Deflatable Tires

My BFG's AT's are really old,... in terms of tire years,... I've lost track but at least a decade. The Jeep also sits for periods up to a week. I have had more than one incident where one of my tires will deflate overnight. I hate to admit it but I think its an employee who I already know has an many anger management issues. There's no way to prove it without investing in security equipment which I am not prone to doing. The question is, has anyone experienced old tires just magically deflating without any signs of road damamge? I pump them back up and they hold air sometimes for a day, sometimes for weeks or months. Could this be a valve stem issue? TIA

All opinions welcome.

Only way this could happen is out the valve stem. If it happened more reliably I would suspect old dried out leaky tires. Could be the valve stem being leaky, or someone letting air out of it as you noted.

I guess you could have a nail in the tire in a spot where it only deflates if the rubber flexes around the tire, maybe try reinflating the tire without moving the vehicle and leave it exactly where it is for another day or two, see if it happens again.

I vote for a nail.

I should have said that this has happened on 3 corners of the vehicle over time.

it can be numerous things...
beads could be bad (on the rim and or the tires)
nail or other foriegn material
rotting rubber


a lot of tires (specifically ones like michelins with soft rubber) tend to leak out the sides after rotting, which with at least decade old tires is a VERY big possibility...

other things like the beads and whatnot may only leak when there is vehicle weight on a certain part of the tire....

stem is also a possibility....

soak the tire/wheel/stem in soapy water and look for bubbles.....

check your valve cores.
common prank, loosen valve cores to leak or take them out entirely.
or you could just have old worn out tires.
if you find out it was someone messing with your jeep put a zip tie on his driveline.

It can happen.
I have had tires deflate after sitting for a while during very cold weather, Once one came off the bead.

Better yet put vaseline on there wipers make hell out of the rain

yardape said:

I should have said that this has happened on 3 corners of the vehicle over time.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking disgruntled coworker. Be glad he's not slitting the tires or ripping out the stems. Maybe paint a light line of clear fingernail polish up the side of the stem onto the cap. If the line was broken next time the tire's empty, that would point to the cap being removed. Maybe paint the caps with that ink they put under the fire alarm handles. Catch the asshole with fingers that glow under a blacklight.

lawsoncl said:

I'm thinking disgruntled coworker. Be glad he's not slitting the tires or ripping out the stems. Maybe paint a light line of clear fingernail polish up the side of the stem onto the cap. If the line was broken next time the tire's empty, that would point to the cap being removed. Maybe paint the caps with that ink they put under the fire alarm handles. Catch the asshole with fingers that glow under a blacklight.

Click to expand...

I like this. Thanks. I'm keeping my portable pump close by.