DrawandDuck Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 (edited) Couple months ago on the way back to Birmingham from shooting the Cherokee match I got a low right rear tire pressure warning....stopped in Douglsville and found the what I thought nail, aired up the tire and got back home. Go to the local Valvoline service center to get them to plug but they would not touch the tire...it is a high speed rated tire is what they told me.....now the nail is dead center of the tire...well I just parked it and and have not had time to fool with it.....Last night it dawned on me PLUG IT YOURSELF stupid....I went to Auto Zone and purchased the plug kit......jacked it up and started to remove the then what I thought was a nail....could NOT pull the damn thing out so I had to UNSCREW it........to my SURPRISE it was a 2 1/2" X 1/4" machine bolt....how it got in there I will never know as it does NOT have a sharp point on it.....I do not think I could take a hammer and get it back into the tire if I tried......Made the repair....Total cost of Kit $9.38.... Edited March 15, 2008 by DrawandDuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 yes I learned long ago plugging and inflating is easier than changing. I dont even take the tire off the car. I just carry a compressor in the tool box. Naysayers will give you all kinds of flack about plugs and shops wont plug belted tires but want to charge you to remove the tire and patch it from the rear end. I have plugged alot of tires and never had a problem. The plug will last longer than the treadlife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I use to get the patched from the inside but usually they say no way. You need a new tire. I've got the plug kit now. I've had some weird things. Last one was a piece of jack chain. Never a bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z40acp Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Once, when I was flying down the road, I heard my front tire on my pickup truck hit something. When I got home { it was only a mile} my back tire was loosing air. When I took it to get fixed there was a 8" long, full size screwdriver inside the tire. The hole was big enough to lose air but it was tiny. A plug sealed it right off. I seen him dismount and remove it so I know he didn't lie about it. The screwdriver handle had a big scuff mark on it, probably where my front tire hit it and bounced it up to drive it in the rear tire. Amazing what you can find laying on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 A speed rated tire (H and above) can most certainlly be repaired. Plugs are generally considered a non-permanent repair, I do see them leak all the time. A patch or better yet a patch-plug that seals from the inside and seals the steel belts is the best type of repair. A repair in the sidewall or the corner of a radial tire will virtually always start to leak due to amount of flexing present. This can be a liability issue and therefore most places will not repair them. Randall, that large a bolt was probably throwing the balance of that particular tire off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcic Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I saw a picture one time on one of the Corvette forums where a guy ran over a 1/2 inch box wrench and punctured his tire. The amount of crap on the roads is scary, especially when I'm on my motorcycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianATL Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Even the screwdriver has yellow accents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrawandDuck Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 A speed rated tire (H and above) can most certainlly be repaired.Plugs are generally considered a non-permanent repair, I do see them leak all the time. A patch or better yet a patch-plug that seals from the inside and seals the steel belts is the best type of repair. A repair in the sidewall or the corner of a radial tire will virtually always start to leak due to amount of flexing present. This can be a liability issue and therefore most places will not repair them. Randall, that large a bolt was probably throwing the balance of that particular tire off. At these prices I will "WEAR OUT" the PLUG KITS!!! Boz, didn't notice any balance issues.....it was the rear though which is not as bad as the front would have been... Rear: 285/35ZR19 RunFlat Serv. Desc: (90Y) Load Index 90 = 1323lbs (600kg) per tire Speed Rating “Y” = 186+mph (300kph) Load Rating: LL UTQG: Treadwear: 220 Traction: AA Temperature: A220 AA A Price: $491.00 (each) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrawandDuck Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) Even the screwdriver has yellow accents You noticed that huh.....just a coincidence I guess..... Edited March 16, 2008 by DrawandDuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Bell Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 When I saw your title I thought you had a repeat of my problem from about three years back. I hope the meeting went well! I intended to be there but my day turned crap-tastic. I was lined up to shot the IDPA classifier in two divisions at Capitol City today. Well my first run wasn't as fast as expected and a little rough. No problem I'll just shoot the same division again at noon. Ughhhhh I was still 20 seconds off my goal. Hey no problem I'll go console myself by busting some clays before the meeting. I've got plenty of time to get there its only 25 minutes away. I've got the tunes up a little in the truck and I'm doing just under 80 on I96 and suddenly the road noise is getting very, very loud. Just as I'm thinking what the hell is wrong, the rear end of the truck goes all squirrelly. It's a flat you dumb-ass! Pull over and put the flashers on, now just where the hell did Chrysler hid the jack in this truck anyway. Assemble this flimsy looking 2 piece rod to winch down the spare from under the bed and wrestle it out. Snake the world’s flimsiest looking jack under the axle and just snug it into position. Get 5 out of 6 lug-nuts off and the 6th decides to half shed the flimsy sheet-metal chrome cap off. I spend 10 minutes digging the other half off. Well guess what now the nut is too small for the lug wrench and I can't get it to bite at all. %#$!@* Call 411 and ask for a tow service in Howell, 45 minutes later which I guess wasn't all that bad here comes the truck. It takes 10 or 15 minutes to load and secure my truck. Another 15 minutes or so I we are in Howell at some tire shop. I settle up with tow driver $90, ouch that's going to leave a mark. Shop guy goes and looks at my lug-nut mess and says that might be interesting. Tire guy comes back in a few and pronounces my tire unsuitable for repair. On goes the spare at least it's a full size real tire. Lug-nut $4, tire service $22 At this point I decide to not push my luck and head home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springy Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Couple months ago on the way back to Birmingham from shooting the Cherokee match I got a low right rear tire pressure warning....stopped in Douglsville and found the what I thought nail, aired up the tire and got back home. Go to the local Valvoline service NOT pull the damn thing out so I had to UNSCREW it........to my SURPRISE it was a 2 1/2" X 1/4" machine bolt....how it got in there I will never know as it does NOT have a sharp point on it.....I do not think I could take a hammer and get it back into the tire if I tried......Made the repair....Total cost of Kit $9.38.... As the owner of several trailers, one a 3 axle, I have mucho experience with flats. Always on the rear........the front tire hits it and stands it up, the "next" tire gets it. Screwdrivers, bolts, any miscelaneous length of steel can wind up rammed thru the next tire in line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Here's a little doohicky that flattened one of MY tires in a matter of moments a couple of years ago. I was only 1 mile from the nearest Firestone dealer at the time, so we took care of it, but the tire was dead-flat after that one mile to the dealer. The diameter of the sprocket is just one inch. I kept it (like something removed from your body during surgery) to remind myself that just about ANYTHING can cause a flat tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huston in Austin Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I had a flat plugged. It was a Z rated tire on the rear. I managed to throw the plug out while driving in the Extra Legal speed range. Pulled over and changed the tire. There was no fixing that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now