Nail in tire - fix or leave it alone?
Jim Golab
The tire is a Goodyear Aquatred with ~30K on it and plenty of tread. The nail
seems to be sticking straight in and the head is flat and flush with the tire
surface. It appears that the head is a little under 1/4" in diameter and the
nail shaft itself is ~1/16" - 1/8" in diameter.
So, my question is this: Should I just "leave well enough alone" or should
I have it taken care of? If the latter, what is the best method to use to
fix it (patch/plug/etc)?
Oh, I am not a "high-performance driver", in that I almost never get above
70MPH (though I am thinking of driving to Houston this weekend and the speed
limits at some points are 65MPH :) ). I spend about 40 mins each workday on
55MPH highways.
Thanks for your help.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The views expressed above do not neccesarily reflect those of Motorola.
Jim Golab Somerset Design Center
email : go...@ibmoto.com Austin TX 78735-8598
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
--
Jim Golab Somerset Design Center
phone : (512) 795-7449 Motorola Inc, Mail Drop OE 512
cube : #2141 6501 William Cannon Drive W.
email : go...@ibmoto.com Austin TX 78735-8598
Larry Glanville
>surface. It appears that the head is a little under 1/4" in diameter and the
>nail shaft itself is ~1/16" - 1/8" in diameter.
>So, my question is this: Should I just "leave well enough alone" or should
>I have it taken care of? If the latter, what is the best method to use to
>fix it (patch/plug/etc
Plug it. It can usually be done on the car in about 5 minutes. You've already taken care of the hard part-finding it. It's always easier to plan the repair then to have an emergency later. Chances are it will fail at the most inconvenient time. Also, if the hole is near the sidewall, you're probably better off keeping that tire on the rear of the car (too much strain from front wheel drive if it's moved to the front wheels).
Larry Glanville
Tim Murphy
problems if you leave it in. From the description you gave
I would bet that it didn't even penetrate the tire completely.
If it did puncture completely, you will be able to tell when
you take it out. You can buy a kit to patch it with a plug
at any auto parts store.
If you don't want to do it yourself, take it to a garage and
have them take it out. If it didn't penetrate, then they
shouldn't even charge you for removing it. If it did they
shouldn't charge more than $5-$10 max!
...Tim Murphy (tmu...@bnr.ca)
Bill Rockefeller
: The tire is a Goodyear Aquatred with ~30K on it and plenty of tread. The nail
: seems to be sticking straight in and the head is flat and flush with the tire
: surface. It appears that the head is a little under 1/4" in diameter and the
: nail shaft itself is ~1/16" - 1/8" in diameter.
I'd take it to a gas station and have em fix it for $10, just to be safe.
--
Bill Rockefeller <sk...@rahul.net>
Eric M Phillips
Patch it. Plugs can and will come out. They are cheaper but not as effective.
The patch should last the lifetime of the tire.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric M. Phillips
phil...@ecn.purdue.edu
Mechanical Engineer - '95 Ram Driver (coincidence? - don't think so)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
James A Larosa
Better safe than sorry. Get it fixed.
James
Orville Damron
<Pine.SOL.3.91.95031...@helium.gas.uug.arizona.edu>,
jla...@gas.uug.arizona.edu says...
>
>
>Better safe than sorry. Get it fixed.
> James
>
DAVCLA
the nail, deflate the tire, get a tube of SUPER GLUE GEL and insert the
tip as far as it will go(needs to be at least 3/4 the way through the tire
to be effective), squeeze the tube and pull it out slowley. Wait 15 to 20
minutes, reinflate, and away you go!
Where I work, there always seems to be a screw or nail laying around and
it always finds my tire. After getting sick of shelling out 10 to 15 bucks
here and there I decided to give it a try. It worked gread for me! Plus
it also has the added benefit of not affecting the wheel balance as much
as a plug or patch.
good luck
David W Clark Jr.
tm...@earthlink.net
get a bike repair kit to do it! Take it to a tire shop (not a gas staion or a mechanic) and have an
internal repair done to the tire. Plugs are not recommended because an internal inspection of the
puncture area should be done. I belive you live in the Austin area? Go to your nearest Discount
Tire Company store and tell them that Travis at CAL-11 asked to have it repaired FREE! Good
guys and good service, and there are three in Austin.
Caio... T-Man
Christopher Lawson
:I just noticed that the left rear tire on my Honda Prelude has a nail in it.
:The tire is a Goodyear Aquatred with ~30K on it and plenty of tread. The nail
:seems to be sticking straight in and the head is flat and flush with the tire
:surface. It appears that the head is a little under 1/4" in diameter and the
:nail shaft itself is ~1/16" - 1/8" in diameter.
:
:So, my question is this: Should I just "leave well enough alone" or should
:I have it taken care of? If the latter, what is the best method to use to
:fix it (patch/plug/etc)?
:
:Oh, I am not a "high-performance driver", in that I almost never get above
:70MPH (though I am thinking of driving to Houston this weekend and the speed
:limits at some points are 65MPH :) ). I spend about 40 mins each workday on
:55MPH highways.
By all means, get it fixed !
Get the nail out before it does any more damage. The tire can be plugged,
provided that the nail was in the middle area of the tire tread. Anything
close to or on the sidewall should not be patched.
[History lesson]
I went to patch a tire that had a nail stuck in the tread about 1-1/2
inches from the side. Good thing I chose to pull the tire and put in
a boot from the inside. Upon inspection, I discovered that the sharp
end of the nail had been against the sidewall and had cut it rather
deeply. The tire would have been in danger of blowing out if I had
just plugged without looking at the inside of it a continued driving
on it.
[Preaching off]
So if the nail is fairly small and you're confident of no sidewall damage,
then go ahead and plug it (don't need to dismount tire). A shop shouldn't
charge you more than 10-15 bucks to plug the hole. Or you could just
buy the patch kit for 3 bucks from the local auto store and do it yourself.
Don't get cheap on the repair kit though, get the one that has the reamer
and don't spare the glue.
-Chris
Brent Moss
|> go...@ibmoto.com (Jim Golab) writes:
|>
|> >I just noticed that the left rear tire on my Honda Prelude has a nail in it.
|>
|> Patch it. Plugs can and will come out. They are cheaper but not as effective.
|> The patch should last the lifetime of the tire.
|>
|>
|> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|> Eric M. Phillips
|> phil...@ecn.purdue.edu
|> Mechanical Engineer - '95 Ram Driver (coincidence? - don't think so)
|> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
I've always done my own tire repair. I use Camel rubber strips and vulcanizing
cement. I have never had one come out. They always last for the life of my
tire. I do a lot of off-roading with repaired tires also(bfg steel belted
radials). I usually am able to pull the nail/ream it/plug it and still have
air left in the tire.
Why get married ? Just find a woman you really
can't stand and buy her a house.
Salmon swim upstream to mate and die...
And so do men.