You might be going to put air into your tire or the car or just walk by your car. Suddenly you notice that the cap on tire valve is missing. Whether it will affect the health of your tire. As we know, every detail and part of the car is designed with precision and has a purpose even with the pretty little valve cap. What is the function of this part? Does it keep the air in your tire or do something else? And the most important problem: Tire air cap missing is the big problem? All these concerns will be answered in the article to help you better understand the real function of this vital part.
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Are Tire Valve Caps Necessary?
Valve caps can be made of high-quality plastic, rubber, or metal to prevent air leakage and make the valve tighter. What happens if there is no cap on the tire valve? When you notice it, you immediately think: Do I need to get a valve cap right away?. And the answer is: it is not necessarily an urgent need but of course. It’s there for a reason and it’s important to have.
What tasks does the valve cap do? It is engineered with a small rubber seal on the inside to prevent debris or other things from possibly coming into your tire valve. Besides these functions, the main role of this cap also helps in covering the valve to protect your valve stem. And if this part is broken, it will leak the air into the car tire. And of course, it will reduce the performance of your tire.
Most of us don’t glance at those caps on our car’s tires after putting them in the air. But even the tiniest car parts have a purpose – and can be the important part. What normally happens is that people easily forget about putting this cap back on after they take it off the tires. So what has ended up happening is after several years, grimes start collecting in and can cause bad effects on your tires. Don’t forget to turn the valve cap as soon as the pressure is filled for the tires. Surely we also have basic knowledge about tire valve caps from the information that we have analyzed above. Next, we will find the next answer to the question in today’s topic.
Tire Air Cap Missing: Is It A Big Problem?
Valve caps are not simply a little bit of plastic or metal caps to help the valve look good. It is created to protect the Schrader valve. A valve stem into which the valve core is threaded to trap air or nitrogen in car tires. So many drivers are probably worried that: A lot of the air will come out of their tires or that they can’t drive safely if the cap gets lost. Is it true or not? We will explain immediately.
Do your tires lose air without a tire pressure cap?
Sometimes, during tire repair and maintenance or due to external factors, you can lose or damage this tiny valve cap. But don’t worry too much. Because the truth is: Your tire will not lose air because it doesn’t have a cap. Although the valve cap plays an important role, it does not affect the air circulation in the tire. The main job of this cap is to protect the valve stem from dirt and moisture.
There are many reasons that can make your car lose air over time. We will make clear this problem:
Improperly function of the valve stem
Your tire is brand new, it doesn’t have any nails on it, but your tires still lose air. Let’s check the valve stem. A damaged valve is often the cause of an air leak in your tires. Over time, the valve stem will deteriorate and cause the tire to slowly reduce from 1-3 PSI.
Fluctuate Temperature
Air molecules will become denser due to cold weather, leading to a drop in tire air pressure. Your tires will lose 1 PSI for every 10°F drop in temperature.
Nail in tires
When traveling on the road, especially where the terrain is difficult. The accident of the tire being rolled with a nail or sharp object will cause a lot of trouble for your car. Is it also the reason why your tire loses air? Typically, the tire will drop from 2 PSI-3 PSI in a day. The way to handle nailed tires is quite diverse, can be temporary improvisation or long-term patching. When you inspect the entire radius of your tires, make sure you don’t have anything that has punctured your tires whether it’s a sharp rock, a screw, or a nail.
The wheels are pulled away from your tires.
Your wheels are engineered to fit the car tires. When the wheel is bent or damaged, it can cause an air leak. Even pressing on the rubber and causing a flat tire. Curved wheels will also cause vehicle vibration, damaging the tire bead.
>> Read more: How Often Should You Put Air In Your Tires – Learn Here
Can you drive the car safely without the tire valve caps?
It’s good news for you because you still can continue driving your car a certain distance if the air cover is gone. While you may drive without a tire pressure cap, we recommend that you should replace it when you get the chance to avoid the dust and debris that can get into your tires will affect the quality of the tires. Fortunately, air valve covers are easy to replace and can be found at auto parts stores. You will have some options when choosing the valve cap: plastic or metal. In our opinion, you should use plastic. The metal cap can corrode over time and stick to the stem, and it can be extremely difficult to remove when you need to refuel.
How To Replace The Tire Valve Caps?
As we know, tires are the part that always must connect to the road surface. So valve caps on the tires can be worn and threaded due to road bumps or other obstacles. And we need to change this cap, instead of going to the repair shop we can share with you some simple steps to do it at home:
Step 1: Use the rack stand to lift your car and rotate the car tires until the cap is upside down in your view.
Step 2: Remove the tire valve cap
This step can be difficult for some drivers since the caps sometimes can be stuck to the valve stem. So it’s hard for you to take them off. To handle the problem, you can spray the tire lubricant on the cap valve and after that, you can easily remove the cap. Another way, you can take a pair of pliers and keep the valve as steady as you can.
After that, you use another plier and twist the cap until it’s free. Usually, when you remove the valve cap. You’ll find that there’s a lot of junk in the bottom and you need to clean it up. You can use a screwdriver and scrape it out. Make sure no debris is on the inner portion of your cap and go ahead and re-secure this cap.
Step 3: Replace with a new one
After finishing removing the valve cap, you will put the new one back on and you can take some and slide grease on the cap before you install it into the valve stem. This will help the cap not be got stuck in the future.
It’s quite a simple process, it just only takes you a few minutes to do it. However, if you still have trouble in the replacement process, you can go to the mechanic to have support.
>> Related post: How to Complete a Tire Valve Replacement Job
Closing Thought: Tire Air Cap Missing.
Although the tire valve cap is just a small component in your car, we can’t deny the importance of this part. To help the valve cap is always in good condition. After checking your tire, you should spend a little time noticing the part to make sure it’s securely in place most important. Don’t forget to put this cap on the valve after you take it off to fill the air for your tires. The valve cover is manufactured to keep dust and water particles out. And the air can escape from the outside in many other ways. Don’t be too worried when you miss the valve cap.
