Plugging a nail in tyre.....

[manga_blue]

This thread just reminded me that I have 3 tyres "temporarily" plugged with the Slime kit that I meant to get permanently fixed at a tyre shop but haven't got around to. Given that the 2 in Scarlet's car have now survived for about 80,000kms without a leak it's pretty safe to say I may never get around to it.

The one in my ute looks like it'll outlive the ute.

[Silvia]

Anyhow,....just to finish the story, the tyre dude whipped out the nail with pliers and did the "needle with cords" repair after removing the wheel. Tested ok in the water tank, $20 all done. Watching him , I'll get the kit from Supercheap next time for the same money and DIY, then I'll have some gear left to do the next one........can't remember a nail puncture for maybe 10 years though....

[Steampunk]

This is the plug/patch they used on mine the other weekend:



They let me watch the process and I can't envisage anything working better:

- dismount tyre and remove nail
- drill and clean hole with special drill bit
- sand and clean inner surface with power tool (like a Dremel)
- apply some blue goo (assuming it's a bonding agent) to inner tyre
- wait 5 minutes or so for bonding agent to start setting
- install plug/patch by pulling it through the hole
- cut plug stem to length on outside so the remainder is lower than the tread
- use a hand roller on head of plug/patch to remove bubbles and ensure 100% contact
- apply another different black goo (assuming it's a sealant) liberally over the plug/patch
- remount tyre & balance
- pour liberal amount of water over plug to check for leaks.

I think the bonding agent/s is a binary system as the bottom of the head of the plug (part that makes contact with tyre) had a sticky substance on it as well. The repairer actually pulled another new one out of the pack and showed it to me and then I was surprised that he threw it away immediately, obviously it won't be any good for use as it must have an uber short working life if it doesn't meet it's counterpart.

[Silvia]

Perhaps it has to do with the size of the hole made in the tyre - in the case of a large hole I'd prefer the "mushroom" method and a reputable tyre fixer might too. However, in the light of manga's report of extremely long life (80,000km??) trouble free with the "needle and plug threads" I was happy to go with this, seeing the hole was tiny. Where tyre removal and refit is concerned plus obligatory wheel balance , it was probably cheaper too.....

[hks_kansei]

Steampunk's look like the best ones.

The ones i've had have been very similar to them (I can't remember if they had the stem bit that pokes through the hole, think the ones on mine were just a flat inner patch) never had any issue with one.
I used to pay about $35 for one of them.


I've also had the thread style ones, and yeah as said earlier had a couple leak, cost of them was about $20 or so, which makes sense since a fit and balance is usually $10-$15

[manga_blue]

Yh, mine were small holes. I think one was the shaft of a pop rivet and the others were tek screws. All were fixed without taking the wheel off or fully deflating the tyres though.