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Leaky rims on a 216SLi?

Hi All,

My step daughter has just popped in all upset after the second tyre has gone flat on her P reg Rover 216SLi down to leaking rims.

The last time it happened Quick Fit dismounted the tyre and cleaned the rim up for her (and that one is still fine) but today another branch said they shouldn't really do that for her (I never got the details).

So, what's the good / safe / economical solution to this please?

They don't have a lot of money to keep having short term treatments done (her Dad got the car for her but seems to have washed his hands of it now) so is there a long term one that's not too expensive or would a set of steel wheels be better?

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m
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Well it's otherwise quite a nice car (considering and from what I've seen etc) but she's not 'a driver' nor practical, nor 'switched on' when it comes to such matters so is quite likely to drive on a partially inflated tyre without noticing.

Till she ends up in a ditch that is. ;-(

*Personally* I would like to think she removed the risk / issue of alloys completely and went to something with less upkeep.

Maybe she could stick the alloys on eBay and offset the cost of going to new steels?

And she only needs 4 x steels .. seems the spare already is one (it looks the same size from a brief glance but will need a closer look should it come to it).

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

Ah, I see your point

And we don't want that of course!

A set from a scrapper would do, just get decent tyres put on them. You should be able to tell if the rims have been badly kerbed before you buy them that way. Last time I looked, new steels from a dealer (for an Astra though) were £42+vat each.

Make sure you have the correct wheelnuts for the steel wheels. They are usually different to the ones for alloys.

Mike P

Reply to
Mike P

Yeah, it's something *we* forget Mike, that there are some numpties about.

Nope, that we don't. The last time she had a little issue (hit the Armco on a roundabout in her Astra!) muggins had to hide the evidence for her from her Dad (who would have given her a hard time over it .. like she meant to do it and hadn't learned already etc). Second hand wing sprayed up and fitted, another bumper and headlight and get some road dirt back over it .. ;-)

Well, I think 3 of the existing 185/55-R15's are fairly new Dunlops. I think the 4th has been damaged as she ran it flat .. :-(

Hmm, and can you get such Rover spares new at the moment (I thought they were all in a big warehouse under disputed ownership or summat)?

Ah, good point, and can add another few quid to the deal if you aren't careful.

All the best and thanks again ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

Dpendent on how bad it is any decent independent or 2nd hand tyre dealer should be prepared to look at the rims.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

An update for ya Duncan (n all).

Apparently she took the car into such a place today and they removed three tyres, wire brushed the rims and painted on some black 'stuff'.

They also replace the tyre she shredded whilst driving it flat. :-(

Time will tell how long it will last but I've reminded her to check them (even if only a visual) more often.

All the best and thanks to all ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

In theory just the brushing should make a good seal (if they did it thoroughly) but poor quality or just plain old alloys can go porous.

The black gunk is a goopy sealant - I had it on one of my alloys with a consistent slow puncture ( 1 psi per week...) a few months ago and it cured it completely.

Reply to
PCPaul

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