TR400 valve stems are the .453" hole diameter black rubber valve stems that are commonly used on passenger and light trucks that have under 50psi inflation pressures. Some have decorative chrome sleeves. There is different heights in the 400 series.

IF you have a 2005-6-7 Ford care truck you probaly have some stems that are defective as the Dill piece came OEM on the tires. IF you use these rubber stems on other cars or the race car and have had stems replaced you stand a good chance of having defective stems.

Bend the stem by pushing and look for cracks.

Metal valve stems with screw on nuts are not affected.

Not all valve stems are created equal. Metal stems with hi-temp cores are the way to go especially on something fast.




From AAIA Capital Report

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigators announced on Sept. 29 their intention to upgrade a probe of Chinese-made Dill TR400 series tire valves that can crack and leak air causing tire damage and potential crashes. The investigation was opened in May to monitor the premature failure of Dill Air Control Products snap-in tire valves because they were cracking. Dill said the valves were made by Topseal, a subsidiary of Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp.



In addition, Dill was served with a suit alleging air leaked from a cracked valve installed in September 2006 to the right rear wheel of a 1998 Ford Explorer that caused a fatal crash in November 2007. The suit claimed that the rollover resulted from the sudden failure of the tire valve, which was caused by air leakage. The valve was installed by a Discount Tire store, who is a co-defendant with Dill. Topseal claimed the cracking problem was linked to a change in suppliers of a chemical that provides protection against cracking.



Through the investigation, 23,000 cracked Dill valves were discovered by Discount Tire, and half of them were leaking air. In May, Dill requested all of its North American customers return unused valve inventories from the 2006 production lot and recommended inspection procedures to detect and replace affected valves. NHTSA determined that Dill valves installed from August 2006 through July 2007, a time where Topseal lots were made with the new protection chemical, were more likely to be cracked than non-Dill valves and Dill valves installed before and since that day. Discount Tire told NHTSA it began sending letters to owners in July about the cracking valves and the potential safety risks and offered free replacements of the tire valves. Approximately 23.5 million TR400 series tire valves are under scrutiny.



For more information on the Discount Tire Customer Advisory, visit http://dtcares.com.



For more information on Dill's advisory, visit http://dillaircontrols.com.

This is for real. I had this issue with a new set of tires installed at Les Shwab a couple years back. After the first 2 went I had them all replaced.

Yeah....

Hi Joe......

Dill, in biz for over 100 years in the USA decided to outsource some years ago to some different European mfgrs . To China in the last few years to get even cheaper product. Now Dill is stuck for $4 a stem reimbursement for installers/dealers that they remove from consumers wheels. And all the returns from their direct accounts and all the dealers.....supposedy 33 million stems.

There are at least two places where rubber stems should NEVER be used, under any circumstances.
One, on a race car, be it a go kart or a Nascar stocker.
Two on the trailer that you use to haul that race car.

Also, even the steel stems should be ckd periodically as they can loosen over time as gaskets/seals compress.

Rod

Jerry (and Rod),

Thanks for the info and update. I'll change valve stems on the race car AND the trailer.

Cheers, Paul

All metal valve stems (TR416 clamp-ins) come in different lengths. 1 1/4" and 2" and low profile at 3/4" also. These should always be used for hi-po use and should be short enough so hitting a cone or a wall the stem is not in the way.

There also is a small o.d. all metal which Myers Tire supply carries...#24-117 which fits .453" common rim holes that are very close to a radius on the rim and has an inside double nut.

Dill or Schrader are the usual suspects......well we might cross off Dill.

Use high temp valve cores. (red collar)

Lynn Heaps at Topless can supply all this at tracks that he has tire service.

On trailers that use 45 psi and up you can use the same stems that are used on light trucks /SUV's etc (TR600 series).