Post by dpbMy snow blower (tubeless) tire went flat. Took it off, pumped it up, &
did under-water bubble test. Negative; no bubbles. Watched it: went from
20 psi to 17 over 2 days.
What now? Any better way to check for leak?
dcaseter pointed out the "don't forget the stem and valve" part, what
pressure did you use for the test and did you have big-enough tank of
_still_ water to be able to fully submerse the whole thing? Be careful,
of course, but over-pressure some to give a little extra "oomph" to the
leak...
Or, while I hate have the stuff in the tires, use the sealer.
Also be carefull, because a tire may leak a lot more slowly from the
rim/bead interface when the pressure is higher.
A tire may loose 1 psi per day at 40psi, and then loose 2psi a day
when the pressure drops to 30 PSI, and go flat overnight from 20.
On a tubeless tire a hardened rubber bead combined with a rusted steel
rim (in the bead seal area) is a very common cause of air leakage.
Also age hardened and Ozone damaged rubber cam allow air to "ooze"
throughthe rubber carcass.
Generally installing a tube in the tire after making sure there is
nothing penetrating the tire carcass, and no roughness on the rim, is
the best way of sealing a small low-speed tire.