How to fix cracked atv tire

How to Fix ATV Tires

ATV tires are built tough, but inevitability they can have problems as they age or get stuck by nails, screws, debris, or sharp rocks. ATV tires typically last a few years depending on how hard you’re riding and how well you maintain them.

Preventative maintenance

First, a little on maintenance. It pays to periodically check your ATV tires for cracks, punctures, or rips. Check the value stems are clean and don’t have any corrosion or cracking. Overtightening the valve stem cap can damage the valve’s core.

Check for corrosion or dents near the wheel rims. Older ATV tires can develop dry rot (which looks like the tire is crumbling or cracking), Dry rot causes slow leaks and suggest you need to change your tires soon.

Useful tools

As you don’t always get warnings of a tire problem, you need to be prepared. Each time you go out, take a puncture repair kit and pressure gauge. Know the proper PSI for your tires before you leave.

In your shop, tire repair can be simplified with a few tools. A bead breaker helps you remove your tires from the rim with less effort. A tire iron or tire spoon is a cheaper alternative. A valve remover helps you take out and put in the core of your tire without causing damage, and a jack is important for stabilizing your ATV when you’re performing any kind of maintenance.

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Finding slow leaks

Slow leaks can occur from slow punctures, lack of use, temperature changes, or tire rot.

Note that leaks can also come from a cracked or bent rim or the tire valve. To find the source, remove the tire and place it on a flat surface. Listen to see whether you can hear a hissing sound that will indicate the location of the leak. Fill the tire rim with soapy water to check if the leak is in the rim and spray soapy water around it. Mark the location of the leak with chalk or a similar marker.

Fixing leaks from the tire rim

Image from www.dirtwheelsmag.com

If the leak is coming from the rim of the tire, usually due to rim damage or rust, you’ll need to de-bead (remove) the tire from the rim. If you have a tire bead breaker and lever toolset, this is relatively easy, but otherwise, you can use a heavy hammer and a wooden plank. Place the place close to the tire rim seal and hit it with force.

Clean the edges of the rim and put some repairing solution on the leaking area. This creates a rubber-like surface that fills up the tiny spaces in the tire and rim.

Re-beading the tire to the rim requires an air pump or compressor. Spray the bead second of the rim with soapy water as a lubricant and remove the stem core of the ATV tire. Now, fill the tire until you hear it pop into place on both sides.

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Tire blowouts

The blowout of an ATV tire can be scary, particularly if you’re traveling at high speed. Again, we recommend preventative maintenance and to never head out on tires displaying bulges or blisters, cracking, or objects embedded in the wall or tread.

Tire blowouts are past the abilities of a puncture repair kit. You’ll need to either replace the tire or the inner tube. Punctures deeper than 3/16” can’t be repaired, as the structural damage is too heavy.

Punctures

Everyone who has owned an ATM for any real length of time has had to deal with punctures. It’s a big pain to get a puncture when you’re out on the trail, so always take a puncture repair kit with you. A tubeless tire plugger is great, as you don’t need to remove the wheel for it to work.

Locate the puncture and clean the area thoroughly. Use the repair kit’s jagged took to free the puncture of debris. Add the cement to the area around the puncture. Stick a plug through the install tool’s eye and insert it into the puncture. Remove the install tool, and use CO2 cartridges from the kit to inflate the tire. Double-check for leaks, but you should be good to go.

Another important tool here is a pressure gauge so you don’t overinflate your repaired tire. If you didn’t bring one, it’s best to take an easy ride home to prep the tire correctly now your tires are inflated.

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ATV minor repairs - repairing a punctured tire

ATVs are famous for their stability and reliability, however, even the highest quality models, including Stels ATVs, can fail. Of course, only a master can deal with serious breakdowns, but you can do something with your own hands, and some breakdowns will have to be repaired on your own, including punctured tires. This is one of the most common problems that ATV riders face, and it's not surprising, especially given that ATVs move on such surfaces, where there is no need to talk about safety. That is why you need to be ready in case of trouble to solve the problem. The main thing, as in many ways, is not to panic, so if you hear a suspicious hiss, don't be scared, but take out the first aid kit of your ATV.

I must say right away that it is better to replace a damaged tire, but this is not always possible and can be done on the spot, and minor repairs will allow you to finish the trip and return home on your fours. In fact, there is nothing complicated about this, and it is quite possible to repair holes up to 5 centimeters in diameter, the rest are usually associated with damage to the device itself, so there is no need to talk about the end of the trip.

In order for the test not to take you by surprise, you need to prepare in advance and always have a few basic things with you. Designate storage space on your ATV ahead of time and remember to refill as you use it. Often in repairs, the main problem is precisely the need to get out of the ground what you forgot to take with you from home. So, here is a list of what will make you feel confident on any road - a repair kit, it includes a reamer - an expander and a special tool for installing patches.

Patches, this is exactly what ends quickly and that you need to constantly buy more, the rest of the materials are not consumables or you can do without them. Patches come in different shapes, for example, I prefer long ones, the main thing is their good stickiness.
Pump. After the “treatment”, the tire will have to be pumped up and you cannot do without a pump. Here the choice is yours, manual or electric, as for me, the simpler the better, folding pumps are still good, they take up less space in the trunk, although it's more about your personal preferences and the possibilities of your wallet.

Rubber adhesive. In principle, there is usually enough sticky layer on the patches, but just in case I carry it in the trunk too, the whole gluing process is greatly simplified. A pressure gauge is a device for measuring tire pressure, if you bought an ATV in a store, it usually comes with an ATV.

If you notice an air leak, start by looking for a hole in the tire, if the tire is already deflated and the air is coming out weakly, inflate the tire and find where the air comes out. It is usually quite easy to find a hole if it is caused by a foreign object - a nail or a branch. If you don't see the hole, spin the tire on the wheel and listen for exactly where the hiss of the escaping air is heard. In the most extreme case, put the tire in water - a puddle or lake - and you will be able to see the air bubbles escaping. Remember that air can escape not only through a hole in the tire, but also through the junctions of the tire parts or the tire and the valve.

Once you find the hole, work the edges of the hole with a reamer, making the surface rough, after that the patch will better adhere to the rubber. Take a patch tool and thread the patch into it, if there is glue, smear it with a little glue and insert it into the tire halfway. The next moment is very important - you need to quickly pull the tool out of the hole, but do not pull the patch with you. If you are doing this for the first time, you may need to practice - I told you that patches run out quickly. Usually, if the hole is microscopic, one patch is enough, but sometimes you have to use several, in this case, repeat the steps, inserting the patches until the air stops coming out of the hole. When the hiss is no longer heard, leave the tire for a few minutes to allow the glue to dry. Do not forget to trim the ends of the patches protruding from the operation site, leave no more than three millimeters, otherwise such a patch may simply fall out while driving. When everything is ready and your tire has restored its integrity, pump it up to the required pressure and you can continue driving. Do not forget that if the hole was large enough, after returning home, the tire will have to be changed to a new one.

As you can see, everything is not so difficult and you will quickly learn how to spend no more than a few minutes on repairs, by the way, if you don’t want to practice repairing a tire in the middle of a track or forest, do it at home, especially if you have never used a repair kit before.

ATV tire side cut

October 19, 2018

In the last article, we discussed what to do when an ATV tire is punctured, but punctures and cuts are different.

Side cuts are considered the most unpleasant, as their recovery is complicated by the specific structure of the tire. The sidewalls of the tire must be elastic, as they take part of the road load.

A common puncture in the sidewall of an ATV tire is rare.

Tire sidewalls are more likely to be cut than punctured. In case of a side puncture or cut, the tire must be changed, as its reliability is significantly reduced, and it will not withstand the loads for which it is designed.

But what if you are far from civilization?

There is a method that will reliably repair a tire, but it will be a longer procedure than a simple ATV tire puncture repair.

Side cuts often occur in the mountains where there is kurumnik, since ATV tires are designed to operate at low pressure, the tire bulges very much when riding and can go under a sharp stone, which will create a side cut.

So, what is required for repair:

Tire sewing thread with needle
Shilo
Adhesive
Car camera
Pliers for removing and mounting the tire from the rim and onto the rim respectively.
Nipple (Just in case)
Automotive compressor

ATV tire side cut repair sequence:

Locate the cut and make sure that conventional harnesses are not enough.
Remove the wheel from the ATV. Remove tire from rim. The tire must be completely depressurized. The easiest way is to unscrew the nipple.
After tearing the tire off the rim. It all depends on the type of your rubber, some rubber will break off with the usual pressure with your foot, some will need to be squeezed with a winch.
Remove the tire from the disk with the help of mounting tools.
Now we need thread for sewing tires, a needle and an awl. We perform the tire darning process. We pierce a hole with an awl, into which we then thread a thread with a needle. Thus we darn the entire cut. After we coat the seams and the cut itself with glue to provide additional reliability and strength. Let the glue dry.
Now we need a camera. We take the tire and put it on the disk with one rim, after that we put the camera on the disk. Please note that the camera must be put on carefully, straightening it, otherwise it will jam inside the wheel and break after a short time while driving.
After putting the camera on the disk, we return the tire to the disk completely.
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