Slow Puncture in an old tyre

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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so my citroen C3 has a slow puncture in a rear , its an old michelin, possibly original (7 years old car with 65k on it)
it loses about 3 pounds a week so i top it up every two weeks, do i take it to be taken off and looked at? or do i pump a can of that tyre seal in it?

its been losing preasure for quite a while and i have looked very close at it and cannot see a nail
it also has quite a lot of meat still on the tread
 
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I'm sure you know that tyres degrade with age and should be replaced after a certain number of years. I think you should get down to your local tyre place and get them checked out and if they are out of date I seriously think you should think about replacing them.

What if something happened and you were found to have out of date tyres?

Think about it.
 
woof woof said:
I'm sure you know that tyres degrade with age and should be replaced after a certain number of years. I think you should get down to your local tyre place and get them checked out and if they are out of date I seriously think you should think about replacing them.

What if something happened and you were found to have out of date tyres?

Think about it.
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i was thinking of replacing it but the tyres does still look really good ,
 
Mr Bump said:
i was thinking of replacing it but the tyres does still look really good ,
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They can look good but old tyres can go out of shape. I've had two which looked fine to me cause the car to feel like it was running on square tyres.

Just my VHO, but I'd go down to the local tyre centre, they usually don't charge for taking a look and giving advice.
 
You have to replace caravan tyres at 5 years due to them standing most of the time ,but car tyres should be fine in usage , if it’s fitted to alloys it may simply be corrosion around the rim . A decent tyre place will take it off clean the rim and replace they will also check for any other problems .
Likewise with steel wheels rim corrosion ..
I only know as I had the same problem a couple of months ago £7.50 cured it
 
If in doubt, replace. Ideally a pair rather than just one, especially on old tyres.
 
Better to get a tyre checked.....I too have a slow loss of air in one tyre and intend to get it looked at this week.

FWIW if the tyre, though older, is in decent (advised by the pros) condition if you have used the spray in gunk they will not repair it!
 
Tyre seal really is emergency only stuff. Tyre guys hate it!

Just take it to a non KwikFit place. I had a screw in a tyre last year, took it in, they took the alloy off, pulled the screw out which was on an angle & only JUST under the surface. Didn't even charge me.
 
woof woof said:
They can look good but old tyres can go out of shape. I've had two which looked fine to me cause the car to feel like it was running on square tyres.
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I had that (on a Pug 307) too - made the car vibrate and noisy at 65MPH+. New tyres was like driving a new car.
 
If on an alloy they take off the tyre , clean the rim up with a rotary sander then apply sealant to the tyre and rim and refit .
 
Have you checked the valve - is that leaking? (Drop of spit over the end will reveal it if necessary). Admittedly valve leakage appears to be very rare these days, but for the sake of a drop of spit.....
 
L320Rio said:
And two days later the tyre is flat again.
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Certainly not my experience. The alloys on my Mercedes are corroded and the local tyre shop did what Jeff mentioned above and they've been good for more than 18 months. Checked weekly they never need topping up.
 
The only legally enforceable age limit is for tyres for vehicles of a certain type/weight, psv's, horse boxes ect. As has been said, if it's an alloy, it will be rim corrosion. Kwik Fit never even charged me when they did one for me a few years ago.
 
The tyre should have a manufactured date on it. It would be very surprising if it were original after 7 years and 65km on it and still to have plenty of tread. I would get the rims checked as well. Tyres are too important for both you and others.
 
At 7 years old I’d scrap it, I think that over a certain age mot tester can advise replacement but not sure that they can issue failures, I do a set of rear tyres in a year and fronts in 18 months to 2 years so never affecting me, but the wife’s Seat needed new tyres as they were perishing between the tread blocks in the tread, plenty tread depth and no leaks but hey ho.
 
Update....

My slow loss of air identified as due to the valve. One of the fitters commented that they had seen this issue more often on Fords than other makes.

Prior to fitting the new valve he cleaned to hole of corrosion(?) and rough edges.

As the valve is a pressure sensor type...not cheap, the charge for that job was £20. Not too bad because you are paying for the type removal, new valve and rebalance & refitting.

Front wheel tracking service too @£40

All sorted :)

PS I will keep closer eye on the other 3 tyres in case they too suffer the same valve fate!
 
Mr Bump said:
i was thinking of replacing it but the tyres does still look really good ,
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I'm a total cheap skate preferring to spend my money on enjoyment rather than things, but I have to agree with Alan get it checked to protect yourself from one day it going all the way down ( usually at the worst time possible) or something even worse like it/you being blamed for an accident. If it's going down then something is wrong with it !
 
First thing I do with any used vehicle I buy is put a new set of 4 tyres on , All the same make and model / tread pattern , Done it with my camper van and Landcruiser , They drive better as well .
 
Old tyres can go hard which reduce the wear on the tread which may seem good, but and its a BIG BUT, they also lose the grip especially in cold weather so you are more likely to lose braking as they will skid very easily.

Get them looked at by a decent tyre place.
 
I learnt many years ago not to take chances with tyres. A work mate lost his life and that of his girlfriend and young son because he chose not to replace his old tyres with new ones before going on holiday to Cornwall. :(

Bin it - you know it makes sense . . .
 
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