Jeff Ostroff

So we've been having this issue with a used W204 we bought 2 weeks ago and might need to order rims, it looks similar to my 2014 E350 W12 rims.

We noticed the last week since we bought it that front left tire was not holding air, so a repair shop replaced the valve that the soap test showed it was leaking. Ne valve passed the soap test, drove car around on streets all day no issue.

But then at highway speeds after 2 minutes, both front tires drop from 32 down to 26, but driver side even worse, down to 17, and we had to stop and put air in. But back on surface streets, it seems to have held the pressure at 17 PSI, with slight leakage. I'm beginning to think it is because centrifugal issue the rims are warped from an accident from the previous owner.

We live in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and wanted to ask if anyone has bought rims before, and who we should buy them through. I can't even imagine how much the dealership would overcharge us for these rims. Not looking for anything fancy, just the stock rims that come with the car, or as close to it as possible.

Bringing it back to shop to have them take a second look at rims for warping or pitting

Any suggestions?

MaschioneCazzuto

PM me I've helped out several forum members

Jeff Ostroff

Problem is solved for now!

They looked at the rim and could not see any visible warping. They saw some some minor pitting on the inside portion of the rim and put silicone to seal the bead and we tested on the highway with 36 PSI and within 2 minutes it started to drop pressure, we lost 10 PSI after one exit, and upon getting off the highway back to 40 MPH road, the pressure held at 26 PSI.

Back at the shop again, they applied silicone to seal the bead on the outer part of the rim that you see when looking down at your wheels, even though that side of the rim looked perfect and smooth and no pits.

This second application of the silicone is what solved the problem.

We think maybe the rim got microscopically warped, because it looks perfect and smooth to the eye. I looks like we might be bale to get away with not having to get new rims in the front after all. We will monitor this and see how it goes over the next week.

cetialpha5

Get the part number on the back of the rim and search eBay for them. Depending on the style, they may be in the $100-$200 range for a rim. You can also ask the local tire shop if they know of any companies that fix rims, they can usually bend them back. Mine have been bent more that was visible to the eye and they bent them back fine, but it did cost about $115 to get them bent back. At that price, you could almost get a new rim.

Jeff Ostroff

Dang that's a lot of money to bend back a rim, not something I would think is possible, unless they have computerized equipment, and using strobes and marks, and that sort of thing. You can bet you would not find that at most of the shops in Miami. Or as the Jimmy Buffet song goes, "Everybody's got a cousin in Miami..."

what about the cheap plastic Mercedes hub caps? Got any experience buying them off eBay?

cetialpha5

Nope, it's very old school, just some flame from a propane tank and a press and they just bend it back. Takes about an hour. Looks fine afterwards. They get bent easily around here as the winter potholes cause lots of bent rims. Also for rims, you have your choice of a replica or a refurb OEM one. The refurb oem ones are more money and I'd rather go with those than the replicas. I picked one up for my W211 and it was about $140 plus another $20 to mount/swap tires. Unfortunately, a refurb oem rim for my W212 is more like $200 so I'm not going to bother til the price comes down more.

As for the hub caps, no idea, haven't had to buy them yet.