W211 had a flat tyre. Mechanic found out the rim was corroded on the inside..

[Donza]

Hi, A day after i bought my used W211.

The front driverside tyre was flat. I thought it might have been a nail.

I took it to a local garage. An hour later i pop back in.

The guy said the tyre was fine. However, the inside of the alloy rim had corroded. He told me he had saw nothing like it on a car of that quality before.

He sandblasted the alloy, and made it smooth again.

He told me it should be fine now.

This kinda worrys me. Could this be due to neglect?

The wheels are spotless from the outside...no scratches, dings. Nothing..

I remember my sister Renault Cio banger having this problem. Her tyres would go flat due to her wheels corroding..

 

[television]

Hi, A day after i bought my used W211.

The front driverside tyre was flat. I thought it might have been a nail.

I took it to a local garage. An hour later i pop back in.

The guy said the tyre was fine. However, the inside of the alloy rim had corroded. He told me he had saw nothing like it on a car of that quality before.

He sandblasted the alloy, and made it smooth again.

He told me it should be fine now.

This kinda worrys me. Could this be due to neglect?

The wheels are spotless from the outside...no scratches, dings. Nothing..

I remember my sister Renault Cio banger having this problem. Her tyres would go flat due to her wheels corroding..

This is quite common and nothing to worry about, most tyre shops have a special black something or other that they paint around the rims, I have one tyre doing it on my V70R after 8 years. its nothing to do with the make of the wheel

 

[glojo]

Unfortunately modern Mercedes alloys are prone to corrosion although finding it in the location your describing is not that common. If the car is less than three years old and the alloys have not been kerbed, I would expect Mercedes-Benz to replace them under warranty. They certainly did with ours.

Has the sandblasted metal been treated with anything?

Regards
John

 

[whitenemesis]

Fairly common on alloys, nothing to worry about, as Malcolm says black goo sorts it. Had this on my previous cars. If it gets to be a problem fit inner tubes.

 

[grober]

Common Scenario---tyre depot uses a bit of brute force/ badly adjusted machine to remove a previous tyre-- damaging the inner wheel lacquer while doing so ---then applies a dirty soapy solution to ease putting on the new tyre---- recipe for corrosion complete!

 

[verytalldave]

MANY years ago I fitted a set of "Cosmic" alloy wheels to my Morris 1100 (yes , I know). I bought them secondhand from Exchange and Mart.
Got some "chunky" 155x12" tyres fitted and all was fine.
Except I had to reinflate 3 of the tyres every 2-3 weeks.
I went back to the place that fitted the tyres and I was told that it was a common problem as a fair percentage of cast alloy wheels were slightly porous due to tiny air bubbles in the casting process. He told me to fit inner tubes, which I did and it never happened again.
Apparently, more expensive forged wheels dont suffer from this problem at all, except in a very few isolated cases.
Fit inner tubes.

 

[glojo]

Fit inner tubes.

The only problem with inner tubes is when you get a puncture they go BANG and not like a tubeless tyre that usually deflates?

John

 

[verytalldave]

Not when a tube is fitted inside a tubeless tyre.

 

[glojo]

Not when a tube is fitted inside a tubeless tyre.

Thanks,
Does that include an alloy wheel that has completely lost its air tight integrity?

Regards
John

 

[verytalldave]

Thanks,
Does that include an alloy wheel that has completely lost its air tight integrity?

Regards
John

Yes. In 99% of cases. Providing the rim isnt damaged by kerbing or similar.
It did for me. I had 4 inner tubes fitted and it worked for me.

 

[Brian WH]

Hi, A day after i bought my used W211.

The front driverside tyre was flat. I thought it might have been a nail.

I took it to a local garage. An hour later i pop back in.

The guy said the tyre was fine. However, the inside of the alloy rim had corroded. He told me he had saw nothing like it on a car of that quality before.

He sandblasted the alloy, and made it smooth again.

He told me it should be fine now.

This kinda worrys me. Could this be due to neglect?

The wheels are spotless from the outside...no scratches, dings. Nothing..

I remember my sister Renault Cio banger having this problem. Her tyres would go flat due to her wheels corroding..

Seems a common problem as I had it on my W211. Cleans up easily though and a coating of their magic "Black Stuff" cured any future leakage.

Found mine when I had the tyres changed, but no leakage or loss of air noticed.

 

[GrahamC230K]

Thought inner tubes went out with the ark? Are they really still used?

 

[television]

Thought inner tubes went out with the ark? Are they really still used?

Every spoked wheel has a tube, I used to carry tyre levers and spare tubes in my old RR

 

[grober]

Still quite common on true off road vehicles where the chances of breaking the tyre bead/wheel rim seal are higher. In theory inner tubes should only be used in tyres designed for their use----they have a smooth inner surface which wont rub against the inner tube. BUT in practice------they are often used with tubeless tyres.

 

[shakeapaw]

Every spoked wheel has a tube, I used to carry tyre levers and spare tubes in my old RR

is that RR for rolls royce,range rover or a robin reliant ?
i think we should be told

 

[verytalldave]

is that RR for rolls royce,range rover or a robin reliant ?
i think we should be told

You're obviously not old enough to remember the Reliant Regal from the 1950's. Usually came painted in a bright sky blue. Sold well to motor cycle riders who didn't like getting cold in winter.

 

[television]

is that RR for rolls royce,range rover or a robin reliant ?
i think we should be told

!928 Rolls Royce fitted with 21" x 5" tyres

 

[c240yaz]

Common cause of this is due to garage air compressors with high level of water, moisture in the air tank.