rims: whats the trick to make them seal

[1985BigRed250ES]

The rear rims on my ATC 110 both leak where the two halves come together. I have put new 'O'-rings in them and could not get them to seal. i took them back apart and put high temp silicone in the groove with the 'O'-ring still in the rims and put them back together. I still cannot get them to seal. whats the trick? the groove in the rims are clean and no rust.

Jordan

[pudge]

get tubes. you dont want to keep adding weight with slime, fix a flat, sealents..... its just easier

[beets442]

Sounds like you sealed the center of the rim, how about edge and the air valve. I use a large garbage can 1/2 full of clean water and roll the tire in there and look for leaks.

[MTS]

Roofing tar in the cocking tube deal

[Macs]

Your problem will most likely be around the lip. Take a close look at this area. I have had more trouble out of that then the center. Sand it, clean it, whatever you can do to make the surface area clean.

[300rman]

for the bead, use bead sealer. for the center halfs, roofing tar or some RTV silicone FTW.

just fill a spray bottle with soapy water, and spray around and look for leaks.

piss on tubes......way easier to fix a nail with a tubeless tire

[leevarnado]

i had the same problem with 3 sets of tires leaking.this is what i've done and it works perfect each time.take the rims of the tires,split the rims in half.take a wire wheel on a grinder(4 1/2 inch grinder with wire wheel fits just right down inside the rim if you want to go ahead and paint the outside of the rims while they are broke down)clean the whole inside rim and pay close attention where the halves meet and where the bead is.spray some the whole inside rim with etch primer so that it want rust later on.take one rim and set it back down in the tire and silicon wher the halves meet,set the othe rim down on top of the first half inside the tire,put your bolts in to make sure they are all lined up but dont tighten anything down yet,let the silicon cure or dry for about 20-30 mins depending on the temp.after it has dried snug the bolts and inflat and your ready to go.couple pictures of the last rims i've done.

[Dirtcrasher]

^ Where do you guys buy "bead sealer" - I can NEVER seem to get the same chit the tire shop uses.... I use the "seam sealer" from Carlisle roofing.

Do not run tubes ever ever ever ever!! It will be 15-25$ for the tube, another 10-20$ for a tire shop to install them if you can't break the bead. An one mistake and the valve stem is sheared off, be it steel or rubber.

I've run them, I've used them, I've tried them in desperation to salvage 60$ tires and they have failed in 75% of these installations.......

[1985BigRed250ES]

i had the same problem with 3 sets of tires leaking.this is what i've done and it works perfect each time.take the rims of the tires,split the rims in half.take a wire wheel on a grinder(4 1/2 inch grinder with wire wheel fits just right down inside the rim if you want to go ahead and paint the outside of the rims while they are broke down)clean the whole inside rim and pay close attention where the halves meet and where the bead is.spray some the whole inside rim with etch primer so that it want rust later on.take one rim and set it back down in the tire and silicon wher the halves meet,set the othe rim down on top of the first half inside the tire,put your bolts in to make sure they are all lined up but dont tighten anything down yet,let the silicon cure or dry for about 20-30 mins depending on the temp.after it has dried snug the bolts and inflat and your ready to go.couple pictures of the last rims i've done.

Thanks for the info guys. I willl try this soon. What kind of paint are you using on those rims? they look great! Right now I have the motor out of the frame getting it ready for the head. I will be cleaning the frame and repainting it too. What kind of paint to use here? I think powder coat might be a little expensive?

[MTS]

you will have to look around for bead sealer, any supplie shop for tires should be able to hook you up, it works ok on alum rims ect, the tar is the last resort but works good!,

[leevarnado]

i used high temp paint.its cheap and looks good but doesnt last as long as other painting technics.i heard good things about por 15.soon as i get my spay guns back i going to give it a try.will let you know what the ends results are.

[1985BigRed250ES]

thanks guys, I will be trying something soon on the rims.

[brapp]

wow this seems liek ateam red rider post lol

[fabiodriven]

get tubes. you dont want to keep adding weight with slime, fix a flat, sealents..... its just easier

So a tube weighs less than slime?

What most of these guys are telling you is the right thing to do. Clean 'em up, prime or paint 'em or whatever you're gonna do, that's that. If all else fails, Slime works great for me. I have it in several of my wheels. Some people say slime eats the metal but I personally have yet to see any proof of this. I'll let you know when my wheels rot off.

[Howdy]

I apply a few coats of Hi-Tac and let it dry. Once dry I put the o-ring on it and assemble it. Only ever had one leak after doing this way.

The only other way I have fixed them is via tubes.
Howdy