Is tire slime really corrosive?

[tri again]

I've got a few trikes with slimed tires that leak.

Also have a couple rims that rusted from the inside.

Bike shop guy HATES slimed tires. IS it because they are, well, slimey? or just a freakin' mess to deal with?

I guess the best thing to do is dismount, clean, dry and paint the inside of the rims? or maybe some rust reformer stuff?

I used to hate dead batteries, now I hate flat tires.

Thanks

[jb2wheels]

Every wheel/tire combo I've taken apart and found slime in I also found rust in. "Rusted" clean through a couple of old aluminum rims I have. What a mess...

And it's just nasty to deal with and clean up. Gross. Like goose $h1t.

So, all the above.

[Scootertrash]

So, all the above.

The tire guys around here charge extra if you have slime in your tires.

Slime is not meant to be a permanent fix nor is it meant to be a "pump some in your tire and your flats will always be plugged right away" problem fixer, even tho they sell it to be both. It's meant to be used as an emergency fix to get you to a spot where the tire can be repaired.

Patches, not plugs, patches are the proper way to fix a punctured tire. Do it once and do it right the first time.

Patch kits are available at NAPA, other auto stores, and online. Buy A quality kit, you get what you pay for.

[El Camexican]

http://www.slime.com/category/faqs/

•Can I use Slime Tube Sealant in a Tubeless Tire?
No. This formula does not contain the rust and corrosion inhibitors necessary to protect a wheel. We do not recommend or guarantee performance of the product in this application

[kb0nly]

Tire Slime is a product that literally should be outlawed. Everyone puts it in as a temporary fix and then leaves it in cause it fixed the leak good enough to not think about it anymore, i can't argue that having some on hand on the trail can get you home if you also have a source of air to top the tire back off but as soon as you get back to civilization you need to tear that tire off, wash out the tire and wash off the wheel and fix it right. Usually when i have to deal with one thats been slimed i get the tire off and grab my power washer and load up the soap injector with some dawn dish soap, dont laugh it works and leaves everything nice and clean and degreased. Then patch the tire, not plugs as already mentioned, then back together. If you got a slow leak thats nagging you toss in a tube with a bolt in valve, i know some hate tubes and argue their durability, but if it gets you another season or two out of that tire or wheel its worth the investment.

Don't use any of that fix a flat stuff either, unless for an emergency. I do have to say though a can of fix a flat can be a life saver on the trail since it airs up and seals all in one, but you need to do the same clean and repair later.

[90guy]

I absolutely hate tire slime! I used to do tires for a company. And It's suprising how many try to run that in vehicle tires with sidewall holes.... :wondering We used to do patches on any tire and we used a plug patch combo. Where the pluf was attached to the patch. Things worked really great. Just drill it out a little bit vulcanize the plug and pull it through till the patch was tight to the ground area. No slime!

[RubberSalt]

I used slime once and it worked.. used it as the sealant to seat the bead, dish soap or grease woulda worked too lol.

I've had good results with fix-a-flat on my old mazda, tire still holds air 6 months later.

[deathman53]

slime works great, yes it can be a mess. I have tubless dirtbike tires, I changed a tire and found a surprise, 2 small nails in the tire, didn't even know they were there.

[trike savior]

i agree it should be outlawed. i have seen it rust rims and delaminate the inside of the tire. just huge areas of rubber peeling off. i hate the stuff and it is a messy, pain to deal with when dismantling the tire. i have also heard of it eating aluminum rims but never seen it personally. if you are stuck miles into the woods, fine, but get it properly fixed when you get home.

[fordtech90]

Tire slim is disgusting, worthless and destructive.

[jb2wheels]

... i have also heard of it eating aluminum rims but never seen it personally. ...

I've seen it. Ruined an aluminum rim that came on my 350X. Tire was full of that nasty stuff.

[kb0nly]

I will have to dig around on the computer and see if i have any pictures yet from about two years ago, i friend of mine bought a 250ES that had slime in all three tires. We couldn't figure out why the beads on the wheels looked good, the tires looked good and held air fine no cracking. All three tires were flat when he got it, turned out to be rotted wheels from the tire slime, i washed the inside of the tires and he scrounged another set of wheels off eBay, put them on the new wheels and filled em up and two years later still no leaks. Best i can figure the previous owner put the slime in to fix a slow bead leak or just as a preventative measure that they thought was good. Ruined a really nice nearly NOS looking set of wheels, from the outside they looked awesome, but they were rust pitted and on the back side of them they had a few pinholes. He was going to run tubes but i took one off and stood on it and it crushed in one spot. Yikes!

[tri again]

Guess I know what I'm doing today.
Thanks to everyone for the good info.

Tubes cost almost as much as tires that I've seen.
30 as opposed to cheap 50$ tires and the wrestling match that goes along with it
is better than a day at the gym.

There's some sort of foam that they'll fill my tractor tires with
but pretty sure it has no flex, like that spray foam insulation.

sheeze, even I can tell I'm procrastinating.
Least favorite job for sure.

[90guy]

I do know there is a type of foam bead fill on the market. Certain companies do it.

[briano]

I've used slime in my tires for years and had zero problems. It is messy when dismounting tires but it cleans up easy enough. I put it in all of my 70 tires and in my 660 Grizzly, no rim problems or rust. one of my 70 rims was almost unusable from rust, I cleaned it up and painted it, and no matter what I tried it would not hold air for more than a day. I put slime in it and its been holding fine for over 2 years. My Grizzly wheels looked like new after hosing the slime off of them, it was in the tires for about 2 years also. A lot of the rust on the inside of a rim is from condensation or moisture from your air compressor.

[El Camexican]

slime works great, yes it can be a mess. I have tubless dirtbike tires, I changed a tire and found a surprise, 2 small nails in the tire, didn't even know they were there.

I run TuBliss on my dirt bike as well, but the Slime has made a mess of my rims AND my TuBliss system has degraded to the point of junk. They leak a lot now, so I had to replace both sets. Even the aluminium bead lock is corroded! Im putting the new ones on with dish soap as lube and carrying a can of tire seal in my bag, but if I have to use it I will wash it out theday after. No more Slime for me, even if the TuBliss guys do recommend it.

[atc007]

I am honestly blown away at this thread!!! I have used Slime and Tucker Rocky's Quad boss sealant,which is the same ,except it is blue instead of neon green. I will admit to dismounting only a few with it in,but they were simply that, Slimy. Washed up perfect with water and soap. I think MAYBE the rims were rusted out Before they slimed them. But there are way too many of you saying the same thing. I guess it's corrosive ??? :). I honestly thought it was water based, fairly safe stuff. At any rate. The stuff works like nobodies business around my parts, And yes,,it IS a fixed for life deal. Put it in for a hole,,run the thing through a thorn apple bush with 30 punctures. They are ALL sealed and that tire will not go flat. Again,that is in my area where the temperature fluctuates 35-40 degrees somedays. And yes,,the correct way to repair a tire is to pull it down and Patch it. But this stuff has been a lifesaver for me and many customers. I am anxiously awaiting seeing my first " rotted/weakened aluminum rim" :)

[El Camexican]

I am honestly blown away at this thread!!! I have used Slime and Tucker Rocky's Quad boss sealant,which is the same ,except it is blue instead of neon green. I will admit to dismounting only a few with it in,but they were simply that, Slimy. Washed up perfect with water and soap. I think MAYBE the rims were rusted out Before they slimed them. But there are way too many of you saying the same thing. I guess it's corrosive ??? :). I honestly thought it was water based, fairly safe stuff. At any rate. The stuff works like nobodies business around my parts, And yes,,it IS a fixed for life deal. Put it in for a hole,,run the thing through a thorn apple bush with 30 punctures. They are ALL sealed and that tire will not go flat. Again,that is in my area where the temperature fluctuates 35-40 degrees somedays. And yes,,the correct way to repair a tire is to pull it down and Patch it. But this stuff has been a lifesaver for me and many customers. I am anxiously awaiting seeing my first " rotted/weakened aluminum rim" :)

Did you see my earlier link to the Slime website? Even they say it will corrode rims and don't recommend leaving it in.

[atc007]

Yes boss I did ! Lol,,,jka... That's why I Said I was so surprised. I have had 25 years of absolutely awesome experience with their product. I just can't believe it "eats" anything. But it obviously does :) Great thread!

[El Camexican]

I wonder if electrolysis and reactions between dissimilar metals in the wet environment of a Slime filled rim can be exacerbating some of the symptoms guys are mentioning on their rims? You know, like you see on boat engine skegs and props.

[TimSr]

I don't use it as a preventative, but it works great for sealing stubborn issues with tubeless such as bead leaks. You have to take the wheel off, and flip it over and over in such a fashion as to get it into the bed for it to work though. It will never find its way there under regular riding. Its also great fro sealing up plugs when you are in the field and find out your tube of vulcanizing cement has dried out.

Its about as corrosive as water. Yes, steel rims with exposed bare metal will rust. Its never affected an aluminum rim for me. It can be a mess to clean up once it starts drying in there, but I've found that most solvents or gasoline will cut right through it, and you can clean it off aluminum rims with ease. If its still wet, it washes out with water. Other than the psychological impact of "knowing its in there", there is little need to clean it out, for the sake of cleaning it out. I cleaned up my old rims to sell them.

It will dry out over time, and may end up as a bunch of little balls rolling around in your tire. Other than picking up my track Turf Tamers and hearing a couple rolling in one of them, I don't feel the need to break it off the bead to remove them, especially when the bead was successfully sealed with it a dozen years ago.

I'm not sure by whom it was ordained that a patch is the only proper method of fixing a puncture. I do know that if I drive two hours to my riding spot, and puncture a tire, I'll be riding again in about 5 minutes while you are packing up your truck and heading home to find a tire machine. Good quality plugs properly installed can fix some huge punctures that patches will not, and they will work on sidewall puctures where patches will not. Get the professional automotive kind like the tool truck guys sell to garages, and not the retail kits. Patches are more reliable on the flat part of the tire if you want to give up your riding weekend to go home and install it.

I love Tire Slime, and always keep some on hand, and have used it for many years. The only downside other than the mess when you eventually take the tire off is that it can kill a tire guage.

Slime should not be confused with aerosol cans of Fix a Flat or similar products which are only good for emergency inflations, and rarely actually seal a leak.

[brapp]

i ahve used slime on almost everythign i have ever owned with a slow leak, and tryign to plug a tire with slime in it alreaqdy can be a pain but not impossible. and when i dismount tires i usualy paint the insides of the rim with cheap spray paint to help work liek bead glue or bead sealer so thats probably why i haver had issues with corosion on steel rims.

[honda atc guy]

Has anyone used or heard anything good or bad about High Lifter Pro Series Tire Sealant?

[kb0nly]

I cant find the pics of the damaged trike wheels but i was talking to a buddy of mine and said he knows a guy with slime damaged wheels...

Here is the story, they are off his dune buggy i guess, in the first pic you can see the little balls of dried up tire slime from being in there a while. In the second pic you can see that after the little balls were cleaned off you can see pitted spots where every little slime ball was! Now this damage happened after a small amount was put into the tire to fix a leak, and some time passed, the actual time frame that passed he wasnt sure, maybe a year, but it did eat into the aluminum pretty good.

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I will agree that a wheel that is already prone to damage, bare metal for a steel wheel, is probably going to be more prone to damage vs a nice painted one, but it will eat through the paint too eventually i am betting!

[4x4van]

Wow, this website is really acting up; I can't post on a thread unless I "refresh", which then logs me out and I have to re-login. I can't edit one of my posts at all because it says I have no permission to and must refresh, which then logs me out. But then I'm back to where I started and still can't edit.

Those pics are just weird...why would the slime dry up into balls "stuck to those specific spots" on the rim, unless they were there sealing up pinhole leaks that already existed? Once slime dries, the little balls roll around loose in the tire. I've used slime for years, for slow leaks, bead leaks, punctures, carcass seapage leaks (from older "over-buffed" skat trak tires), and have never had a problem with corrosion in my aluminum rims. Again, there's something that just isn't right about those pics. With the rotational forces of a spinning tire, and even with a stationary tire, there is no reason for slime to collect in little spots/balls like that on the inside of the rim, unless there was already pinhole leaks there. Something just doesn't add up.

[Husky250]

My .02... I use slime on all my tubed tires but for some reason not on my tubeless. I have a buddy that puts a few balls from walmarket inside his tires in case of flats. Cheap and have personally seen it get him home (without trashing a rim.

[ScreaminRed]

I have slime in all 3 of my big reds tires, only b/c they all had leaks and are 20+ years old. The only reason i did this is b/c i'm cheap and i wanted to get my use out of the tires b/c they have so much tread left. It sat in my Dad's shed for years, he didnt ride it much, but kept it running all that time. Once i brought it down here with me, i'm using it around the house hauling stuff. It's been a huge help! So far the slime is holding great, as for the rims on the inside...i'll know when i need to get new tires, i guess. :D So, maybe it will rust my steel wheels, idk. But, i'm not to worried about it at this point. If i need to get new wheels for it, I will.

[Super350]

http://www.slime.com/category/faqs/

•Can I use Slime Tube Sealant in a Tubeless Tire?
No. This formula does not contain the rust and corrosion inhibitors necessary to protect a wheel. We do not recommend or guarantee performance of the product in this application

They sell Slime for tube and tubeless tires, 2 different products ... I've used the tubeless Slime product a bunch and love it...cant say about corrosion though


"•What is the difference between Slime for ATV’s and Slime for Autos?


There are 2 varieties of Slime sealant; one is specifically for tires with inner tubes and one is for the tires. Auto and ATV tires generally do not contain inner tubes. For these applications, we recommend our tire sealant formula. If your vehicle comes equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), we recommend that you use our yellow label TPMS Safe Formula. This formula is specially formulated not to clog or harm TPMS devices."

[honda200xguy]

It's a 50 50 to be honest sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't depends on the leak

[oscarmayer]

slime is a love-hate relationship. i run it on all my trail bikes. where we live in texas ther are tons of bull nettle with long enough thorns to puncture any tire. so we run it to keep from having to constantly fix flats. but also we do not run nice wheels ont he trail bieks either, we run cheapo crappy steel stuff. so it doen't matter if by the time the tire is bad we have to repalce both.
i think slime is perfect for certain situtations and conditions but again i use it as a tool not as a oh, slap it in everything type of stuff. i know there's a real big chance when tires is bad i have to repalce tire and wheel both. and i am ok with that.

it is corrosive and it will damage the wheel over long times. such as my useage, but again you need to determine your use. will not fix a big gouge or anythign larger than the size of a pencil hole, (not even that big)