On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 18:42:58 GMT, Randy <Randy@fake.com> wrote:

>The rear tire of our 1995 Honda Civic has a leak. In about a week, the
>pressure goes from 30 psi to just about nothing. But I can't find the
>leak.
>
>The Honda dealer checked all 4 tires and declared that none leak. But
>still, after a week, the rear tire is flat.
>
>Today I checked it myself with soapy water. No bubbles. I removed the
>wheel from the car and now it is in our bathtub upstairs and there are
>STILL no bubbles.
>
>How can this be? Any ideas?

Well, Elle wants me to always mention Tegger's useful website, so here
it is

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html

I could not find anything there about leaky tires, so drawing on my
own experience I would suggest two possibilities:

1. The tire bead is not properly seated. Off the car, the tire does
not leak, but on the car, as the tire flexes in normal driving, air
escapes. Causes could be a bent or damaged rim, or just a bad tire, or
dirt under the bead, etc. Dismounting the tire and examining the rim
would reveal any damage.

2. The rim itself could be leaking. You say you have the tire in the
bathtub, but is the rim submerged? Modern alloy rims cast as one
piece rarely leak, but steel rims sometimes do. I once long ago had a
steel rim that actially had a small pinhole (manufacturing defect, I
guess). Silver solder fixed that rim.

3. The valve stem could be leaking, around the base or through the
valve itself. If you have not already checked to see if the stem is
leaking (submerged?) this would be my recommendation as the first
place to look. But you have probably already checked it.

Hope this helps

Note to Elle: The signature lines that appear below are not a title.
I earn a substantial part of my incomeg as a freelance writer. It is
what I do. I am not sure why it offends you, but since it does I would
suggest you place me in your permanent killfile.

Elliot Richmond
Freelance Science Writer and Editor