RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

This is on my daily-driver '96 Bonneville, it's got factory chromed aluminum 16" wheels. Since sometime last year, I've noticed an issue where one of the wheels seems to be leaking air from the valve stem. It seems to be worse right after I wash the wheels, you can hear a tiny hiss of air right at the stem for a couple hours after that, plus you can see it bubbling, then after a while it seems to seal back up somewhat.

I really didn't give it much thought at first because this car still had the original tires and valve stems so I just thought it was age and rubber deterioration. I was planing on getting new tires/valves soon anyway. So last monday I finally got some new tires/valves, but when I washed it yesterday I discovered that it's still leaking just like before. So at this point I don't think it's the stem itself, I think that the actual wheel is the problem, seems like I can see a lot of corrosion right around the area where the valve stem comes out of the wheel. I think this corrosion is preventing the valve stem from sealing properly.

So what can I do? Is there some sort of filler/epoxy/sealant that I could apply around the valve stem to block the leak? What will bond to both aluminum and rubber? Or should I have the tire shop dismount the tire and apply some kind of sealant on the inside of the stem?

I've never had this type of corrosion issue before with a wheel. On the inner part of the wheel the surface is actually pealing off the wheel. But on the face of the wheel it's perfect And this car only has 39K miles too.....