A3 tire work in Massachusetts

[jaymcb]

Despite new O-rings and grommets when they were mounted, several of my tires which are 395's on the stock A3 wheels are not holding air (3 out of 7 )

Does anyone around the MA area know where I can get my tires worked on?

FYI, new O-rings and grommets when they were mounted.

I guess it's time for another Erik's order.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Did you assemble them using lots of tire assembly lube? I did one of my hemtt rims without, and the rest with. It made a world of difference.

 

[rosco]

Tire lube is an indespensable ingredient, even on the beads of tires on the lock ring wheel assemblies.

 

[BadMastard]

Yep, tire lube. Also, check your rim nut torque. Should be 425 to 475 ftlbs, which most tire stores have never heard of! There were three different o rings in my wheels, and one of them was this really cool distorted triangle one with the point of the triangle going out. That one sealed up the worst of the wheels.

Oh, I guess I should ask. Is it the rim leaking or the tire bead area? Or valve stems? The above info was for the rim leaking )oring)

 

[BadMastard]

hmm. let me throw one more thing in here. I just looked up the NSN of the orings I got to replace the ones in my tires (spares). According to that, the oring is .020 inches wide and 19.0 inches around. I suspect then if we go to a 19 inch .025 oring, we might get better seals. Guess what I'm going to order from mcmaster? I still have two rims that have slow leaks, and I think it's worth a try.

 

[Rustygears]

To get proper seal, use silglyde on grommet and o ring. Really slop it on. Same goes for tire lube on the bead seating area. Gallons of it. It really helps the tire seat while filling and you'll see it weep from around the rim as the pressure goes up.

Did you really carefully clean out the groove for the o ring? Did you follow the tire mounting instructions posted on this site exactly? I know the 395 have a different bead from the standard A3 rim which is type MPT. Maybe that is part if the issue? I've never had a problem with mpt tire mounting on the A3 rim. I just carefully cleaned everything, used all new grommets and rings and followed the nifty A3 tire mount document. You must torque the rim half bolts crazy tight.

 

[DEUCE1209]

If you can't figure it out, give these guys a call. They should be able to help and they're pretty close to you.


www.petestire.com/locations.shtml

 

[jaymcb]

The tires were mounted at McCarthy Tire in Hughesville MD. They were recommended by a member here who I implicitly trust as guys who knew how to do them, because he had personally had tires mounted there.

One of the rims may have rust/pitting in the O-ring groove and may be a lost cause, but the other 2 that are leaking may need to be broken down and re-assembled. I'll assume they used the same process to mount all 7, just have a bad percentage of good seals, I guess. I think I may end up needing to get at least one new (to me) A3 wheel, if anyone knows a source. I really do want a good spare. Once I have a spare that seals, I'm going to mod the spare tire carrier to fit the 395, like the thread posted here.

 

[autigers35a3]

Erik @ Erik's military supply has been my go to guy with issues like theses.

 

[jaymcb]

all of the O-rings and valve grommets came from Erik's before they were mounted.

replaced some CTIS plumbing and fittings too...so there wouldn't be any leaks

the tire company has blamed the O-rings, the rims, and the plumbing - but not themselves.

We'll see.

 

[Rustygears]

My rims had rust pitting in the o ring grooves. Not a problem. The o ring is mashed so hard into the groove by the outer flange that there is little chance for rust pits to affect unless the rim is so rotten it is rusted through and structurally unsound. The trick is to clean out all the rust and crud from the groove and to liberally apply sil-glyde to the new ring so that it seats correctly metal to rubber and isn't torn as part of the install. I really think that you'll find someone took liberties with the installation of your new parts, cut corners or didn't bother to put in the new parts. I've seen all three happen before. These rims are idiot proof if you follow the simple suggestions, torque everything properly, etc.

 

[BadMastard]

Ok, changed the seals in my leaky wheel. With the 0.210 diameter (McMaster) versus the 0.205 diameter(milspec), the wheel finally sealed up nicely. Part number 9452K491. Might help you out.

 

[jaymcb]

I will try and use them instead of the milspec ones from Erik's and see if it makes a difference. Thanks!

 

[BadMastard]

Oh, you might find the year on your truck on one of the axle tags. Though it will probably be lumped in with all the 1993's.

 

[Vintage iron]

Let me know. if you need help. I can fix them. A lot of tire shops just slap the tires on the rims. They don't care if they hold air. We fix a lot of leaky tires at our shop. PM me, if you want some help. The shop is in Bridgewater Ma.

 

[treeguy]

Where would one find "silglyde" (enough to do 6 wheels)?

 

[Vintage iron]

East coast truck supply in Easton would be a good place to start. Are you using it on your tire beads? You can use silicone base grease too. I am mounting ( 16.00 R20 tires on two piece rims next week.

 

[treeguy]

In the future I'll be putting 395's on fmtv wheels - 20 bolt halves / triangle shaped O-ring. I was going to find something like what Cape and Islands tire used (white-ish pasty stuff) or I was just going to go with lots of marine grease on all mating surfaces.

 

[BadMastard]

395's on fmtv? Mine had round o rings. Your mileage may differ.

 

[treeguy]

How, what???? How does milage come into play? Besides the differance from stock 9.00's. The 395's I got came on FMVT wheels with triangle shaped O-rings where the two halves bolt together.

Triangle - meaning triangled shaped but with the points rounded off and they are orange colored.

And..... how does one go about obtaining 425 - 475 foot pounds accuratly?