# SAFETY ALERT Tyre Valves



## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

I have had an Email from a member relating yet another tyre valve failure. The subject of tyre valve failures has been covered before on this forum, specifically <<HERE>> and <<HER>>
However this new report concerns a Ford chassis M/H registered in 2005 and involves two seperate incidents within two days.
The first incident occurred on a French Autoroute at a speed of 110km/hr and the second two days later was spotted whilst stationary on a motorway services indicating that failures are likely during high speed journeys. Fortunately no-one was injured in either incident. I hope to have more information in a few days time but in the meantime advise everyone to check their tyre valve condition for any signs of deterioration as a matter of urgency. A photograph of the second failure is attached to give you an idea of how the valve stems fail.


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## RobMD (May 9, 2005)

Good one Ken - and well worth looking out for, it's not a thing I check regularly but will from now on!!!!!!


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## woodcut (Sep 30, 2006)

*Ture valve*

Thanks for that ken, i also have a Ford Chassis so will be checking right after this, Jeff.................


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

I have received some further information on the Ford version of this problem. It seems that Ford are aware of a problem existing but don't seem to be taking any steps to contact their customers ATM. If you approach a Ford dealer they may not be aware of the problem, the one I spoke to this afternoon certainly wasn't.
It's not possible to ascertain if you have the correct valves fitted without removing a tyre, the correct valve has a steel reinforcement between the valve base and the inner wheel surface to give betterer resistance to high pressures. The Ford part number for the correct valve is: 4688245. Apparently dealers don't keep them in stock so they have to be ordered specially. I have asked my dealer to order five and told him that I expect them to be fitted FOC - we'll see what happens when I turn up. 8) The member who had the blowout has spoken to his dealer who has promised to fit his FOC and to pay for the tyre that was trashed when one blew on the autoroute.


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## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

*Tyre Valve Failure*

As previously reported I have haad this happen three times on our Pug.
I have contacted Autosleeper,Peugeot and ATS and none of them claim to have any experience of these failures. I am still waitin for reccomendations as to what steel valves I can fit.

Regards
Steve


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Our Peugeot Boxer has Michelin Camping tyres with steel valves. Are these OK or does anyone know of any problems with them ?

G


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## grout20 (Aug 28, 2006)

*Hign Pressure Tyre Valves*

Hi. We are new to motorhom-ing but after a leaking valve stem found when checking tyre pressures I had all mine checked at a privately owned local garage who had a good reputation (not that Lincolns/Kwik Fit etc would have not taken my cash too, but ...)
Recommendation was any tyre pressure over 60psi should have a high pressure valve fitted. 
Ours is a 96 Swift Royale 630 on Goodyears - not that that makes any difference I guess - but £25 saw all valves replaced with shiny new hp valves and peace of mind.
(My first reply/posting so hope this ends up in the right place!)
Great Forum - thanks for all the tips
_*Good fun this motorhoming lark, eh?!*_
Grout20


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Just to update you on the valve safety situation.

My Ford dealer (Inchcape Ford at Farnborough) refused to replace my valves FOC so I purchased the new valves (£1.50 each + VAT) and took them to my own tyre dealer who fitted them for £20. A small price to pay for peace of mind in my opinion. I strongly advise anyone with a recent Transit based M/H to do this ASAP. I have now written to Ford Customer Relations and the dealer concerned complaining in no uncertain terms that they need to ensure that all the old style valves fitted to M/Hs are recalled and replaced as a safety precaution immediately. I will keep the site informed if and when I get a reply. I understand that Ford are aware of the problem but don't seem to think it's serious enough to justify any action. Presumably they'll wait until someone loses their life as a result of their indifference before they take any meaningful action.
I attach below two photos of the original valve and the new one. The difference in strength of construction is obvious.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

I've had some feedback from Ford today on this subject, they are investigating the problem and would like to hear from anyone in the motorhome world who has experienced a valve stem failure on a Ford based motorhome.

If anyone has experienced such a tyre valve failure can they please contact Ford Customer Relations on 08458 411111 as soon as possible. The person to speak to is Ryan Knibbs.


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## 97180 (Jan 6, 2006)

*Tyre-Valve Failures - Ford Transit Mk 6*

Since Ken's last posting there have been reports of tyre-valve failures on other Transit-based motorhomes and, quite recently, the valves on my 2005 Hobby's rear wheels failed within hours of each other. Details of these incidents can be found via the following links:

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=4583&start=1

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=4963&posts=27

There is a widespread awareness of this problem throughout the UK tyre-fitting trade and it is likely that the number of failures in this country alone is (at minimum) in the hundreds. The failures are confined to the TR-600 pattern high-pressure 'snap-in' valves (as shown in Ken's photo of an 'original' valve) fitted as original equipment (OE) to many Mk 6 Transits. The TR-600 HP valve is a standard design produced by various tyre-valve manufacturers and is designed for inflation pressures up to 100psi. Its most common light commercial vehicle application in the UK is on Mk 6 Transits, but some current Renault Masters are also fitted with TR-600 valves as OE.

After the TR-600 valves on my own motorhome had been replaced I dissected all 5 valves and compared 'good' with 'bad'. Each valve has an 18mm long section of brass stem penetrating into the rubber base. The 3 valves that had continued to function satisfactorily had the full length of this section of stem firmly bonded to the surrounding rubber. However, the 2 failed valves had just a narrow ring of rubber bonded around the stem where it emerges from the top of the base. The lower 17mm or so of stem and the rubber that enclosed it were both totally smooth with absolutely no indication of bonding between stem and base having taken place.

If we assume that all the Mk 6 Transit OE valves that have failed were similarly defective internally (and the evidence strongly supports this view) then the only way to guard against such failures is to do as Ken advises and replace the original valves. As there is no means to confirm visually whether or not a valve carries the defect, there is no way of assessing its potential for failure. Both of my Hobby's valves failed without any prior warning, rapidly lost about 60% of pressure but remained intact. The tyre-fitters I spoke to told me I had been lucky as it was common for the rubber base of the valve to rupture (as shown in the first photo in this thread) or for the valve stem to separate completely from the base.

It is perhaps worth emphasising that, because these failures are not tyre-pressure-related, a fault-free TR-600 pattern valve will be perfectly adequate for Transit usage as recommended tyre-inflation pressures for Transits are well below 100psi. Having said that, based on Ken's photo the HP snap-in valve now fitted by Ford as OE on 2006-onwards Mk 7 Transits certainly looks more robust than a TR-600.

Even heavier duty clamp-in valves suitable for Transit wheels are also available and this is the type I chose to have fitted to my Hobby. 'My' valves are made by a German company named Alligator Ventilfabrik (www.alligator-ventilfabrik.de). The particular valve is Alligator's Part No. 512563 and I purchased them from a UK automotive equipment supplier named "Auto4" (www.auto4.co.uk). Auto4's Part No. for this valve is 2563 (shown in the "Metal Clamp-in Valves" section of Auto4's downloadable pdf relating to valves) and the cost is about £3 each.


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## aultymer (Jun 20, 2006)

After 2 valve stem failures in France during our first trip abroad(2006) in a motorhome I asked my local independent tyre dealer for help. One hour later I had 6 metal valves ( listed as 'racing valves' ) fitted at a total cost of £12.00 
Not a lot to pay for peace of mind!!


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## 97180 (Jan 6, 2006)

*Tyre-Valve Failures - Ford Transit Mk 6*

When my Transit-based Hobby's rear-wheel tyre-valves failed (coincidentally also in France) a French tyre-fitting company replaced them with 'metal' valves at my request. However, I was doubtful at the time that the valves used were suitable for a Mk 6 Transit wheel and concerned about the method of fitting employed.

On return to the UK I showed the valves to a number of local tyre suppliers. One termed them "racing valves" and another (accurately) as "truck valves". As I had suspected they were unsuitable for a Mk 6 Transit, being designed for wheels with a 9.7mm rim-hole rather than the Transit's 11.3mm. There are plenty of clamp-in metal valves that are intended for wheels with 11.3mm rim-holes, but some of these will be more suitable than others for a Transit wheel (that has limited clearance in the tyre-valve area). In fact a UK tyre-valve supplier gave me 10 clamp-in valves that would have fitted my motorhome's wheels, but I chose to use the Alligator valve instead as fitting was simpler and I preferred the design.

It's probable that the wheels of a Mercedes-based Hymer S660 differ significantly from my Ford-based Hobby's and that a clamp-in tyre-valve suitable for the former will be unsuitable for the latter (and vice versa).


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