Strange flat tire tire, never happened before.

[pdqdl]

I'll give you a recent example of a dirty trick done to an employer:

I purchased a truck for an employee at an auction. It should have been paid off last year, but he kept getting advances for this crisis or that problem. The balance on the truck was about $2600.00, probably more than the truck was worth.

I fired him yesterday and repossessed the truck because he was stealing gasoline. He would fill up the cans to go with his equipment, then he would stop by his house (near our shop) and quickly swap the full 5 gallon can with an empty one.

I bailed him out of a number of tight spots, kept him in transportation, often allowed him to borrow company equipment, and I get robbed in return. As I was firing him, he offered to pay me for the gas to keep his job, and protested that he never stole anything from me, that he just forgot to tell me because he needed the gas.

But he never apologized for doing anything wrong. That doesn't usually cross their minds when they are low-life thieves that only think of themselves.

 

[pdqdl]

Well since you asked yes you are being overly suspicious since you dont know what in he11 really did happen. As far as saying only one size is possible, I think that should say only one size is correct. There used to be a few sizes available but I am not up to date on recent tubeless stems. I have seen tube stems fly back in but usually from having the tube backwards; unless someone has retrofitted a tube (which is fairly common on a tubeless tire that for a number of reasons will no longer mount tubeless).

Dismount the tire and see what is inside! You are going to correct your makeshift repair aren't you?

Yes. The makeshift repair must be fixed, as well as looking very carefully for the missing stem. Again: NO TUBE, so it couldn't have sucked back in.

With respect to hole sizes: the wheel in question has the smallest hole available for a tubeless valve stem. All other options are for larger stems in larger holes, so there is no way for the stem to have been too small for the hole.

 

[safeT1st]

Just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they're not out to get you . It's a flat tire . If he wanted to screw you I doubt very much that would have been his choice . Good luck Matlock .

 

[Booshcat]

Wow.....
It's a friggin flat tire....
Get over it. How much do you make an hour for your time?
How much time have you wasted on this investigation?
Thanks for sharing...

 

[Crofter]

I was curious enough to do a little follow up. Had to make a visit to a tire shop today and asked about the stems in the one ton size wheels and if they were different than they used to be and if there is a problem with them popping back in when pressure is low. Had one in my hands. They are different than tubeless stems used to be and use a different concept to seal. They give lots of problems and yes they are very prone to popping back in when pressure behind is low since they do not depend on being tight in the wheel to effect a seal. The shoulder on the outside is less than 1/16 high and wide. The old style had to be cut in two to get it out and pulled in with a puller. This one can be pushed in or out with your fingers. There should be an aftermarket brass with rubber gaskets and retaining nut used to replace the oem stems. The stems can be jimmied in from the outside without whittling them down and just with hand tools but it is easy to damage the umbrella style sealing surface. The special tool mentioned likely makes this easier.

If you accused the guy of doing it to piss you off you likely owe him an apology. That said, it does not mean that he is not a generally useless pain in the ars but I would say he has a pretty good "out" in this case, Lol!

 

[JeffL]

I mean, I'm a pretty pessimistic :censored: who thinks worst case scenario, but you've got even me topped.

 

[Pete M]

pdqdl, have you checked that tyre yet?

 

[pdqdl]

At last. A solution to kill this thread.

Ok guys. Thanks for all the feedback, especially to Crofter who was 100% on target ! Rep !



It was the silly new style of stem (not available from my tire supply house) you described: "The shoulder on the outside is less than 1/16 high and wide. The old style had to be cut in two to get it out and pulled in with a puller. This one can be pushed in or out with your fingers. Yep, that was it!


Now here is why I have not been heard from since the day I said I would check: I checked the tire and stem the very next day (as I promised I would), but I have been TOTALLY unable to get back onto arboristsite since that day! I have tried everything I could on 4 different computers, turned off all the popup blockers, anti-spyware, etc. Nothing worked. :censored:

I eventually deleted ALL blocked sites, and here we are again! It has been very trying, and this is the first thread I have looked up.

For those of you who accused me of being unfair, owing an apology, etc: that is why I posted my original question! So that perhaps someone else had an experience similar to mine, and they could let me know about their experience. In this case, we got an answer right on target, and now everyone that read this thread has gained in a small way from my flat tire.

I learned a LONG time ago that my suspicions about who stole something, who broke the rake, etc, are so often wrong that more damage is done by false accusations than is gained by assigning blame. I sit on my suspicions until I have proof, always looking for any opportunity that I might be wrong before I leap into a confrontation with someone. I don't mind being mistaken, and freely admit my faults, but I dearly hate being wrong.

As it was, I said nothing to him about any wrongdoing on his part, my suspicions were proven to be unfounded, and the employee and I were both gratified to learn that we had been the victims of a defective design.

Thanks for everyone's help and concern.

 

[Pete M]

Nice one - pleased to hear all turned out well! Haha, broken rakes....not had one of them for years since the clumsy fat bloke got given the boot.

 

[pdqdl]

Pics for the curious

Here are side-by-side pictures of the good and bad valve stems.

The slightly shorter version fits the hole very tight after being squeezed into the hole, and cannot be removed once installed. As you can see, the rubber ring that fits the hole in the wheel is a bit larger than the valve stem that pushed back into the tire.

It is obvious by the side-by-side comparison why the valve stem failed.

The stubby little fat one was sold to me as being the correct version for our wheel, and has held air since installed (I bought two). Yes, there are screw down, metal stem varieties as well, but they come with a host of separate problems also. I selected the reliable, old fashioned one.

 

[pdqdl]

The accused has read this thread and is smiling !!

Will has been shown this entire thread and is pleased with the outcome. His comments after reading it are:

"The anguish of FALSE accusation , is directly proportional to the satisfaction of vindication.
Thanks for the well informed,objective input,and for all the efforts tward
a less paranoid,more trusting,Dave.This last,on the behalf all of us at P.D.Q.."

The above was typed today by Will M., unedited and unsupervised by PDQDL, although Will is looking over my shoulder as I type this line. My motivation to add this post came this evening when Will spontaneously reminded me of his offer to be docked an hour for the lost time on the flat that started this thread. [no, I never took the lost time from his pay]

The whole scenario must have been bothering him, otherwise he would not have mentioned it.