that's what I did and failed to repair it, so I just took it in. This last time, I squirted it with soap, saw the leak and just took it in.

Maybe next time I should try to clean it out. I figured it's leaking a little then it's probably not going to get fixed.

 

[Ratbert]

That's a good point. I have the OEM KO2's and I don't know what load rating they are. I always thought that it would be safe to take it as low as 15, but maybe not.

The other ah-ha is that for this last time, I was towing a trailer. All the other times I was not. I know towing doesn't help not getting stuck. But I would think that towing wouldn't cause grit to get into the tire.

15 is fine. It all depends on your experience / comfort level though.

 

[Rogersocal]

i generally go straight down to 12 psi and keep it there, on 37 nitto muds

 

[Terrymo]

That's a good point. I have the OEM KO2's and I don't know what load rating they are. I always thought that it would be safe to take it as low as 15, but maybe not.

The other ah-ha is that for this last time, I was towing a trailer. All the other times I was not. I know towing doesn't help not getting stuck. But I would think that towing wouldn't cause grit to get into the tire.

I aired the OEM KO2s to 12-15 routinely on the XR wheels and do now with the Mickey Thompson tires. Mud snow sand etc. I am not an expert at picking good lines so plenty of slipping off rocks or into rocks. I wheel with several people with KO2s on factory wheels that are routinely at 15.

 

[THAW]

The size of the tire affects absolute pressure differences because of hoop stress. In effect, larger tires can be deflated more than smaller tires.

 

[D00KEY]

The size of the tire affects absolute pressure differences because of hoop stress. In effect, larger tires can be deflated more than smaller tires.

Gettin deep.

 

[Terrymo]

Gettin deep.

Yeah I’m talking everything from 285s to 37s and even 20s rather than 17s.

 

[Terrymo]

It's a simple tool. There are videos. You still need a couple tire spoons/irons, but it's easy work as long as it's not 100F outside. I'm old and can do it with 37s.

As for re-setting the bead. No compressor has enough flow in some cases. If you play at low pressures, eventually you'll push a bead off. I recommend you learn to use starter fluid to re-set the bead. Unfortunately all the TV show hype has these idiots using about 3 or 4 times as much fluid as needed and making a scary looking spectacle...all for the show, of course. This video is me using a modest amount of fluid to seat the bead. No big fireball or loud boom. Just pop and its done. You can do it without jacking, but it takes a lot more fluid.

Is a 5hp 20 gallon compressor enough to seat the bead on a 37 maybe with a ratchet strap around the tire? Or is ether the way to go if you only have the typical home garage air compressor?

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