Why Tire Valve Caps Are a Must-Have for Every Vehicle

The Importance of Tire Valve Caps for Maintaining Tire Pressure

Tire valve caps perform double duty by keeping dirt out of the valve core and preventing air loss if the valve core leaks.

The tire valve stem house the valve core that allows you to add air, and closes to keep the air in the tire if you do have a small piece of dirt lodged in the valve core seal.

What is a valve stem core?

The valve stem core screws into the valve stem. It has a spring-tensioned plunger and a neoprene valve seal. When you press an air chuck against the plunger, it opens the valve and allows you to add or remove air. However, if there’s dirt surrounding the plunger, you can accidentally blow the dirt into the tire and even embed the dirt into the valve stem core seal, and that will cause a slow leak.

Why valve caps are so important

First, they keep dirt from building up around the core plunger. Then, if dirt gets embedded in the neoprene air seal, the cap will slow down or prevent the air from escaping until you can replace the valve core.

How to replace a valve stem core

Purchase a replacement core at any auto parts store. Using a core removal too, unscrew the core until it starts to blow out of the valve stem. Then insert the new core and tighten until snug using the core removal/install tool.

Don’t lose the valve stem cap. Put it in your pocket.

©, 2021 Rick Muscoplat