Fixing a slow leak in a tire?

[TommyGunn]

Fixing a slow leak in a tire?
« on: February 07, 2106, 12:28:15 AM »

I was going to claim this was a zombie thread, but I see it's actually from the future .... my error. 

[Doggy Daddy]

You realize that once again it's Fistful's fault.
http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=27926.0

DD

[geronimotwo]

i have never had trouble with a plug in the tread of a tire.  sidewalls don't repair well usually.  i use a pot full of water with dish soap to find the leak.  apply it with a dirty rag.  you may have to roll the car forward to see the whole thing.  a good plug can be administered without jacking the car or removing the wheel, just rotate until the hole is accessable , use the ream and glue and insert the plug!

[230RN]

I've just had to replace the front tires (300 hp V8 and front-wheel-drive combined, and the thing chews through front tires about as fast as you might imagine), but the back ones aren't even halfway to the tread-wear indicators.

Just generally amplifying on this for anyone's benefit:

That's cuz with a front wheel drive, when the car takes off, the acceleration lifts the weight off the front tires, reducing your adhesion, which makes the tires tend to slip.  It's reeeeel easy to "peel out" in a front-wheel drive vehicle, you may have noticed.

A "sub-peel-out" slippage, as in starting up from a light, or when the transmission upshifts, will probably not be heard by you, but it does increase wear.

Especially if you have a mongo engine or a high-ratio differential or a lower than usual first gear or the xmission shifts kinda quick.  Or all of the above.

I discovered this loooong ago. 

I also discovered recently (and this is not spam) that the folks I got tires from the last time around (Discount Tires) will fix just about anything under their guarantee.  I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that.

Terry, 230RN

[KD5NRH]

</div>Agreed, check to see if you have a Discount Tire near you, they fix flats for free, no matter where you bought the tire.

+1.

At least here, their hours suck for regular day shift folks, (M-F 8-5, and don't bother trying to get in at lunchtime) but they do good work, and if they have to replace the tire, they're good at finding cheap or good, whichever you want.

Last time I bought a tire anywhere else involved low-profile tires, 80 miles of dead-straight freeway, and only finding out when I finally made a turn that my tire was dead.  Fortunately, there was still enough rubber to protect the rim, but I wasn't driving around on a donut spare in hopes of finding a DT that might have the oddball size in stock or be able to get it overnighted with Saturday delivery.

[MillCreek]

My new Kia Soul owner's manual has a prohibition against using Fix a Flat.  It says that it will destroy the tire pressure monitors.  Huh. 

[Harold Tuttle]

tire plugs are suposed to be backed up with an interior patch that spans the hole with a 2 inch square of rubber

[Boomhauer]

tire plugs are suposed to be backed up with an interior patch that spans the hole with a 2 inch square of rubber

Not going to bother with that, never have bothered with that, and I've never had a plug failure out of the dozens I've plugged, whether they are in highway use or offroad (I've had several tires with multiple plugs, too). If you want to dismount the tire from the rim to slap a patch behind it, feel free too, I don't have a tool to easily do that (I can do it with manual tools, but it's aggravating as hell).

[erictank]

It really doesn't cost that much to get a tire repaired at a shop, if you're not comfortable doing it yourself. Likely $10 (at least around these parts) or less.

Picked up a nail on my last trip to NY, on New Year's Day, and took it to the Monro Muffler & Auto Repair shop in Fairmount (near Camillus, NY).  They fixed it for FREE.  They've done good work for me in the past, when I lived up there - now, I'll definitely send them as much business as I can.

Add: Wow - a thread from nearly a hundred years from now?  Cool.  Got any hot stock tips?  Who wins the next 50 Super Bowls? 

[brimic]

Fixing a slow leak in a tire?
« on: February 07, 2106, 12:28:15 AM »

Hurray! I see that I posted in 2106. Must be some neat life extending technology coming out soon...

[BridgeRunner]

Timely thread  .  One of the (nearly bald) rear tires on my car is nearly flat.  Been hoping it would hang on until tax refund (aka huge gov't payment for being poor) came through, but the spouse took it to the gas station to fill up this morning and stated that it wouldn't inflate at all.  Don't know what that means, but it appears that I may have a problem.  Could be facing driving on a doughnut for a couple weeks--haven't even gotten any W2s yet 

But, thinking picking up a can of that emergency tire inflater stuff and seeing if that helps at all for a couple days.  No idea what the problem is.  I personally have not encountered a sidewall slow-leak, so maybe the slow leak I have is more repairable.  Trouble is, the tire is so bald that I doubt any reputable tire place would be willing to fix it for me.  Although, there is one place that sold me a couple used tires that seems to have an appreciation for people who just need to hold it together as long as possible, might head over there, if by the time I can do that the thing is even drivable.  I'll probably have to put the spare on.  Can't mess with it for a few days because of cold intolerance.