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Modern vehicle tires are tough, standing up well to rough terrain and thousands of miles of driving. Trouble is, tires are not invincible. Every so often car tires spring leaks. Air can start leaking from anywhere on a tire, and the location of the leak determines whether or not you can fix it yourself. And if you can't fix it yourself, the location of the leak will also tell you if you need a professional repair or a new tire.
Whether or not your tire is tubed or tubeless affects things, too, because only tubeless tires can be repaired using the technique of plugging that we'll show you here. The good news is that modern vehicles always have tubeless tires, and this means that repairing with a rubber plug is often an option.
Plugging a tubeless tire is only a possibility when your puncture is in the tread area. If the air leak is where the sidewall of the tire meets the rim — this is called a "bead leak" — you'll need to visit a mechanic with a tire machine to dismount the tire from the rim and remount it with sealing liquid applied to the bead. If your sidewall has been punctured, you need a new tire, because damage there can lead to a blowout at highway speeds, even after repair.
Learn exactly how to plug a tire so next time you spring a leak between your treads, you'll be able to get up and running again in record time.
Total time completing the repair is about 15 minutes. Doing the work yourself will save you about $20 and the time spent driving to the garage and waiting.
Steve Maxwell for Family Handyman
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Do It Right, Do It Yourself!
Originally Published: August 27, 2020
One of the problems you can encounter when traveling by car is a punctured tire.
Using a patch is a fairly common option to work around this issue.
Yet, if the hole is in a position like a tire wall, the problem becomes much more complicated because it is likely that the defensive position will not be patched.
So, how close to the sidewall can a tire be patched? A distance of 6 mm or more from the tire shoulder is required to fit a patch. In other words, if a crack is closer than 6mm, there’s almost nothing you can do about it!
Tire Sidewall OverviewFirst, let’s learn about sidewalls and how to identify them on your tires.
The wall is the rubber part from the outer edge of the rim to the road surface. This part also has the largest area, is the most flexible, and continuously deforms under loads when moving.
How Close To Sidewall Can A Tire Be Patched?As you know, the car’s wall is in a particular location, so it is pretty challenging to troubleshoot the hole here.
Manufacturers also recommend that you not choose the patch option if the spot is on the side of the vehicle or too close to this position.
Then, how close to the sidewall can a tire be patched.
You cannot use the patch if the hole is close to the wheel with a gap of less than 6mm. In addition, you should note that if the hole is more significant than ¼ inch, the patch should not be used. In this case, if the patch is small, it cannot cover the hole, causing the wheel to deflate still when moving.
On the contrary, using a large patch can make the wheel more bulky, difficult to move, and unsafe.
Fix Sidewall DamageOther Related QuestionsTo better understand the problems that occur with the tires and how to overcome them effectively, you can refer to the following information.
We’ve put together some frequently asked questions that may help answer your questions on this topic.
People are often concerned about whether it is safe to plug or patch a flat tire.
These two options are pretty standard in repairing or overcoming the problem of flat tires caused by rolling nails or other sharp objects.
The manufacturer still recommends that you better replace the tire with a new one when there is a problem because repairing with a plug or patch when a flat one is not a safe solution.
Yet, the cost of new tires is not cheap, and if you have this problem often, it is a big problem. So, many drivers use a plug or patch when a wheel is punctured.
There is a limit to the number of nails or patches on a product. You can use this option to temporarily fix the problem if you find a few small holes. If the wheel has many large holes or previous patches, it is best to replace it with a new one.
For a detailed guide, check out this video:
How close can a tire patch be to another patch?The gap between patches is also a topic that people are very interested in. When traveling on the road, you may encounter a flat one many times.
As you know, when the tires have had previous patches or punctures in close locations, it is better to replace them. In case
Can you patch a tire on the side of the road?In the case of a puncture on the tire side, the use of stickers is unlikely to have as much effect as you think.
The reason is that its wall adhesion is so thin that relatively few materials can adhere. More specifically, damage to the sidewall will seriously damage the structure of a wheel.
The solution to this problem is to insert an extra tube inside the wheel to ensure that you can still turn the whole thing.
A patched one will not achieve the same speed and performance as it once was. Therefore, the optimal level you can expect from such a version will not be more than 85 mph. Of course, this is just the limit that many manufacturers recommend, but you should not overdo this limit.
Can you patch a tire with 2 nails in it?The answer is yes! It’s just that the gap between the two punctures is at least 16 inches, and you might seal them with two large patches.
According to many manufacturers, the maximum number of times performed is two times. If more than that, it’s time to get a new one.
ConclusionAs such, a puncture in the side of the vehicle is a unique location where patching is not an optimal solution in this case. It would help if you changed to a new tire to ensure safety when traveling.
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This post was last updated on esportby.
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An easy way to quickly restore tire tightness and continue your journey. True, for this you need to have the right wheel repair kit with you.
Maxim Stroker
“Catching” a nail, screw or piece of wire in a wheel on the track is a trifling matter and somewhere even everyday. However, it turns into a serious "trouble" if this happens, for example, at night or a couple of tens of kilometers from the nearest tire fitting point. In theory, in this case, you need to put a spare wheel and go further. Although, in the case of a family trip on vacation, the process of digging it out from under a pile of junk in the trunk can turn into an adventure that deserves a separate story. Be that as it may, often the trouble does not come alone and the spare tire can be broken literally on the next kilometer. After all, where one carnation fell on the road, there may well be another one, and another, and another ...
With a couple of crippled wheels, you'll either have to wait an unknown amount of time for a tow truck to be sent in, or fix it yourself.
Therefore, in a not particularly urbanized area, it makes sense to carry a repair kit with you to eliminate punctures in tubeless wheels. In principle, it can be of any manufacturer. The main thing when choosing it in the store is to make sure that the “drill” included in the repair kit is not very toothy and sharp. After all, his task is simply to clear a puncture hole in the tire, and not to break its metal cord. The second recommendation: the flagella, which are supposed to close the puncture hole, should be plump and reinforced with thin wire or plastic threads. nine0009
n-i.kiev.ua
And the third criterion for choosing a wheel repair kit is the obligatory presence of a tube of glue in it. Yes, yes: there are also “glueless” sets on sale, which are essentially useless.
So, we notice that the wheel is flat (or has already been blown off) and proceed to eliminate the problem. Most often, the hole in the rubber is not visible. Therefore, to begin with, we hang out the damaged wheel by raising the car on a jack, and inflate it with a pump or compressor to 3-4 atmospheres.
If even after that it is not possible to detect damage by the whistle of escaping air, we methodically and consistently wet the entire surface of the wheel and look for bubbles at the puncture site. nine0009
Having found a puncture, we take the “drill” from the set and pierce the damaged area with it several times. So we clean the surface of the hole before gluing. Next, we smear the “drill” with glue from the set and again immerse it in the hole. We repeat this operation and, leaving the “drill” sticking out in the hole smeared with glue, we take out the flagellum and insert it halfway into the eye of another tool - the “overgrown needle” (sometimes called the “awl”), also available in the repair kit. We coat the flagellum with glue and, quickly pulling the “drill” out of the hole, insert our “needle” there so that the ends of the flagellum remain above the surface of the wheel tread. Next, we pull out the “needle-awl” and wait a few minutes until the glue grabs. After that, we pump up the wheel and carefully cut off the protruding tails of the flagellum with a knife.
Everyone, you can move on. nine0009
Test drive of one of the best family minibuses
19959
wheels, summer tires, cheap cars, repairs, tires, winter tires, track
You hit: the tire is flat, but there is no spare tire. Modern tires are tubeless - if you managed to block a small leak with a sealing compound, pouring it into the valve, you can not look for a puncture. Effectively - plug the hole with a rubber band. It is injected from the outside with a special device (such kits are inexpensive on the market). But now we are talking about an extreme case - when a careless driver has nothing at hand to quickly repair a puncture.
The technique is not new, but effective: we move the tire bead using the weight of the car and the force of the jack.
nine0009
The technique is not new, but effective: we move the bead of the tire using the weight of the car and the force of the jack.
A small hole can be plugged by screwing a self-tapping screw into it. You can take it, for example, from the trunk lining. Another option, if the puncture is small: pour half a liter of water into the tire (with a pump through the valve) so that it slows down the air outlet. But periodically you will have to pump up the wheel.
Approximately ten cubes of gasoline, a torch, an explosion - and the board sits still!
Approximately ten cubes of gasoline, a torch, an explosion - and the board sits still!
To seal a large hole, the tire will have to be removed from the rim, at least on one side. But first, move both tire beads deep into the rim groove. Experienced people carry a piece of steel angle and a heavy hammer for such a case. Or they move it with a jack, resting its heel against the sidewall of the tire, and the shelf against the threshold of the car.
Next, installers need to drag the desired bead over the rim flange, and only after that you can take on repair fungi, glue and patches. nine0009
The puncture has been repaired - but how to return the tire to the rim shelves? Not everyone has a high-performance electric compressor with them. And in order to use a conventional pump, you will have to seal the gaps as much as possible - for example, pull the tire around the circumference with ropes. If the sides hit the hump and the pressure began to rise, the problem is solved. In practice, these methods require manual dexterity. It's easier to land the tire with a light blast. This requires 10–15 g of gasoline. Pour a few milliliters of fuel inside the tire, then, so that it evaporates better, we roll the wheel. We put it on its side and, pressing on the sidewall, bring the flame to the gap. But not a match, but a torch! There will be a pop - and the tire is in place. A typical mistake is to pour too much gasoline: instead of popping, a fire will break out.
We extinguish, we air ...
“Inflate” the tire with a watering hose. The matter requires patience, but on such a wheel you will reach the place of repair.
"Inflate" the tire with a garden hose. The matter requires patience, but on such a wheel you will reach the place of repair.
When the hole is in the knuckle, the tire cannot be saved. Unless you insert a camera into the tire. From the inside, it is useful to cover the hole with a "coat" of a couple of layers of rubber or with a bandage cut from the sidewall of a tire lying on the side of the road - there is a lot of this goodness along the roads. This will protect the chamber from sand and reduce the chance of further tearing. And if it's not far from the purpose of the trip? On a flat tire, you can drive 15–20 km on asphalt at speeds up to 40 km/h before it finally falls apart. We talked about this experiment in ZR, 2009, No. 7.
But what if there is no camera? Then turn on the fantasy.
Someone "fills" the tire with a watering hose; all sorts of rags, sponge rubber from old seats, plastic film, linoleum strips, sidewalls cut from old tires, etc. will be used. With such stuffing, tires will wrinkle less on the go. But forget about driving in normal mode - slowly, extremely carefully, we drive to the nearest tire shop.
Travel set: wedges, jack, pry bars, wheel wrench, hammer, gloves, corners, compressor. Do not forget repair fungi, self-vulcanizing patches and, of course, a valve cap with a head that is used to unscrew the spool. There are usually no such caps on the wheels of modern cars, but if you look, it may come in handy. nine0009
Travel set: stop wedges, jack, pry bars, wheel wrench, hammer, gloves, corners, compressor. Do not forget repair fungi, self-vulcanizing patches and, of course, a valve cap with a head that is used to unscrew the spool. There are usually no such caps on the wheels of modern cars, but if you look, it may come in handy.
CARE OF THE WHEELS, RULES OF DISMANTLING AND ASSEMBLY
— Not all tire damage can be repaired without loss of its qualities. Drive in such a way that the risk of fatal injury is minimized. On a long journey, take a camera in reserve - it can come in handy. nine0009
- Monitor the condition of the wheelbrace and jack. Cracks or metal extrusion, heavily worn threads, tight rotation despite lubrication are unacceptable!
— Before jacking up the vehicle, secure the wheels on the opposite side. Stoppers under the support wheels - wedges, stones, etc. - should not slip along the road. To prevent the machine from sliding to the side, it is better to place the support wheels in shallow ruts or pavement potholes.
- If you have to work on soft ground or snow, place a wider support under the heel of the jack - for example, a piece of durable board. When turning the screw, do not adjust the jack with your other hand, especially do not stick your fingers into it.
