Metal valve stems

[jcanavera]

Well tomorrow is the day I'm going to change out the Marathons and get my Maxxis tires put on. I'm taking the tires and wheels to a local auto repair shop that was recommend to me (since they can handle the aluminum wheels with care).

The question just hit me, should I have them replace the metal stems on the wheels (2003 installed), or should I leave well enough alone? The Maxxis tires I'm using are E rated ST tires. I'm planning to run them at 70-75 psi. so metal stems are in order. I'm used to replacing rubber stems on my auto tires but in most cases the tires I'm replacing are older than 4 years. Heck my E rated van tires are over 4 years old and will probably be there another 4. I don't think those valves are unreliable yet.

Any thoughts?

Jack

[2airishuman]

i would (and did) continue using the oem a/s metal stems...

a quick note to tech support should confirm IF they are rated for up to 80 psi to match the maxxis...

the alcoa rims are rated to 95 psi...

not ALL metal stems are high pressure rated.

not ALL rubber or rubber/metal stems are low pressure rated.

i've got metal stems that are still functional at 18 years...

and some rubber/metal stems that are rated to 90 psi...

putting on new metal stems DOES increase the chance of a new slow leak....

i dealt with 2 for several weeks recently when i "upgraded" the truck stems to metal...

it was a pia, but now after 2 months is resolved, i hope.

cheers
2air'

lastly it is possible new CORES ONLY can be used with a higher rating and this will avoid the issue of getting new stems air tight...

[vswingfield]

Hi Jack,

I would continue to use the metal stems. However, I would replace the cores. You should be able to purchase the screw in core and a tool at any auto parts store.

[lewster]

Jack,

I think that metal stems should be mandatory on any tire capable of being inflated over 65psi. That said, I don't use rubber (regardless of the rating) on anything over a passenger car tire or 35 psi. I even use metal on my motorcycle! My bicycles even use metal stems!!!!!!

I have heard several tales about the tire blowing due to the valve stem (rubber of course). Go metal and sleep well at night!

[jcanavera]

Well I pulled two of the wheels off and pulled out one valve core and it was brass. I had bought some replacements which were nickel plated but the brass one's looked good enough so I left them in. At this point I have three wheels down at the local auto repair (the bad tire and the rear axle wheels) getting changed over from the Marathons to the Maxxis tires I just bought. Once I get those 3 back I'll pull the last wheel and get that tire changed out.

I bit the bullet and after seeing 2air's pictures from Jackson Center, I used my neighbors floor jack on the jack plates to lift the trailer. I used a wood block between the jack and the plate. All is well and up went the trailer with no problems.

Thanks 2air for those pictures. You certainly can lift on those plates with damaging the trailer.

Jack

[moosetags]

Good luck with the Maxxis. We put 4 Maxxis E's on Lucy after the three Marathon blowouts on our Western trip in June. I've got about 8,000 miles on the Maxxis, and so far, so good. I've been running the Maxxis at 70psi for an 7,500# Safari 25 FB. I changed the valve stems when I put the Maxxis on.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

...You certainly can lift on those plates with damaging the trailer....Jack

hey ur welcome jack. i'm a believer now too.

i think this should read 'withOUT damaging the trailer?

quick story on valve stems....

i use a digital pressure gauge, and after my last tire service all pressures were exactly 64.5 psi...

every time i checked them, 64.5 psi. it was un canny.

so i checked them once while on the road (should have been a bit higher) still 64.5 psi.

turns out 5/6 valve stems had been screwed in TOO FAR and the gauge wasn't really reading pressures, except for the first tire.

so it was displaying that data for all 6.

after backing out the valve cores 1/2 to 3/4 turn the gauge was reading again and the pressures ranged from 58 to 67 for the other 5 tires.

i now carry 6 replacement valve cores and ONE extra complete valve stem, along with the little core tool....

the devil is in the details folks....

2air'

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by lewster

I have heard several tales about the tire blowing due to the valve stem (rubber of course). Go metal and sleep well at night!

My neighbors 5th wheel blew the rubber stem right out of the rim, luckly he was turning into our neighborhood at the time.

Years ago when I raced Karts I had an episode where one tire would go flat on every first fast lap. Back in the pits it wouldn't leak one bit. The spring on the valve stem was so weak the rotational forces would press the stem inward and allow the tire to deflate. Of course these were 6" rims doing 2,000 rpm