Ford dually aluminum rim leaking

[Flick]

I am curious how many Ford dually owners (model year 2017 or newer) are experiencing air leaks in their aluminum wheels. Ford seems to have a problem with these wheels due to the steel TPMS sensor touching the aluminum wheel creating a corrosion problem. I’ve had several stems replaced, at my expense, but the problem exists. My front tires and both rear outside tires leak air and have to be aired up every month especially in cold weather. This is in stock OEM 17” wheels. The inside rear hold pressure.
I will be asking Ford for a fix in a few weeks but I think they’ll have a comment ready to go to offer me. Comments on line show Ford is replacing a lot of rims due to corrosion, hairline cracks and oversized stem holes.
Also curious if you’ve had this problem and were able to find a fix, what did you do. If you used some kind of sealer, what did you use?

 

[LBR]

We dodged that bullet when we upgraded from our 2003 F-550 and bought our alloy wheeled 2017 F-450, sans the factory TPMS. I then added 6 external TSTs to complement the 6 installed earlier on our CY.

I have the smaller, original monitor mounted permanently on the driver's side and programmed it for the 6 truck sensors only, so it comes on whenever we drive.

BLR has the newer larger color monitor setting on the dash whenever we pull. I set it up for all 12 sensors.

The F-350 wheels with factory TPMS is a real issue because of the dissimilar metals...there have been WAY TOO MANY complaints about the valve stem holes.

 

[superduty08]

I guess that I’ve been lucky with my 2017 F350 dually. I’m not seeing any corrosion and not experiencing air lose.

 

[jmarnell]

Our 2017 F350 has unfortunately had this problem in both outer rear wheels. Ford fixed the slow leak in the right rear by apparently resetting the valve stem and putting some sealer around it. I'm not sure exactly what they did, but it worked. The left rear is another story. We've taken it in to Ford 3 times, and every time they say they can't find any sign of a leak. But we're still very slowly losing air out of that tire. I have to put in air every week or two, so the leak is very slow. At this point I'm just putting up with it until we get new tires early next year at which time I'll see about replacing the valve stem. I did try putting some RTV sealant around the base of the valve stem which seemed to help slow the leaking a bit.

 

[JohnDar]

Our 2017 F350 has unfortunately had this problem in both outer rear wheels. Ford fixed the slow leak in the right rear by apparently resetting the valve stem and putting some sealer around it. I'm not sure exactly what they did, but it worked. The left rear is another story. We've taken it in to Ford 3 times, and every time they say they can't find any sign of a leak. But we're still very slowly losing air out of that tire. I have to put in air every week or two, so the leak is very slow. At this point I'm just putting up with it until we get new tires early next year at which time I'll see about replacing the valve stem. I did try putting some RTV sealant around the base of the valve stem which seemed to help slow the leaking a bit.

Take a closer look at the tire bead seat areas. If you see black patches or spider webs, it means the clear coat has been compromised and you're getting filiform corrosion. That will expand and create small gaps in the bead seating. The root cause is chloride (salt) getting under the coating via scratches that can occur during tire mounting or pounding balancing weights on it.

 

[porthole]

Plenty of issues listed on the Ford Truck Enthusiast forum under the Super Duty sections.

The corrosion was a problem before the TPMS. My 2011 had the rear outer rims replaced each year under warranty for 3 years, then Ford basically said tough.
Poor quality application and clear coat material.
Lowest bidder for the rims, made in china. Even the 450 Alcoa look-a-likes are made in china.

 

[NYSUPstater]

I've had the same prob pretty much since we bought it. Ford replaced the valve stems on all 4 alum rims. 2 held and 2 haven't. Dealer I had been going to ordered another set of stems and guess they still have them and were to install them upon next visit. Well that was back last summer and I have since moved onto another dealer due to fact THEY were willing to dig deeper into my CEL light problem. That in itself is under another thread I started about that. But as far as the stems/psi goes, I may ask this dealer about it (they are like 45 min away), but more than likely, will just add air as needed. Oh, and yes I have corrosion at base of stem too.