Could bad tire valve cores be causing blow-outs?

[motorbreath]

I was winterizing my Jay Flight yesterday and ran into a reoccurring problem while adding air to my tires. After removing the air gauge I noticed a slight hissing sound coming from the valve stem. This is the third time over the past year I have run into this; it takes some fiddling to get it to seat. The valve core is not loose, the spring mechanism is either faulty or there is dust stuck in it and keeping it from seating.

I replaced it relatively easily now that I have the right tool and spare cores, but this bit me quite badly last year during a trip which motivated me to buy those things. I had to air the tire up every hour while on the road until I could find a mechanic with spare valve cores (was in a remote area). Now imagine what would happen if I didn't notice the hissing resulting from the valve core not seating properly...I could have had a blow-out last year, and then again today when I took the trailer to storage.

I think this could be another cause for the frequent blow-outs that RVers have. After another decade of listening to Metallica a little too loud, maybe I won't be able to hear the slight hissing sound from a bad valve core. Apart from extreme measures, like turning the volume down, what do I do? If the tire does blow-out I doubt I would attribute it to the valve core after-the-fact.

Up until now all of the threads about TPMS installs seemed to be overkill to me, but now I am considering one of these systems for my own lowly Jay Flight. A few hundred Canadian pesos seems like a deal compared to a blow-out.

[norty1]

I had one that would not seat once. It leaked down while I was parked.

The TPMS solved that possibility but is not a common occurrence. That is one of the purposes of keeping caps on valve stems. I carry a few and a tool to change/tighten them too after that one time.

[abarkl]

Originally Posted by norty1

That is one of the purposes of keeping caps on valve stems. I carry a few and a tool to change/tighten them too after that one time.

We don't buy into the TPMS hype and never have but the point about some valve caps having a rubber seal inside to help prevent a further leaking valve stem from ruining a trip is a good idea in our book.

[norty1]

Originally Posted by abarkl

We don't buy into the TPMS hype and never have but the point about some valve caps having a rubber seal inside to help prevent a further leaking valve stem from ruining a trip is a good idea in our book.

The TPMS sensor is the same as a cap with a seal. Just more expensive

[motorbreath]

I never new that you could buy valve caps with rubber seals in them! I just checked, only my truck and my wife's car have valve caps with seals...the have TPMS systems from the factory. My TT came with cheap bicycle-style caps which are all plastic with no rubber seals. That must be why my tire still lost air during my trip last year.

Originally Posted by abarkl

We don't buy into the TPMS hype and never have but the point about some valve caps having a rubber seal inside to help prevent a further leaking valve stem from ruining a trip is a good idea in our book.

[Seann45]

IF your valve stems keep leaking.. I would look at replacing the whole stem rather than just the core.. Maybe go with metal stems (especially good idea if you go with a TPMS)

[eldermike]

I watch my tires in real time for pressure increase/decrease. A rapid air loss alarm is also a comfort to me. I tested mine and it works. I see about 15psi increase average on the tires when they are up to a stable running condition. I use a tire minder system but still replace tires after 3 years use.

[motorbreath]

After I replace the valve cores that came from the factory, the problem seems to go away. That being said, the valve stems are garbage and needs to be replaced, they are so flimsy it is hard to get them to not buckle when checking air pressure.

Originally Posted by Seann45

IF your valve stems keep leaking.. I would look at replacing the whole stem rather than just the core.. Maybe go with metal stems (especially good idea if you go with a TPMS)

[edatlanta]

Originally Posted by motorbreath

I was winterizing my Jay Flight yesterday and ran into a reoccurring problem while adding air to my tires. After removing the air gauge I noticed a slight hissing sound coming from the valve stem. This is the third time over the past year I have run into this; it takes some fiddling to get it to seat. The valve core is not loose, the spring mechanism is either faulty or there is dust stuck in it and keeping it from seating.

I replaced it relatively easily now that I have the right tool and spare cores, but this bit me quite badly last year during a trip which motivated me to buy those things. I had to air the tire up every hour while on the road until I could find a mechanic with spare valve cores (was in a remote area). Now imagine what would happen if I didn't notice the hissing resulting from the valve core not seating properly...I could have had a blow-out last year, and then again today when I took the trailer to storage.

I think this could be another cause for the frequent blow-outs that RVers have. After another decade of listening to Metallica a little too loud, maybe I won't be able to hear the slight hissing sound from a bad valve core. Apart from extreme measures, like turning the volume down, what do I do? If the tire does blow-out I doubt I would attribute it to the valve core after-the-fact.

Up until now all of the threads about TPMS installs seemed to be overkill to me, but now I am considering one of these systems for my own lowly Jay Flight. A few hundred Canadian pesos seems like a deal compared to a blow-out.

I had one core leaking, but I have also had several cores leaking that were simply loose. I too now have a core tool and spare cores.

While checking tire pressure the hissing was noted after removal of the TPMS sensor. Was the sensor the cause of the problem? Who knows, but at least the sensors hold pressure and the problem was easily fixed prior to sensor reinstall.

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by norty1

The TPMS sensor is the same as a cap with a seal. Just more expensive

And used properly, may prevent damage to the wheel well and nearby plumbing.

[NVGun40]

Valve stems do go bad. They should be replaced with every other tire change. Having extra cores and caps with rubber seals is a good idea.

TPMS systems have their place. My father just purchased one because last summer he had a tire go flat on the trailer while towing and since he was on a mountain road and hauling mostly empty, he had no idea one of the rear tires had gone flat and shredded. That is until a highway patrolman pulled him over because his rim was throwing off sparks.

I used to do some pretty extreme off roading when I lived in Northern Nevada and have built a couple of "rock crawling" rigs. When you are thirty miles into the back country, having a leaking valve stem is not a good thing. Especially with the dust, dirt, mud, water, etc, we would go through. To help prevent this, good metal valve stem caps with a rubber seal are a must. Also, we would coat the cores in chapstick before putting them into the valve stem (working the chapstick thoroughly throughout the core). This kept the core in a well lubricated state which helped the seal.

[norty1]

I like to use the shortest valve stem I can get a chuck on. Less chance of something shearing one off.


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