kind of a long shot, my mom’s mobility scooter developed a flat and i’m trying to fix it

feel free to let me know if there is a better community for these kinds of questions

  1. is the valve stem supposed to be loose? is it missing some kind of O-ring, it doesn’t seem to seal to the wheel rim

  2. can I replace the valve stem with an inner tube?

  3. and if someone happened to recognize the model of this scooter that would be nice too, it was just dropped off by a family friend one day with no paperwork

  • Mcdolan@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    3 days ago

    Not a professional by any means…

    Looks like a tubeless tire, most any auto parts stores will carry the valvestems for them. There’s a type that is all rubber and will pop in, and there’s a type that tighten on the wheel with a nut and gasket(s).

    The only reluctance I’d have putting a tube in it would be makeing sure there are no sharp edges anywhere (like the old valve stem hole) that would pop it.

    Idk how the general mentality is where you’re located, but if you walked into most tire shops with the wheel in hand they’d probably just put valve stem in it and send you on your way. I’m sure their insurance says they cant touch things like that with a 10’ pole, so keep that in mind if you get pushback. Franchise places may turn you away. A manager on a good day would probably put one in and say you didn’t have it done here.

    • ianhclark510@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      3·
      3 days ago

      thanks! i’ll see about getting a new stem, i’m not afraird to tinker, just wanted to make sure I’m starting off in the right direction

  • _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.worksMEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    Just wanted to point out that yes, even in a tubeless wheel you can pop a tube in (provided they aren’t airless tires of course, these look like they’re either tubed or tubeless though). You can probably replace the stem and as long as you can get it to seal it should be OK. If not, either replace it or just pop a tube in and use it like that.

      • Nougat@fedia.io
        2·
        3 days ago

        There’s a little tool that will help to seat the rubber stems. It has a cap on one end that screws on to the end of the new valve stem after you’ve put it through the wheel, and then that cap is hinged on a longish metal stick. Use the stick as a lever to pull the stem through to its fully seated and installed position.

        Or, as another commenter said, get a stem that fastens in with a nut. You might want to put a dab of blue threadlocker on the nut before tightening it down to keep it from coming loose. This will make it hard to remove later, but not impossible. If you do end up needing to remove it later for some reason, heat it up with a torch first to melt the threadlocker if it gives you trouble. (This will probably ruin the valve core, so take that out first.)

  • Zombiepirate@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    Depending on the size of the valve stem, you may be able to replace it with a car tire’s. You basically stick the valve stem through the hole, then screw a tool onto the threads, then lever it into place. Some glass cleaner makes a fine lube for it.

    They’re only a couple bucks, so it may be worth a try.