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Lessons learned plugging a tire

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by bwilson4web, Feb 24, 2019.

?

Do you have or used a plug kit?

Poll closed Mar 10, 2019.
  1. No - no spare

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Yes - no spare

    8 vote(s)
    53.3%
  3. Full size spare

    7 vote(s)
    46.7%
  4. Donut spare

    4 vote(s)
    26.7%
  5. Thanks for the warning!

    1 vote(s)
    6.7%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    Here is an interesting picture of a standard tire and a runflat. You can see where the steel belt tapers off into the sidewall. runflat.jpg
     
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  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    This is where my punctures always seem to happen:

    upload_2019-2-25_10-22-35.png
     
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  3. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    If you look at the other half of the picture you can see where the steel belt looks to become thinner at the sidewall.

    And then there are the people who run old tires and I was one of them.
    I didn't know how old this tire was and drove from Indiana to Florida to see Mickey and Mini and on the way home this tire blew and came apart at the exit ramp on I 75 in Gainesville Florida. Running old tires at high speed on hot days don't mix. I put my spare on and it was on a Sunday and drove to the nearest tire shop which turned out to be a Walmart and put four new tires on my van.


    Close_up_of_Blowout.jpg
     
  4. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I've used more plugs than I could count. Never had one fail. But if it's on or near the sidewall, I would only plug it so I could get to a tire store or home.
     
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  5. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    Agree, too bad manufacturers don’t put thicker tread in that area instead like the old balloon tires
     
  6. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    I seem to average one every two years and usually from parking lots.
     
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  7. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    I'll stick with a spare thank you...it's faster.

    ...and it's always better to repair a puncture off vehicle and off rim.
     
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  8. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    +1.....mostly.

    When I'm on a motorcycle I don't really have the option of carrying a spare but I do carry a patch kit and some means of pumping up the tire (CO2 inflator and/or compact pump) so that I can get the bike home for a normal repair.
    Once on my V-ROD I had to do the 'plug and play" thing and it pretty much worked out.
    People always think that a motorcycle tire will explode or something if the plug fails but I'm thinking that the air till just woooosh out the same hole that was there before.
    Since M/C tires are much more expensive and a bit harder to replace, I wound up keeping that tire in service for several thousand miles and operating the cycle a little bit less enthusiastically.

    Pro Tip: (ish)
    If anybody out there is thinking about getting a M/C, lean towards models with tubeless tires, which are generally those without spoked rims.

    You can't plug a tubed tire....
    :(
     
  9. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    Ok, but as someone who has had several motorcycles and spent quality time fixing flats beside the road, I think I should mention that getting the tire and then innertube off the wheel on the tube+tire motorcycles I had was at least feasible and allowed a relatively thorough patch to the innertube and a thorough inspection of the inside of the exterior tire carcass for other possible problems. Having a tubleless tire makes removing the tire carcass much, much more physically difficult in my experience , so external plugging is the only feasible roadside repair. The well-done innertube patch is better than a plug, IMO, but the downside is correcly getting the innertube back into the carcass without pinching it or having a lip of it extruded between the rim wall and the edge bead of the outer tire carcass, either of which errors can lead to sudden blowouts that cause loss of control in many motorcycling situations. Hmmm. Have to think this over when buying my next bike, as I think the total energy loss due to hysteresis and related effects is generally more for a tubed tire than a tubless tire, so all else equal the tubleless tired bike would be more efficient. (I’ll stop rambling now.)
     
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  10. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Patches > Plugs.
    Period.
    All Day.....Every day.

    However (comma!!!) this is only true if you're able to get to the tube (or the inside of a tubeless tire,) and while it's theoretically "possible" to yank a 180/70-15 tire off of a spoked rim, it's not something that I'm willing to try on the side of the road - even if I had whatever tools that one might imagine that could accomplish this task in my ruck.

    I actually saved the tire that I plugged from the V (200/55-ZR18) as a spare, but then I gave to to someone for a 'burnout' tire, since I cannot possibly change that tire without taking the rear wheel off of the bike and finding a shop that will swap them out.

    For a car?
    It's easy.

    Spare tire > Patches, plugs, or goo.
    Period.
    All Day.....Every day. :D
     
    #30 ETC(SS), Mar 1, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2019
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  11. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    ...and faster than a cell phone too. ;)
     
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  12. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    ... and the speed difference gets much larger in places without cell phone coverage. Yesterday for me, that was about a 100 mile road segment from loss of signal until a waiting message dinged in.
     
  13. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    PART 2

    Weeks later, the repaired tire pressure was down to ~30 psi but I had an appointment. A slow leak, I inflated the tire and made my appointment. It was down ~5 psi after the appointment so I fetched some groceries and went home where the pressure was down ~14 psi (1 bar.) Breakfast and a nap waiting for the afternoon warm up and back to finding what went wrong.

    [​IMG]

    FINDING AND FIXING

    I could not get the jack under the car:
    [​IMG]

    So I removed the front wheels:
    [​IMG]

    I still had a problem as there was no room for the lift plug:
    [​IMG]

    So I repositioned the car to let the passenger side front tire lower which provided enough lift for the driver side rear:
    [​IMG]

    I was just able to get the jack under the lift plug:
    [​IMG]
    More about this later.

    So where did this bad boy come from:
    [​IMG]

    A pointy stone, I got out:
    [​IMG]

    The soapy water test confirmed the original plug was working fine. The new stone puncture was the problem:
    [​IMG]

    Wearing disposable, rubber gloves, this time I trimmed the string and left it as shown:
    [​IMG]
    It almost worked! BTW, notice the wear bar still has some space relative to the tread. The tire is in the replacement range but I've twice (soon three times) plugged this worn out tire ... practice!

    So I packed everything in the trunk except the break-over with the 17 mm socket and extension.
    [​IMG]

    Opps! Spoke too soon

    The next morning, it was flat again. The soap test confirmed a slow leak in the 'stone' patch:
    • scraped to find the patch plug
    • rasped out the plug - found a rubber tab not seen before so I used a knife to take it out
    • sun warmed the plug kit and tire hole
    • while slightly depressing the tire, put a slug of sealant on the hole then let up to draw it into the tire thus coating the sides
    • trimmed another plug and throughly coated with sealant
    • used flat screw driver to drive it into the hole with a twist
    • did not trim the string, this time
    • put disposable rubber glove over plug and mounted tire so the plug was on the bottom
    • inflated tire and let tire and glove on full pressure and car weight

    Things to do:
    • car jack: replace front axle with bolt, washers and nuts to hold the sides fixed; remove rear wheels to minimize height, and; trim or remove the inner cup to reduce hight (favoring removal.)
    • car jack handle - get a socket rachet wrench with a 17 mm deep socket to be the new lug wrench

    Bob Wilson
     
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  14. spiralhelix

    spiralhelix Active Member

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    Instead of taking the jack apart, just get some 2x6 and drive the wheel(s) on them. You can screw two sections together making a ramp to get more height if need be. Should give enough clearance for the jack.


    iPhone ?
     
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  15. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I had thought about the wedge but I'm space constrained. My mods will reduce the jack dimensions, make it easier to carry. I've already fixed the lug wrench problem:
    [​IMG]
    That is a hinged, 3/8", ratchet wrench with a deep, 17 mm socket.

    Bob Wilson
     
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