Liquid Tire Balance (How To)

Not saying you should do it but I did and this is how. The difference was amazing. I should have done more. I know in the video I say it is a pint but it is closer to a quart. I think 2 quarts (an actual pint) would have been about right for mine but wow, the bit I did changed things. I have read about breaking the bead, flopping the tire down and dribbling it down the stem, that is to much work. Do it my way, you will thank me for it. Use the powder if you have them apart already but my vote is 50/50 antifreeze and water. In my opinion ATF sounds like a real mess in tires. I couldn't afford to slime them. I am pleased, clean out for patching will be minimal if I ever have to.

Liquid Tire Balance Video


-Ken

Outstanding idea! I will need to try this on my M923.

Nice vid. Think Ill do mine this weekend get a bumping at around 56mph

Does anyone have any results from this type of balancing on G177s? Same process?

If i remember correctly the people who manufacture "equal" also have an installation tool to install without seperating the bead which is some type of a dry siphon

Do you think I would have a problem on my a2 with ctis? I have seen the affect of water in the system it corrodes everything if it were to suck it out during a dump cycle it would probably cause a mess. The inside if the air lines literally get a layer of corrosion and the valve body corrodes inside. I heard of someone using dry beads before for self balancing. If there was a non corrosive fluid maybe. Green antifreeze can be corrosive that's why some cars use the orange non corrosive type.

Thanks for the video that is the kind of help from people like you that I joined this site for. There are volumes of info out there that you won't find in any TM. Now as far as the 177,s they are small enough to fit on almost commercial balancing system but, they can be balanced the same way the amount you put in may vary.
Like acme66 pointed out slime is very high but, if you pickup a nail or small puncher it will seal it without you even having to patch it. Perhaps the most important part of acme66,s demo was the fact that he didn't allow the tire to be crushed buy the rim and damage the inside of the tire only to create problems down the road.
Again many thanks to you for the posting of this video..............

The NAPA stuff I used says on the bottle it protects against corrosion for all types of metal and that it protects rubber components. I think it would not be a good idea for CTIS however.

-Ken

I had to second myself on the CTIS, you'd think if anti freeze didn't rust metal the farthest it would go to the drain, also you'd think it would protect against moisture in your lines. Thought?

So would 1 1/2 quart antifreeze and 1/2 quart water in each tire work?
So tire slime will do the same thing that antifreeze does?
If this helps with highway driving think I'll have to try it, Thanks for the video!

What about substituting the airline dryer/antifreeze? We know that stuff will not hurt the airlines or CTIS system right? It is also cheap. I have no idea what it would do to rubber but given that there are rubber O rings and diaphragms all throughout the system and given how very, very tough tire rubber is I bet it would work. Weren't some of these trucks equipped with a tank that you filled to automatically blow it thought the air system? I don't think regular antifreeze has any real sort of drying components, not when it is cut with water at 50% anyway. I bet it would help lubricate and keep valves free. My point of concern is the air dryer. I have no idea what would happen to that. I don't have CTIS but as I understand it it adds and vents pressure from the tires as needed. At no point does used tire air get recycled into the main system right? The tires must vent from near the hub so it isn't like you could drain the tire while airing down. I bet you blast a little bit out each time however, few drops or so. The air from the tires isn't passing through the dryer, but does it vent into the intake stack like my air system does? That could be an issue. Again I don't have CTIS so for me all this speculation is academic but I have sort of talked myself into thinking it would work fine, maybe even keep the system working better with the lubrication. I would want to know where it vents, where that air goes and how expensive the 'down stream' parts are incase they pack up because of this. All the parts of the system are build to handle some moisture, you are talking about replacing corrosive moisture with moisture that protects against corrosion and freezing. I am starting to think that not only will it not hurt the system it might help.

On a side note, I was contacted through youtube by a Desert Storm maintenance guy saying that they used to pour a bunch of antifreeze in the tires whenever they changed one. (sounded like they did it on the sly) I did not ask if they were CTIS trucks but for that war it could have been either/or. He said they did it for heat, to keep the tires cool. Someone I spoke to on SS mentioned the same cooling properties.

-Ken

The CTIS system needs clean dry air. Anything else will contaminate the system.

Where do you think the air goes when the pressure is lowered? Whatever you put in, will come out when the pressure is lowered by the system.

I almost refrenced a manual, but I know how you guys think they are a waste of time.

Rkrug said:

So would 1 1/2 quart antifreeze and 1/2 quart water in each tire work?
So tire slime will do the same thing that antifreeze does?
If this helps with highway driving think I'll have to try it, Thanks for the video!

Click to expand...

I wonder if tire slime is too thick to spread out evenly at slow speeds? Might cause some vibration around town but I know it would work out on the highway Never used the stuff so I am not the best to say. I know that would cause issues with CTIS however. I premix my antifreeze in a spare jug at 50/50 but your ratios will work. Don't use straight antifreeze because it will slush up at temps mixed stays free at. I know it sounds counter intuitive but it does. Also if I lived in places where it got very cold, say -35 or more AND you plan to drive the truck I would use something else. We get that cold but I have no plans on running the truck then. Doubt I could even get it started.

-Ken

-Ken

When I looked in the manual it looks like that the air will exit through the exhaust valve during deflation which means that air will not get to the dryer, or electrical components, and any water in the lines (if any) should be pushed back to the tires on re-inflation. Just my speculation from reading the manual. And sure you'll probably loose a few drops over time from deflation, but it shouldn't be enough to count you'd think.

When you are moving the stuff would be sloshing around and or coat the inside of the wheel. Some would definetly get sucked out. Anything water based would corrode the system. Anything petrolium based would degrade the tires and ctis valve flapper. The only thing that would work are some kind of dry non abrasive beads they would have to be large enough not to get sucked out on a dump
cycle but not totally round so they could
get sucked to the stem and cause a blockage. I am going to get some rare earth magnets and move them around here and there on the front wheels see if it makes a difference. I really dont have any balance issues i can cruise on a flat highway at 60 comfortably any dips or bumps make a difference. I just changed my shocks to a set of kybs that made a huge difference.

The eaton/dana(OEM) manual warns/mentions water as cause of failure of components at least 12 times in thier manual(for the M939 series system).

Are you aware of the tiny air filters on all the ctis valves?

You could always have a big rig shop just balance your frobt tires i dont think the rears need to be balanced how much could it possibly cost

The price isn't an issue its the competency of the shop that I have a problem with. And the one I do trust is over 150 miles away.

Well you would have a nice ride home to check the balance. Maybe another member can reccommend someone closer to you.

The commercial tire shops around here will not touch the tire for under $38.00s a tire. You could put a gallon of slime in each tire for less than that. I like the fact of the antifreeze even better as a cost effective way. Also remember that weights will most likely be knocked off in the sand dirt and mud some of these guys play in. I will have to go with acme66,s solution for a better cost effective way and have the pride of doing it yourself to boot. I how ever wouldn't even try it on a ctis system. Most of them don't work very well even without adding fluids into the mix.................