Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Slow Leak in Polaris 500 Tire

Probably ran over a briar or something. 6 year old atv maybe 130 hours. Tires have plenty of tread left. The leak is too slow for me to find. Really don't want to put slime in it... any other options?

My Honda is leaking at the valve core. New one does not fix it, nor will a cap keep it up for long. Never knew those parts wore out until now. Hard to replace and I am trying to get by until I buy new tires. miles

One option is to put a tube in it. Assuming it is tubeless like my ATVs are.

Slime or Berrymans.

Just spend a few $ and take it to a tire shop so they can tank it. Some small leaks only show up under water. If it's been on there for 6 years, you could have a tiny crack in the valve stem or maybe a bit of sand that's worked it way under the bead.

thanks all

Try replacing valve stem. Sometimes they get crudded up. Sometimes the rim at the bead corrodes.Tire shops a can put bead sealer on it .
Pay the $20 and have a tire shop fix it

I've fixed so many atv tires with leaks, my Rhino had one that was tough to fix, it took 4 plugs to stop it. Just put a plug in it, it's simple to do and works great. Whenever I have a leak, I spray the hell out of the tire with some soapy water and always manage to find the leak no matter how small it is. Also, carry a tire plug kit with you and an air pump, if you have a cigarette lighter plug consider carrying one of those small electric air pumps.

I don't understand the aversion to Slime. There is so much cactus and goatheads here, that you'd be running all 4 flats all the time without it in every tire...

I use it when I have to,but sure cuss it when it is time to take the tire off the wheel and replace it.
In New Mexico where I had goat heads and sand burrs I thought it was the best invention made

My garden tractor has more Slime than air. I don't think my wheelbarrow has any room left for air. So far I haven't needed it on my UTV.

I use slime on everything that has tires. No problem dismounting them when it is time for new ones.

Cussed goatshead. There's a lot of it here, too. I used to work for a seed company and we had lots of it on the place. I'd sometimes bring it home on my tires. I kept constant watch for it in the driveway and when I found one, I'd get down on my knees to pick up every seed. It worked and I haven't seen any on my place since I retired 4 years ago.

Yep. Slime it for a slow leak.

Plug a big leak.

Don't waste your time at a tire shop.

Put a tube in it

this reminds me of one I saw in an ad years ago. It was a tire inflator that ran off a car engine. You pulled a spark plug and screwed it in the hole. It filled the tire from the cylinder. You probably don't need to be told what ended up inside the tire but you didn't want to be smoking when you checked the tire pressure.
I doubt they were on the market for long.

I know an Alaskan who built his own version of that tool. He used it many times and loved it.

I had one of those. It did work and it got me out of a jam once. Kinda hot though when you wanted to remove it from the plug hole.Then I got one of the first battery operated compressors to use in emergencies,but you had to charge thru the cig. lighter. I recall the battery went bad before I ever use it.

Soapy water never doesn't work for locating. Keep in mind that some leaks in low pressure tire can be 'sometimes' leaks. Sometimes they do; sometimes they don't, so move the tire around some.

Geez, we must be about the same age. I remember that add. Dad thought it bunk right off the bat.