I have a slow leak in my tire due to a dented rim (I have to put air in every day). A new rim will set me back about $300, is it possible to fix the problem by putting a tube in the tire?
No, modern tires are made to run without a tube. Have you thought about getting a used wheel? This place has a bunch of them.
Yeah used was going to be my second choice. Thanks for the quick reply.
Depending on what type of rim it is, you might be able to pound the rim back enough to keep a good seal with the tire.
I used to work at a full service station and have done this more than once, with occasional success.
E3
I’ve had several tubeless tires fitted with tubes when the wheels wouldn’t allow a proper seal, due either to deformation or corrosion.
Some tire sizes are unable to be matched by a tube though.
If the wheels are alloy and the rim is corroded, they can occasionally be sandblasted clean and then powder coated/lacquered to improve the sealing charecteristics. Doesn’t always work though.
About 15 years ago, I had a car with snazzy aftermarket aluminum rims, and I got in a wreck once where I ended up hitting a curb and putting some pretty big dents in two of them so they wouldn’t hold air anymore. A local wheel shop was able to pound the dents out and then turn them on a lathe or something to smooth them out so they looked good as new (they were always shinier than the other two after that). The whole thing cost about 75 bucks. I’d recommend that.
If you have aluminum wheels, I suggest you get yourself a new rim (or a new used one). I had this problem a few years back, and my mechanic told me he *could *pound it out for me, but he didn’t recommend it and told me he wouldn’t even write the job up since he didn’t want any sort of paper trail back to him if the thing failed on me later. I guess the idea was that there might be some unseen structural damage to the wheel, or that he might damage it more by trying to reshape it. I wound up ordering a used rim from a local salvage yard – it cost me half of what a new one would have cost – and my mechanic put it on for me no charge.
Slime it. I have used it on every thing from a garden tractor to a Firebird Formula. Just because it worked for me YMMV.
Tire shop owner here! 
Fisrt of all, is it alloy or iron?
Second, are you sure it loses air from the dent? I have seen some seriously deformed wheels (both iron and alloy) that did not lose air.
Also, what is your tire/rim size? Anything with an aspect ratio of 65 and above will easily take a tube.
Be aware though that tubes lose all air instantly when punctured. If the tube is in one of the front wheels that translates into loss of vehicle control. If you decide to use a tube, I suggest putting that wheel to the rear.
You might consider pounding the dent out of a spun aluminum wheel like a centerline but I don’t suggest it. A cast wheel is a different matter as it will likely crack then you’ll have an unusable rim. Worse still it could crack and you wouldn’t see it until it failed catastrophically on the highway.