Hi all,

Does anybody else have a problem with rim leak? I have an 88 744 turbo and seems to give me a flat consistently at the most inoportune times. Two wheels leak on my car, I had an 89 780 that had two wheels that leaked. My parents 960 has a wheel that leaks. I have had the problem tires dismounted and the rims wire brushed and cleaned. I have checked the valve stems and the tires themselves. Everything checked out. Still, the problem persists. My dad says that "massaging" a little wd-40 into the problem area has help his situation a bit. Does this happen to anyone else?? I have Dracos on the 740, There were gemini's on the 780 and there are Orions on the 960. Thanks

J. Studer

p.s how does one post pictures 1. in a post or message and 2. in my profile?

this can be caused by failure of the clear coat layer on the wheel where the tyres are seated..the alloy may actually be porus to air (relatively speaking) and the failure of the clear coat lets the air out...cleaning of the wheel can make this WORSE...my brother in law had this on a set of alloys and only solved it by repainting them...

What kind of balancing weights are there on the rims ?
The traditional kind that clips to the lip of the rim can at times leak.

Bead sealer may help, but more likely the problem is corrosion in the bead area in the wheel. The fix is to dismount the tire, polish the corrosion off with a rotary wheel, like a buffer. Any tire shop ought to know about this. Happens to all old alloy wheels. For whatever reason, Volvo's 14-inch wheels (240GL and earlier 740GLE) seem to be REALLY susceptible to it. The fix is the same every time- the rim needs to be cleaned up before the tire bead will seal to it.
The shop that mounted the tires should keep at it until you have no mor leaks. We have some shops that fix flats for free. Maybe you have a similar shop near you.
Good luck!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total

did whoever remounted the tire use some of that rim sealant stuff? brush it on the edge of the rim/tire before mounting the rubber back on
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Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'