davedog Posted August 22, 2005 Report Share Posted August 22, 2005 Additionally, I heard that the use of products along the lines of fix-a-flat etc. can significantly contribute to a corrosion issue in chrome plated rims. Could be the original poster of this tread has a rim that was a victim of those products by someone else. Personally, I am not an advocate of injecting moisture into my tires. I have heard this as well. I do not use these products on my new wheels!!! -dave Crystal Red Tintcoat Exterior | Shale/Brownstone Interior | 32k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal.carceller@cox.net Posted August 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 I am the original poster of this thread. Those speculating the use of Fix-a-Flat in my rims and tires are correct! these rims have been exposed to the product and I do feel that the Fix-a-Flat was very likely the cause of the pealing chrome. Do not use this product! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 OH, not the bozzo engineer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal.carceller@cox.net Posted August 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Please allow me to explain, my rims had been pealing chrome and leaking air for several years. I had the tires unmounted and remounted with bead sealer 2 times and that helped some but within 4 months they where leaking again. So after about 4 years of this I then added Fix-a-Flat and that seemed to stop the leak for about 2 months or so but then the leaking returned. Bottom line is that the rims had been flaking chrome in the bead area for about 4 years before Fix-a-Flat was introduced into the rims. So if your rims are leaking DO NOT apply Fix-a-Flat it will only make the chrome pealing problem much worse! That has been my experience with this issue. Also, I have recently been looking on ebay for replacement chrome rims and many of the older (pre 98) rims I have seen seem to have chrome missing from the bead area. have seen this on several rims that the seller provided good pictures. So if you are going to buy used rims be sure to inspect (in person or via good pictures) the bead area of any potential purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 OHHHH, so it was the bozzo engineer, why didn't you say so (just kidding you, relax) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal.carceller@cox.net Posted August 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Scotty, I have a good sence of humor and I have already appoligized about the Bozzo comment as it really was un-called for and added no value technicaly to this thread. But I guess I deserve the jab. At any rate I'm glad you did not add Fix-a-Flat to your wife's rims as I did mine. I am in the process of cleaning the mess up with my rims and will keep folks posted as to the outcome of my work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 I am aware that you backed off your comment, so now you can see how much I dislike negative, critical comments, since its been so difficult for me to get over... Don't take it personal, while I will be the first to spend a LOT of time helping someone as you so nicely put, "that I was a great contributor", I also don't take to kindly to such negative statements. Especially out of someone with 20 posts.. And NO I don't own the board nor do I police it, its just me. You see, you can think I am a PR--- and that is fine, I am, but if you look around you will notice that THIS board is very different than the other FREE FOR ALL boards out there that I can't spend 5 minutes in. So its not personal, the negativity just rubs me wrong, to wit: My first response to you in this thread was "Man after over 4,000 posts, I have to stop coming to this site, it just gets me pissed off lately" This is a diehard Cadillac Aficionado site and although we may be in denial at times, we are Cadillac Lovers, and negative statements are not welcomed. So welcome aboard. Take further responses to private messages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadiKing Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 My wifes car has a slow leak, I ALMOST used it this past weekend... Hey Scotty, BEWARE! These products are for a short term fix, not long term. The material breaks down over time and allows the leak to reoccur, sometimes allowing the affected area to fracture causing a blowout where there was once only a small leak. my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Not to make light, but the last known car engineered by Bozo: did NOT have chrome wheels at all! They appear painted. One of my first son's first full sentences was "The Bozo show will be right back!", and I was glad that we both got to grow up enjoying similar entertainment. Seriously, the more I understand the engineering that goes into these cars, the more I appreciate Cadillacs. Yes, I think we need to recognize frequent maintenance or repair sources, as those are areas we can best help everyone ecomically repair/replace and get back to driving the car. That's the type of info we try to share here. But no, I don't think that the way that cadillac chromes wheels is fundamentally flawed; I never had any issues with my 92, 89, or 96 in this regard, nor have I read other posts outside of this thread regarding chrome. Last, I would get the 96 wheels if you are shopping, as I still think they are the best looking wheels. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Cardio Doc on Ebay and on this site is a great source of New and Used Cadillac wheels and grills. He would also be a good place to ask questions of your wheels, he may have or have access to replacements One day I hope to put the CTS wheel on my Deville. Here is his EBAY store http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZcardioQ2ddoc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal.carceller@cox.net Posted August 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 I contacted Cardio Doc as one member sugested and described my issue with my rims here is his reply: ------------------------------------------------- Hello: ALL chrome wheels peel at the bead, over time. ALL OF THEM. This is because people fill their tires with air at gas station air pumps, which have condensation in them. The better/best professional mechanics/auto shops have provisions to drain moisture out of their air lines, but obviously not at a gas station air pump. So moisture goes in when air is added and gets trapped. And corrodes the bead. Remove your wheels and have a professional wheel shop fix them. Or if you are handy, you could sand/file them down then apply a primer and they'll be fine. good luck, ~Doc "Largest seller of Cadillac wheels and wheel accessories on eBay" -------------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OynxSTS Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Cool, that is interesting to know... I too have Chromed Rims. 2 hold air just fine, one leaks slowly (about a pound a week) the other leaks really really slowly (about a pound a month)... Both leak at the rim… My car is nearing the end of its second set of badyears… I caulked up the leaks to a bad set of tires or an equally bad installation job… Never really got all that worked up about it... The good news is that I do have my own compressor so I rarely use Gas station air... My air compressor has a really fancy filter and water trap on it too... So the air in my tires is clean and dry. I did this by accident… The filter was installed to provide clean dry air when I was spray painting my pool table… How about that… Never knew that this was a good idea, you learn something new every day! Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac, I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an01sts Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 It's not that anyone was offended by you saying bozo engineers--most of them are. The problem that surfaces is that you're calling someone a bozo for designing something, but you don't understand the process behind the design. What happens is that it makes you look more foolish than an engineer. As far as sanding the chrome off, let us know how it goes. You will probally find sanding the chrome off a difficult process, and you might want to start out with #60 grit. You cannot be a bozo when you're using #60 grit. I mean it's a major common sense issue The professional way to remove chrome is to use electrolic reduction. This is a reversal of the chromeing process, wherby reverse current is applied to the metal, and whatever is in/on it is forced off. I find it hard to belive that it's leaking between the chrome plate and the metal, but it might be possible. I question this because at first, you say it's leaking between the bead and the tire. Then you update that it's leaking between the chorme plaet and the metal, implying that the air escapes from beneath the chrome plating. Even though I find it hard to belive that it leaks in such fasion, it might be the case. And if that's the case, you might be able to scrape off the areas of leakage. You don't mention how old the tires are. Stale rubber will leak, no matter how smooth the mounting surface is. In addition, bead sealer is bad news because it dries out/detoriates the rubber. NEVER, NEVER use bread sealer, and it's only reseved for the half *smurf* mechanics of whom only want to get the job out of the door. Moreover, bead sealer doesn't allow the tire to bite the rim, causing the tire to slip. To keep it complicated, you cannot simply mount and remount tires becaus it destroys the bead. Tires are designed for once on and once off. After 3 or 4 mountings, they are probally destroyed. In other words, you might find a fresh set of tires as a cure to the problem because the fresh rubber will adhere to a lot rougher surface than you'd expect to hold air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STS Scott Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 I remember the old wheels on my car leaking, especially in the winter. It was a real pain. They were the original 1995 chrome rims. I too had the pleasure of doing business with cardio-doc, and have not had a problem with these CTS spec. polished aluminum rims in terms of air leakage. I was next to the guy as he mounted the tires on the wheels, and he brushed a black tar-like coating around the lip of the rim. He said it was like liquid rubber, and dried to form a extra good seal. " ...'took my Cobra down t' the track, hitched to the back o' my Cadillac..." - Jan & Dean, 'hey little cobra' Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 Not to make light, but the last known car engineered by Bozo: did NOT have chrome wheels at all! They appear painted. Bruce, Really, really glad you chose to make lite of it! That was funeeeee! Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal.carceller@cox.net Posted August 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 UPDATE: I have finished sanding off the chrome on the rims I will provide photos soon of the before and after. I used 40grit on the DA Sander to cut through the chrome and cooper, once cut through to the Aluminum I proceeded to sand with 320 grit on the DA. This did a fantastic job and the bead area was very clean and polished. The ony trouble was that some of the rims had some pitting in the bead area and the tire shop recomended the use of a bead sealer to fill these in. I took the rims mounted with NEW tires and valve stems home and proceeded to leak check the bead with soapy water and I see no leaks now. These rims where really bad in the Bead area before hand, the worse one was leaking about 10lbs a week! It now leaks nothing. Of course I will need to see how they hold up over time. It is my intent to report back to the forum in a year or so. But for now I have rims that don't leak and while I had them off the car I cleaned and polished the rims as well so they look really nice. As mentioned I will attach photos soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 Not to make light, but the last known car engineered by Bozo: did NOT have chrome wheels at all! They appear painted. Bruce, Really, really glad you chose to make lite of it! That was funeeeee! Regards, Warren Me too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 UPDATE: I have finished sanding off the chrome on the rims I will provide photos soon of the before and after. I used 40grit on the DA Sander to cut through the chrome and cooper, once cut through to the Aluminum I proceeded to sand with 320 grit on the DA. This did a fantastic job and the bead area was very clean and polished. The ony trouble was that some of the rims had some pitting in the bead area and the tire shop recomended the use of a bead sealer to fill these in. I took the rims mounted with NEW tires and valve stems home and proceeded to leak check the bead with soapy water and I see no leaks now. These rims where really bad in the Bead area before hand, the worse one was leaking about 10lbs a week! It now leaks nothing. Of course I will need to see how they hold up over time. It is my intent to report back to the forum in a year or so. But for now I have rims that don't leak and while I had them off the car I cleaned and polished the rims as well so they look really nice. As mentioned I will attach photos soon. Interesting. Really nice feeling when you can fix stuff yourself. Hope it does stay fixed. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldgamer Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 ... you can see how much I dislike negative, critical comments, since its been so difficult for me to get over... ... the negativity just rubs me wrong, to wit: My first response to you in this thread was "Man after over 4,000 posts, I have to stop coming to this site, it just gets me pissed off lately" ... we are Cadillac Lovers, and negative statements are not welcomed. So welcome aboard... Scotty, You really took it wrong. I just explain it to myself that it's because of recent changes. Now the forum and us have hard time and we not in the best mood. Still, we should live and search for answers. It doesn't make me any better if I will tell anybody how much I love Cadillac and how I hate anybody who doubt it's quality or some engineering solutions. It's possible that we are just different. Some people became to his car like mother to child. They don't see any bad things and they DON'T WANT TO KNOW. Some people have more sober. This is a test: ask yourself if you like your Cadillac more than other Cadillac (the same model and year). I think you like it better. You spent time to fix it. Your love is there. I guess I like my car more than others STS too. But anyway, we should keep our eyes open, otherwise we will limit ourselves. I was never been of fan of anything. I never wanted TO BE ASSIGNED to anything. Sorry, I didn't want to make off topic like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 oldgamer, i looked back and could not find it, did I take something you said wrong? Could you clarify for me? I dont think I directed any statements toward anything you said here did I? I have admitted a few times here that I went off, and I was wrong for doing so, I too was happy that Bruce chimed in and threw water on it so nicely. And yes, my Caddy is like my child, I am probably harder on my child however in terms of criticism.... And yes I have seen you say, "I used to think this tranny was "bullet proof" but no longer".... Things break, if you look around how many tranny's have you seen blow? At that point I realized that yes, while this guy is not afraid to roll his sleeves, we are different... I was agreeing, when I said, Me too.... It gave me a chance to say, exit stage right.... The board has in fact changed in terms of tone and attitude lately and I have been sensitive to it, plus I have been overwhelmed with work both profesionally and personally. In reality I need to back away from this board as it takes a lot of time, effort and emotion. This board will change over time I have to realize that and stop caring. I really don't need the information and know what I need to know at this point. The exciting thing about this board was its ability to purge BS and right itself and to act professional. I and others have always taken exception to negative talk. Negative talk never fixed a F'N thing nor did it resolve a single problem in my book. We have never been much about negative statements here and mud throwing. That this BOZO statement would continue to be uttered, TO ME.........is the CORE of how it has changed. Who knows maybe its a society thing CNN and FOX, etc. The difference here is that I know I am driving a 96, I know I will need repairs, my tranny could blow on the way to lunch today, ten years and 72,000 miles is a lot, however if it does go.....it will NOT change my mind that these cars are the most incredibly engineered cars I have ever seen, and the engineers deserve credit not criticism. I realize that my 96 needs maintenance and work and I don't complain as I am not driving a new car, I am driving a used car, and I realize that when I was a kid they only lasted about 100,000 miles. Things like struts, ball joints, bushings, tranny seals, seals and bearings, ALL wear not only from mileage but also from age, heat, cold, vibration, etc. For the life of me however, I could not see myself making the statement, "I USED TO think these tranny's were bullet proof", EVEN if my 96 with 72,000 miles stopped moving in DRIVE today! This is especially TRUE after having heard THE GURU say that they are nearly bullet proof who am I to disagree with THE GURU? You? But as I said, we are different. In the past, THE GURU would come in and shut down all the BULLSHIT because he was the man and who could refute him! So NOW the BULLSHIT is getting out of hand. This too shall pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldgamer Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 oldgamer, i looked back and could not find it, did I take something you said wrong?... ...I have been overwhelmed with work both profesionally and personally... ...The exciting thing about this board was its ability to purge BS and right itself and to act professional. I and others have always taken exception to negative talk... Scotty, you did not take wrong something that I said. That was my first post in that thread. I was talkin about your response for "Negative talk", as you call it. You just told you are tired. This is it, I was right. Don't take everything too close. If somebody talking about Cadillac other than in a pink color that's all right. It is not a "Negative Talk". We should learn if we want to make any progress. Only competition makes things better. Some huge companies lost just because they thought they are the best. The hiding the truth not makes anything better. I like Cadillac and recognize Northstar as the best engine of it's time. So what? I know that car has it's issues too. I still love it. P.S. Just reread yuur post again. You realy got problem with transaxle today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 I think I said, IF I had a problem with my tranny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldgamer Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 I think I said, IF I had a problem with my tranny Sorry, Mike. My bad. God forbid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal.carceller@cox.net Posted August 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Pictures of how I solved the leaking rims: Here are 3 pics of the rims before any work was started, this is how they looked right after tires where unmounted: These next 2 pictures are how they finaly turned out after sanding the chrome away from the bead area. The pictures above are of the worse rim I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Sal, Those are (were) some rough looking rims. Looks like they took quite a beating from some thing(s). The oem rims on my 94 don't look so bad afterall. Nice job sanding. They look worlds better. "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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