Hi Scotty
I have a 2006 chevrolet trailblazer. I was told by a local Les Schwab that my Aluminum stock wheels are corroded and leaking air slowly. They suggested I get new or better rims that are not corroded. I found two places that can fix the corrosion. Should I do that or go with the new rims
Thanks
Paul
If they can give a written warranty on their repair, go for it. If not, move on.
Can't you just hit it with a wire wheel? It's aluminum it can't be that bad.
i'd check the junk yards for rims off a newer trailblazer
Are you actually losing any air pressure?
How did they come to the conclusion that they’re all leaking air?
Two of the tires have slow leaks, not to mention they look relatively clean but the clean ones are the ones leaking the most. The other two have serious curb rash when my father was driving it. They have worked on the wheels 3 years prior, and different tire techs said the exact same thing.
Fair enough, in that case. As others have said though, if you want to save some cash, look at junkyards for good condition replacement rims.
It is relatively typical for old light alloy rims to be slowly leaking along the circle where they are contacting the tire. Alu + water + salt = corrosion. It is not a drama: it is normal chemistry and aging.
This happens sooner, however, if the tire shop guy who last mounted tires on these rims was not very professional and did not use a proper sealant for that problematic area.
Neither is it a reason to get rid of good old alu rims, which may be 100 times better (above all stiffer and robuster) than modern Chinese replicas, which you may or may not optically tell from genuine products and may even end up buying at a price of a genuine product.
When I discovered that issue with leaking rims I found a rims painting shop in my area, and paid them for repainting my rims. Was like 50 USD a piece or so. I could have even chosen any color I wanted (or multiple colors), but decided to stick to Silver... Removing rust was then part of their job and did not cost anything extra. Result: good-as-new freshly painted non-leaking rims, which have been running OK for 3 years already with 0 problems at all.
