Two Piece Wheel Air Leak (Page 1/1)
MERATIME NOV 26, 04:04 PM
Hello All,

1987 Fiero SE

Found the rear driver wheel flat yesterday (Tires are less than a year old/ not a daily driver). Filled with air, drove to a tire store for inspection and was informed that air was leaking through the rivets from 1/4 area of the aftermarket two-piece cromodoras 16x7 (unknown brand). The tire company didn’t deal with rims only tires, so they could only tell me what they found.

Has anybody had a similar experience with two piece wheels leaking? This is a first for me dealing with this and wondering if this could be fixed. Any feedback would be great and helpful. Thanks!

[This message has been edited by MERATIME (edited 11-26-2023).]

steve308 NOV 26, 04:54 PM
I have the same wheel(s). Three piece on the rears. Purchased them from a guy who couldn't keep air in them. I contacted Compmotive in England and received the following advice. Carefully disassemble the wheels being careful not to strip or break the bolts as they are no longer available! Clean the old gasket material completely off the surfaces. Gaskets are not available (at the time and I doubt now) so I was instructed to apply a liberal amount of black RTV and reassemble the wheels bolting them together in a 'star' pattern to insure the rtv was squished equally during assembly. If I recall the torque on the bolts was someting like 9 inch pounds! I've never had a leak in 10+ years.
Mike in Sydney NOV 26, 05:13 PM

quote
Originally posted by MERATIME:

Found the rear driver wheel flat yesterday (Tires are less than a year old/ not a daily driver). Filled with air, drove to a tire store for inspection and was informed that air was leaking through the rivets from 1/4 area of the aftermarket two-piece cromodoras 16x7 (unknown brand). The tire company didn’t deal with rims only tires, so they could only tell me what they found.

Has anybody had a similar experience with two piece wheels leaking? This is a first for me dealing with this and wondering if this could be fixed. Any feedback would be great and helpful. Thanks!





quote
Originally posted by steve308:

I have the same wheel(s). Three piece on the rears. Purchased them from a guy who couldn't keep air in them. I contacted Compmotive in England and received the following advice. Carefully disassemble the wheels being careful not to strip or break the bolts as they are no longer available! Clean the old gasket material completely off the surfaces. Gaskets are not available (at the time and I doubt now) so I was instructed to apply a liberal amount of black RTV and reassemble the wheels bolting them together in a 'star' pattern to insure the rtv was squished equally during assembly. If I recall the torque on the bolts was someting like 9 inch pounds! I've never had a leak in 10+ years.



Three words: Radial Inner Tube.
theogre NOV 26, 07:40 PM

quote
Originally posted by Mike in Sydney:
Three words: Radial Inner Tube.

While that will solve the air leak...
The parts still can allow moister from outside or polluted water from driving in rain etc "eating" the metal.

Aluminum & many other alloys are not "rust poof" & gaps crack etc that keep hold of crap that keeps working on the metal.
Add the bolts are different metal & often have electrolysis problems over time too.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

MERATIME NOV 26, 09:50 PM
Thank you all for the responses. Reading all your comments has educated me about this type of wheel. Yesterday’s news was a shock, but also no surprise knowing these wheels are not easily replaceable. Because I am not familiar with two piece rims and I don’t want to run the risk of fixing with trial & error on my own and make matters worse, I am going to call a couple of wheel specialist in my area and see where that goes. I will keep you all up to date. I again appreciate your time.

[This message has been edited by MERATIME (edited 11-26-2023).]

SCCA FIERO NOV 27, 08:29 PM
I think those are three piece wheels. Just remove the tire and remove all the old sealant between the lip and barrel. I can't tell from the pic but the face might be in between the inner barrel and outer lip, still the same scenario but with a wider gap. Do not disassemble the wheels and put sealant between anything, the wheel parts must be clean and then assembled. Apply the sealant after the wheel is together, or without it being torn apart.

You can get new bolts and most likely lips and barrels as well. I have a set of Compomotive three piece wheels and can get new parts from imagewheels.co.uk/. Mine are 30 hole just like yours. CCW also makes a 30 hole wheel. I just relipped my HRE three piece wheels to 13" wide and it was pretty simple. I used 100% silicone around the joint of the lip and barrel and no leaks

Don't use a tube.
stevep914 NOV 28, 06:11 PM
I have Compomotive 3 piece on my Fiero/F40. Tubes don,t work. I agree with NOT disassembling them, and using silicone with the wheel intact. Take it to a tire shop, fill it with air, and tank it to get an idea where your leak is. Silicone is a wonderful fix.
MERATIME NOV 29, 12:54 AM
Thanks guys for sharing more information. I like these wheels very much and they give my fiero a unique appearance. I would hate to do the wrong thing and jeopardize the build of these wheels. I did find a place that fixes vintage & premium wheels and they too said similar comments. I still haven’t decided the next step yet. I will make sure this advice & information you provided will be followed.