Metal Valve Stems for TPMS

[panamerican]

Anyone know where I can buy the Dill 902-W metal valve stems? I've looked all over and can't find anyplace that sells them on-line.


I plan on adding TPMS heads and I too currently have the hybrid metal rubber ones and would like to replace with all metal.

[dhroberts]

Hey, this news of metal tire stems is important to me! Why I didn't know of these items before I don't know.

I use the TST 507 system with its per tire screw-in sensors. My Michelin trailer tires have rubber valves.

During a recent trip, one of my right side trailer tires ran over a sharp metal item causing the TPMS sensor to immediately go off permitting me to get off the road quickly. As I was changing the flat tire, I heard a hiss coming from the adjacent right-side tire. That tire's rubber stem was leaking air. I can only assume that the sharp metal item had an attached strap that whipped the stem of the adjacent tire. Fortunately, a Discount Tire shop was 8 miles away. Given that we travel to very rural areas (that is, no tire repair nearby) I now carry two spares for both the trailer and the tow vehicle. This week, I will get the metal valves installed. Call it overkill, but we sweat the details with so many trailer subjects, let's not forget some of the more mundane subjects.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by dznf0g

I am not sure I have ever seen a commercial tool like I will describe. When one of my stems failed, i rolled into a very small Oklahoma town, right at closing time. The little old dirty ship right at the exit had fabricated a 4 foot.long pry bar, with a lip that slid between the wheel and tire bead. The tool had another leg with a tee bar. When they pried the bead off, the second guy did his stem replacement. When released, and shop air was administered, the bead popped back on and I was on my way. No tire removal necessary. These two guys stayed till about 5:45 to help me. They got a case of beer for that effort.

Harbor Freight sells a 'bead breaker'. It's sort of what you describe. Growing up on a farm, dad would just drive the tractor over the tire he needed to break the bead.
Since I decided to install the metal stems myself (What was I thinking?) I bought a small bead breaker and it worked great.
You just need access to the back of the stem to get your hand in. I used a strip of 1/4" plywood to hold the area open and keep the old stem from falling into the tire. (All came out in one piece).
With the old stem out, you simply reach inside with the new stem and washer, and screw down the shoulder nut on the outside.
HF bead breaker/ one I used:

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by panamerican

Anyone know where I can buy the Dill 902-W metal valve stems? I've looked all over and can't find anyplace that sells them on-line.

I couldn't either.
They're sold by Discount Tire, and I drove to one near me (40 miles) and they had a bin full; about $5 each.
Call first. They actually offered to mail them to me, but I just went in person.

[jeffmc306]

MollysDad, thanks for sharing how you installed your Dill solid valve stems yourself. That's "old school" for sure! I did my share of tires while managing a gas station back in the '70's so it brought back memories.

I considered going that route until I saw your post about Discount Tire having the Dill stems. I stopped by the local DT store on Monday but they didn't have them in stock but were able to get them from another store. The manager said he'd charge $10 per wheel to install plus $3 per stem. They called today and we scheduled an appointment for 1:30 PM and had me out in an hour with two guys doing the job!

Karl, the manager came out to check the size of the tires and commented "they look like new!". I told him they only had 3000 miles on them. He said he could sell me their "Certificate" which is their Road Hazard coverage for $19.75 per tire that's good nation-wide and include the valve stem installation & rebalancing with the TST caps installed. The Certificate For Repair, Refund or Replacement covers repair or replacement for 3 years - no mileage limit down to 3/32" tread depth. I figured that's pretty cheap insurance and hope I never need it.

Thanks again for suggesting Discount Tire!

[Robertson2]

This is our first longer fully loaded trip. My husband with the truck and Airstream, me with my SUV, car trailer and golf cart. I was following him for a two day, 478 mile trip. In pouring rail, going around an interchange I kept seeing the side wall mushrooming out on the curbside tire. I thought is was an illusion because of the rain and road spray. After a few miles I told him he needs to pull over...NOW. We found a wide spot along the highway and by this time the tire was flat and running on the sidewall. We limped to a side road where he got the spare on...that was a challenge, but bless his heart he did it. We found a truck tire center 1.4 miles away. After having lunch in their parking lot, they had us fixed in under two hours and back on the road.

Two new Michelin tires on the curbside and $505 dollars later to find out not only did the TPMS sensor was not working, it did not alarm and it maybe the culprit for the failure...WHEW...what a learning curve. The tire center put in new metal valve stems. We can wait to get the other two changed now.

Another valuable lesson, we used our Anderson leveling wedge for changing the spare and at the tire center. The guys in the shop had no idea where the jack points were and nothing low enough to get underneath the Airstream. The guys in the shop gathered around in amazement that the Anderson leveler worked to well. They could only change one tire at a time but it worked. Then they all gathered around looking over the Pro Pride hitch. Sometimes I feel like a traveling side show for the amount of “lookie loos” that want to see the big shiny camper.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

MollysDad, thanks for sharing how you installed your Dill solid valve stems yourself. That's "old school" for sure!

You made my day.
I know my post told the story of how my Viair 450 couldn't supply enough volume of air to seat the bead. I tried all my tricks to no avail.
Since, I've learned a new idea from the scooter world.
REMOVE THE VALVE CORE before trying to reseat the bead.
That allows more air to flow in. Once the bead pops, then replace the valve core.
Major face palm!