WARNING for MODEL A OWNERS:DEFECTIVE INNER TUBES

[idrjoe_sandiego]

Model A owners beware:If you have purchased inner tubes within the past 24 months, some are splitting apart without warning. I just checked out the tubes I have on my Model A and it turns out they could be some of the bad ones. Please see my thread on the Dodge Brothers forum for complete details. Be sure to click on the pictures to get an enlarged view of the damage. Here's the link: http://forums.aaca.org/f143/warning-defective-inner-tubes-286287.html

[MCHinson]

I saw your original post and checked the extra tube that I have that matches the ones on my car. It is marked "Made in EEC". It appears to be OK, and the tubes on the car have a few thousand miles on them without any problems. Mine are a little older than 24 months. For me, at least it appears that mine were from before the problem.

I don't know about the vintage tire dealer's inventory control system, but I would guess that it is not sophisticated enough to track each tube from their purchase to who they sold it to. I would guess that, having never had a similar problem before, they probably put tubes into a stock bin and pull them out as needed and they would not know if you purchased one that was from before, during, or after the problem.

I'll bet they now have a system in place to test tubes from each batch so that it does not happen again, but I do not think that it is reasonable to expect notification from them that "We may have sold you a problem tube." That would require a much more sophisticated inventory control system than they probably had at the time.

I am no expert, but it would seem to me that a relatively easy test for any tube would be to inflate the tubes to 35 psi before installing them in the tire. If I understand it correctly, the defective tubes would blow apart at that pressure if tested before installation...

If they held that pressure over night, I would trust them to install them.

[idrjoe_sandiego]

Matthew, as I understand it, from the testimonials I have received (and finally some of the vendors' own admissions) that the problem started showing up approximately 20 to 24 months ago. That seems to me like a very long time to admit there was a problem (only my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of this forum). Since you purchased your tubes over 24 months ago, more than likely, yours are "pre-problem" vintage and seem to have withstood the test of time.

I do, however, feel that two comments are in order re: your tube inflation test (admittedly, I am no expert): 1) I would not recommend performing this test as you describe since several folks indicated that when they attempted this test, the tubes literally "Blew up in their face", and 2) Again I am no expert, but I wouldn't count on that test as a fail-safe. Several of my tubes were on the car for a couple hundred miles (two to three weeks) before they shredded without warning. The range with mine was from 1-3 days to three weeks. Failure does not necessarily happen immediately.

[MCHinson]

Like I said, I am no expert but, I would just think that it would be safer to risk a tube "exploding" in front of you as you inflate it to test before mounting it in a tire than to have an unexpected deflation at highway speeds on your car.

It would not be too difficult to inlate a tube with a piece of plywood used as a shield to protect your face. Use gloves to protect your hand as you inflate and you should be OK. If you have tubes that you are unsure about, testing would be better than not testing them before using them.

[dwollam]

I haven't tried it or tested it but I don't think one could get 35 lbs of air in a tube OUTSIDE of a tire. I am pretty sure the pressure factor is determined by the tire it is in. That being said, I do think one could expand the tubes enough to give them a decent test. Most all of us have probably floated on an inner tube on the water or used them for sled riding on a snowy slope. If blown up like that and left for a couple days should tell us something, I would think.

[MCHinson]

You may very well be correct. Without a lot of thought, I said 35 psi, since that is what the pressure is going to be once installed. I have no idea how big one would be at 35 psi on its own. I know that I would rather find out it was bad before I installed it anyway....