Ok I guess something was bound to happen to my new car. I ran over a nail on my rear tire. It's not leaking that bad I can go about 2 days before I have to fill it up with air again. Anyways, a lot of the shops around here wanna charge me a lot of $$ just to plug it up. Anyone here ever plug it themselves? Whats the best product out there to do this....
My idea is to dump the tire into a bucket of water and watch for bubbles....
Then just plug up with anything that has holes....if there is more to this please let me know...
Thanks all...


Indy

 

a lot of money???????? i got mine pluged for 5 dollars, later

 

alot of money??? i paid $5

 

Do NOT go to a place that just plugs the tire from the outside. Make sure it is fixed by patching, which is done from the inside of the tire. When they plug, they just drill the hole larger and then jam plug in from the outside to fill the hole. Eventually, from driving around the plug will slowly leak again. Trust me, I didn't listen to others that told me this and learned on my own. Had to toss an otherwise perfectly good tire cause I couldn't patch it after getting plugging done already.

And patching should be ~$15.


[Modified by red97gsr, 11:49 AM 7/14/2001]

 

I must say, my current tires have become more intimate with nails than I would like to admit. Three of my tires have nails in them, and although they are not leaking, I still do not want to drive on them for fear of a blowout. The big problem is that one of them cannot be repaired, so I have to look for a new set.....darn

I dont know who gave you that quote, but it will not run you that much. The price should include patching, from the inside, and balancing. Shop around and if all else fails, Walmart does what you are looking for.

 

I don't know if you have one in your area, but Town Fair Tire patches tires for free, wether you bought the tire there or not.

 

That happened to me on my Accord, the Mobil shop charged me $10

 

i told ya indy. throw some fix-a-flat and then come up to danbury and we'll get it plugged it for real cheap.

 

Well these are the new Crappy michelin tires so I am going to replace them anyway before the winter. I heard of Town Fair but thats quite a drive from NY. It was a Mobile shop that quoted me like $80 to plug the tire. I walked right out when the said that.
I ended up going to AutoZone and I bought these self plug kit. It comes with some sort of glue and weird threads that I guess you use to plug the hole. They are a little long so you are suppose to cut them as close to the tire as you can and they will eventually wear away from driving.
I hope I wouldnt need any wheel balancing being that the car doesnt even have 1000 miles on it yet and I expect to replace all the tires in a few months so I should be alright hopefully....
Thanks for all your suggestions...


Indy

 

$80.... ouch...

 

With all the trouble it is to deflate and reinflate a tire, plus taking it off and putting it on, I'd just pay someone the $10. . . .

 

In my area (San Diego), Winston and Discount tires will patch it up for free.
Find out which shop will do it for free and drive to to their parking lot and pull the nail out.
This way will save you a lot of hassle

 

Hey guys,
before this post gets too long. I have to let you all know that I fixed the tire myself this weekend. I am going to explain the procedures now so that anyone who wants to try it themselves can get an idea....

It is preferable that 2 people be involved unless you are He-Man....

1) Jack up the car and take the wheels off....
2) Find the nail and have a friend get ready to plug the hole up with his finger.
3) Once you pull the nail out, you will use your first tool to dig into the hole. The tool itself is just a handle with a rod sticking out of it. The edges are very abrasive so that you can clean up the hole. This is VERY important. You must make sure that you have gone up and down left and right enough so that the hole is smooth. If it is not, you are screwed.
4) Take your second tool which you will need to insert a thick sticky thread in the end. You jam the tool into the hole which will plug up the hole obviously. Then you need to snap the tool out of the hole and it will release the thick string inside the hole. Just cover up the area with glue.
5) Place the tire back in....


It sounds easy but its pretty tough to jam the tools into the hole. So think about your girlfriend cheating on you or something to get the job done.

Hope this helps anyone who would like to try it themselves. The kit costed me about $4.50 and you can use it 4 times. Also, you do NOT need to deflate the tire in order to do this, just make sure your friend can keep his finger in the hole while you switch tools....

Indy

 

It's great you fixed it, but keep an eye on the tire pressure from now on though. Because I'm telling you that plugs almost always eventually develop a slow leak since it is basically held in place by glue on the edges of the hole. The tire rubber flexes when you drive and also with the heating and cooling off cycles the glue doesn't hold comletely forever. I had a plug put in once, and everyone I know told me it would eventually leak. When winter hit, I stored the tires away in the basement. In the spring, 3 tires had exactly 34 psi, the 4th had 20psi. You can guess which one that was. Also, others that I know that had plugs put in had the same things happen. I only go for patches now.

 

Oh these crappy Michelins are leaving me before winter hits. I mean how crappy can they be if I am going 30mph and they squeal making turns!! It turns heads cause people think i am driving like a ***** even though I am driving like miss daisy!!!!
The little fix I did should hold up for the summer hopefully.....

Anyone got cheap steal or aluminum rims I can buy with perhaps LS Hubcaps?


Indy