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Tire valve stems are the valves located in a vehicle’s wheel where the tires are inflated from. They contain a spring loaded valve core that seals itself using the air pressure inside of the tire. Over time valve stems may get old, crack, become brittle, or begin to leak, causing larger problems with your tire and your driving experience.
When valve stems begin to leak, the tire will no longer hold air. Depending on the severity of the leak, the tire may leak air slowly, or in more sever cases not hold air at all, warranting replacement of the valve stem.
In most cases the the fastest way to replace a valve stem is to take it to a tire shop and have them remove the tire and replace the valve stem using aid of a tire machine. However, for instances where this is not an option, a tire can be removed and the valve stem changed manually. In this step by step guide we will cover how to remove a tire from a wheel manually, using a tire iron, to replace the valve stem.
Materials Needed
Step 1: Loosen the lug nuts. Loosen the lug nuts of the wheel from which the valve stem is going to be replaced.
Step 2: Raise the car on jack stands. Set the parking brake, and then raise the vehicle and secure it on jack stands.
Step 3: Remove the wheel. Once the vehicle is raised, remove the wheel and set it flat on the ground with the outside of the wheel facing up.
Step 4: Deflate the tire.
Remove the cap from the valve stem, and then remove the valve stem core using the valve stem removal tool to release the air from the wheel.
Once the valve stem core is removed the tire should deflate on its own.
Step 5: Separate the tire’s bead from the wheel. Next, use the sledgehammer to break the tire’s bead free from the wheel.
Hit the sidewall of the tire using the sledgehammer in the same place until the bead breaks loose.
When the bead breaks loose you may hear a crack or popping sound, and you will see the inside lip of tire visibly separate from the lip of the wheel.
Once the bead has been broken, continue around the tire with the sledgehammer until the bead is completely broken all the way round the tire.
Step 6: Lift the lip of the tire up from the wheel. Once the tire’s bead has been broken, insert your tire iron between the edge of the rim and the inside lip of the tire, and then pry upward to pull the lip of the tire over the edge of the wheel.
Once you have pulled the lip of the tire over the edge of the wheel, work the tire iron around the rim until the entire lip of the tire is off the rim.
Step 7: Remove the tire. Grab the tire by its removed lip and pull it upward so that the opposite lip that was at the bottom of the wheel is now touching the top edge of the rim.
Insert the tire iron in between the the tire’s lip and the edge of the wheel and pry upwards to pull the lip over the edge of the rim.
Once the lip is over the edge of the rim, work the tire iron around the edge of the wheel until the tire is removed from the wheel.
Step 8: Remove the valve stem. Once the tire is removed from the wheel remove the valve stem. Use the needle nose pliers to pull the valve stem free from the wheel.
Step 9: Install the new valve stem. Take your replacement valve stem and install it from the inside of the wheel. Once it is in position use the needle nose pliers to pull it through into place.
Step 10: Reinstall the tire. Reinstall the tire onto the wheel by pressing it down over the the rim until the bottom bead clears the edge of the rim.
Then press the side of the tire down underneath the edge of the wheel, tuck your tire iron in between the lip of wheel and the bead, and then pry the bead over the lip the of the wheel.
Once the bead clears the lip of the wheel, work your way round the entire wheel until the the tire is completely installed on the wheel.
Step 11: Inflate the tire. Once the tire has been re-installed onto the wheel, turn on the air compressor and inflate the tire to the correct specification.
For most tires, the recommended pressure is between 32-35 pounds per square inch (psi).
Step 12: Check for leaks. Once the tire is properly inflated, double check to make sure that there are no leaks of any kind, and then reinstall the tire onto the vehicle and lower it off of the jack stands.
For most cases, the easiest course of action to replace a valve stem would be to simply take it to a tire shop, have the tire removed with a machine, and then have the valve replaced.
However, in the instances where that is not an option, a valve stem, and even a tire, can be removed and replaced manually with the correct tools and the correct procedure. If you find that there is a leak or damage in the tire and not just the valve stem, you may want to replace the tire entirely.
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Your tire valve stem is attached to your vehicle’s tire and is from where the tire is inflated.
The valve stem has a spring-loaded valve core that seals itself using the air pressure from the tire. As these valves become damaged, they begin to leak air — meaning you’ll need a tire valve stem replacement.
In this article, we’ll show you how to replace a tire valve stem. We’ll also look at valve stem types, how to tell if you have a leaky valve stem and if you can drive with one, the causes of valve stem damage, and replacement costs.
Let’s get started.
What Are The Different Types Of Tire Valve Stems?Valve stems serve the simple purpose of being an airway for tire inflation, but they do come in different varieties. If you’re looking to do a valve stem replacement, you’ll want to know what types there are.
Here are some types of valve stems:
Now let’s see how a valve stem replacement is done.
13 Steps To A Valve Stem ReplacementYou can perform a tire valve stem replacement at home as a DIY repair job. But, separating the tire bead from your wheel is difficult to do by yourself.
Instead, it’s best to let professional mechanics or tire dealers handle the repair. Otherwise, you risk injuring yourself or doing more damage to your tire.
With that said, what tools do you need to perform a valve stem replacement?
You’ll need:
So, here’s how to perform a valve stem replacement:
Note: Installing a replacement valve stem is not always possible. Sometimes you will have to get an entirely new tire.
You now understand how to replace a leaky valve stem. Let’s look at some possible causes.
What Causes Valve Stem Damage?These are some common causes of a defective valve stem:
How do you know if your valve stem is leaking air?
Symptoms Of A Leaky Valve StemA slow leak and a broken valve stem can be difficult to spot.
Luckily, most modern vehicles have a tire pressure monitoring system. Your tire pressure monitoring system will alert you if your tire’s air pressure is too low. If you keep getting a flat tire but can’t see any visible damage, your valve stem could be the culprit.
To test it, pour some soapy water onto your valve stem. If you see tiny bubbles coming from the tip of the stem, it needs replacing.
Alternatively, the tiny bubbles could come from the base of your tire valve stem — also indicating a problem.
Now, let’s look at some possible causes.
At this point, you may wonder if driving is an option with a damaged valve stem.
Can I Still Drive If I Need A Valve Stem Replacement?If you have a leaky valve stem, you’ll have a slow leak that is difficult to spot. A tire leak can be hazardous while driving. You run the risk of a blowout, which could cause you to lose control while driving.
If you have a defective valve stem, head to a professional tire shop ASAP, or get a mobile mechanic to drop by your driveway and help you out.
Alternatively, if you have a tire leak, you could remove your flat tire and replace it with your spare tire. But you’d probably still want the damaged valve stem on the main tire fixed.
Let’s see how a valve stem replacement is done.
Let’s find out about costs.
How Much Does A Valve Stem Replacement Cost?Here’s an estimate of how much a tire valve stem replacement will cost:
Note: The prices above exclude labor charges which may vary depending on the tire shop.
Final ThoughtsYour valve stem is an integral part of your tire. If you have a broken valve stem, you risk a blowout, which is incredibly dangerous.
A valve stem replacement can be done as a DIY job — just make sure you have the right tools and technique.
If you require any help, reach out to RepairSmith.
We’re a mobile auto maintenance and repair solution with competitive and upfront pricing, available 24/7. And you can easily book us online.
Contact us now, and our ASE-certified mechanics will stop past your driveway to repair your faulty valve stem in a jiffy!
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Most often, we ourselves are to blame for the fact that tires become unusable. But this can be avoided.
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In the process of using a tire, a variety of damages can occur, most of which are the fault of the driver. As a result, rubber is wasted, and since the law prohibits the use of different tire models on the same axle, you have to spend money on replacing the second tire.
The most common damage is puncture . This is the most harmless type of damage, but only if you notice it in time and repair it right away.
It is absolutely impossible to drive on a flat tire, even a couple of meters! The damage caused by running on a flat tire or with low pressure is catastrophic. This causes the sidewalls to deform more than they should, which causes the tire to overheat, delaminate, and the carcass becomes unusable due to broken cords. As a result, the tire will have to be thrown away. In addition, the edge of the rim can also be damaged. nine0003
Punctures are of two types: with and without cord damage. To determine this, it is necessary to remove what pierced it. If the edges of the puncture tightly converge, then the cord is not damaged and it will be possible to repair the tire without removing it from the disk. Otherwise, if the edges do not converge, you will have to disassemble the wheel and make repairs with strengthening the frame from the inside. Alternatively, in the field and in the absence of a spare wheel, such a puncture can be repaired without removing the tire from the rim, after which you can carefully drive to a tire fitting or garage and make a full repair.
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When repairing, the puncture site should be cleaned and marked. Further, it all depends on what kind of repair kit you have - as a rule, instructions are attached to them. There are sealants that are poured into the tire through the nipple, after which the wheel turns with the puncture down and the substance seals the hole. Repair using a tourniquet or insert is somewhat more complicated, but also more durable: the edges of the hole are polished with a special tool, after which the tourniquet treated with a special compound must be inserted into the tire through a puncture with a special awl, pulled out (not completely) out and cut flush with the surface. nine0003
In case of damage to the cord due to a puncture, the tire must be removed from the rim in order to install a reinforced patch with an additional cord on its inner surface. One of the sides of such patches has an adhesive layer that promotes cold vulcanization. After such a repair, wheel balancing will be required. To seal punctures from the inside, patches in the form of a mushroom are also used, with a leg that goes into the puncture. Such patches are also covered with a special adhesive for cold vulcanization. nine0003
Cuts or holes , unlike punctures, are not repairable, as they violate the integrity of the frame, which can no longer be strengthened. In addition, breakdowns are always sudden and occur on the go: the tire abruptly loses pressure and before the car comes to a complete stop it has time to make several revolutions “on the rims”, which breaks the cord and destroys the layers. It is not recommended to use such a weakened tire, even if it was possible to repair and strengthen the place of the rupture or cut, in the future.
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Incorrect storage of tires can cause cracks .
The danger of such damage is that moisture enters the cord through cracks, which renders the frame unusable. In addition, air can escape through cracks. Unfortunately, cracks are not repairable, and tires with them will not last long: sooner or later they will deform, become covered with swellings due to rusted and torn cord or because of driving with pressure below the recommended one. nine0003
Blisters or bulges can appear on a tire for a variety of reasons - it always happens due to a broken cord or delamination in the carcass. In the first case, an obstacle was hit and the impact broke the cord or the cord was cut through with a sharp object. In the second case, there is no damage on or near the hernia, which means that it appeared either due to a factory defect, or due to frequent driving with pressure below the recommended one. The danger of hernias is that they can explode at any moment and provoke a skid, which will lead to an accident. If there is nothing to replace a tire with a hernia, then it is better to rearrange it to the rear axle and drive very carefully.
Like cracks, a hernia cannot be repaired. Sometimes small blisters resulting from impacts or cuts are reinforced with reinforced patches, but there is no guarantee that the tire will not explode. Therefore, tires with hernias are recommended to be replaced immediately. nine0003
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Tire sidewalls can be damaged by rubbing against curbs or the asphalt edge when pulling over. If you are prone to such a driving style, then it is recommended to inspect the inner and outer sidewalls from time to time and, if abrasion is found, swap the wheels in order to prevent the cord from being exposed - the rubber thickness on the sidewalls is small (1.5–3 mm), and it can be rubbed to the frame very quickly. nine0003
Often the cause of tire damage can be poor-quality tire fitting , during which the bead ring was damaged. In this case, the tire loses its geometry and “sits” crookedly on the disk - it writes out “eights” during rotation, and lateral vibration appears during the ride.
It is impossible to repair such a tire - you need to replace it with a serviceable one as soon as possible before it damages the suspension: rods, hubs and bearings.
You can find out whether you are using tires correctly and what invisible damage they have received by the characteristic wear of the tread, the varieties of which are collected in the table for convenience:
Double side shoulder wear
Driving with lower than recommended tire pressure.
Inflate the tires to the pressure recommended by the automaker (a plate with recommendations is attached in the driver's door opening) and find the cause of the fall: puncture, cracks, hernia, nipple, rust on the disc rim in the place where the tire fits, etc.
Center wear
Tire pressure too high.
Reduce the pressure to the recommended (indicated on the tablet in the driver's doorway)
In the form of rings and furrows
can be found on trailers or rear wheels of pickups and vans due to vibrations and vibrations and vibrations due to vibrations and vibrations bouncing at high speeds.
Changing wheels on a loaded axle to equalize wear, driving with a heavier load. nine0003
Chipped wear with cuts
Frequent wheel spin on rocky surfaces.
Move the wheels to a non-driving axle, use the gas pedal more carefully when starting to move.
Photo: Petr Urbanek / Unsplash
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All kits are sold either in a blister pack or in a plastic bag.
However, even in the store you can inspect the working surfaces of the tools and make the right choice. The set for installing flagella usually includes two tools: cleaning , which cleans a hole in the tire, and an awl with a hole - actually for introducing a tourniquet.
Cleaning, it is also a cleaning or, even more simply, a picker, there are three types. A multifaceted workpiece curled in a spiral cleans the hole from dirt quite well and does not injure the metal cord at all. Cleaning with an oblique notch resembles a rasp. If its teeth are not too sharp, then it can also be used, but the supply of glue into the hole will be worse.
Cleaning with sharp aggressive teeth is strongly not recommended. It is very difficult to use it, and something constantly crunches, but this is the cord of your tire!
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From cleaning to awl with slotted needle eye.
The forked tip must be sufficiently sharp, and the gap between the halves minimal, otherwise it will be difficult to insert into the hole. There is a risk that the metal cord thread will fall into the slot. The hole for threading the flagellum should have non-sharp edges. And, most importantly, see if it will be easy for the flagellum to exit through the slot already inside the tire. For convenience, you can file the exit from the ear with a needle file, getting the perfect profile. nine0003
The most comfortable tools are those with a T-handle.
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It is better to take thicker flagella. To the touch, even through polyethylene, they should be soft.
With glue, the installation of flagella is easier and more reliable - when pulling out the awl, it works like a lubricant, facilitating movement.
The tube should feel heavy, indicating that the contents have not dried out. nine0003
In extreme cases, any flagella can be installed without glue, moistening them with gasoline.
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Without compressor there is no point in starting work. Find a hole if it was left by a nail in the board, and not by a self-tapping screw left in the tire, water, preferably soapy , will help. It is sometimes very difficult to remove a self-tapping screw, so pliers . When the flagellum is already installed, the tails protruding outward should be cut flush with the protector. And knife , as it turned out, is rarely included in the kit.
