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here are many times that you are on the road and tire damage leaves you disabled. With a few simple tools you can get yourself back on the road safely and get to a repair shop that can review your work.
The first thing you have to understand is that not all tires can be repaired. If you have damage to the sidewall of the tire which is the side of the tire without the tread on it then your tire can not be repaired. You must replace the tire and there is no choice about this. Second is when the damage isn’t due to a small puncture. If you have a small nail, screw or other object in your tire that is 1/4 inch or smaller you can normally safely repair the tire with a patch or plug and resume using it immediately. If you have a larger object in the tire or multiple punctures in the tire or if you have some other problem such as a failure of the tread and stripping off of the tread then you can not repair the tire.
NOTICE: DO NOT PERFORM THIS WORK IF YOU DON’T FEEL YOU HAVE THE SKILLS TO DO IT CORRECTLY. REPLACE THE TIRE WITH YOUR SPARE AND DRIVE TO A QUALIFIED REPAIR SHOP.
For the sake of this How To you are instructed to follow the directions of the manufactures of your tires, the tools that you are using and if you are ever in any doubt you should replace the tire or have a certified technician perform the work. Never Take Chances if you don’t understand what you are doing or have doubts. It can lead to injury and costly repairs.
Repairing Your Radial Tire With A Tire Plug Or Patch
The first thing you have to do is inspect the tire. If you find that there is just one nail or screw or piece of something in the tread that is causing the leak you have a pretty good chance of repairing it.
For best results you should remove the tire from the car and then inflate it. If you have some liquid spray soap you can spray down the tire and inflate it and soap bubbles will form where the leak is.
After you have found the problem you can then decide if you are going to repair it with a plug or a patch and some patches also have a plug attached so they might be a solution. If you are on the road then you likely won’t be able to break down the tire off the rim to allow internal access to the tire. This means you won’t be able to use a patch.
To install a Radial Tire Plug you first need to remove the object in the tire. Using a pair of pliers or side cutter wire cutters you can grab onto the object and remove it. Do not cut into the tread with a knife or damage the tread getting the object out. A small screwdriver might be helpful to get to the end of the object but don’t make things worse getting the object out.
Once the object is out inspect the hole that it left. It must be smaller than the reamer you will use when preparing the tire for the plug. There should not be a tare in the surface of the tread or a chunk of tread missing.
Now you can begin preparing the tire for the plug. Insert the reamer tool into the hole. You must open the hole wide enough that it will accept the tire plug but it must be a tight fit. This is very important and follow your tool directions in detail.
Once the tread is prepped you can now fill the hole with the adhesive that is in your kit. Then you want to install a tire plug on the insertion tool. Coat the tire plug very generously with adhesive and insert the tire plug into the hole. The adhesive will help the plug stay in place until the tire has been driven on and it will help seal the hole.
Review: The Tire Plugs are made out of a string material that allow it to flex and maintain a good hold in the repair hole. The material that is coating the threads of the plug is normally suppose to melt into the hole during driving. A tire that won’t hold air after you repaired it with a plug will normally not get better on the road. Your tire must hold air without leaking after you make your repair.
How To Install A Radial Tire Patch
Now that you know the steps for repairing a tire with a plug we can review the steps for using a patch or patch plug to make a repair.
The problem with making repairs with a patch plug is that the tire will be mounted on your rim. First you must at the very least remove one bead from the rim to gain access to the inside of the tire. This normally requires shop equipment to do safely and easily without damaging the tire bead. If you find that you are able to remove the bead from the rim then you can continue but this is not normally going to be the case if you are on the road with a flat tire.
To install a patch you must first go through all of the steps in using an insert plug. First you must inspect the tire and remove the object that is causing the leak and then you must remove the object and prepare the tire tread for accepting the patch plug by using a reamer.
At this point you turn to the inside of the tire.
When tires are installed technicians will use a lubricant to get the bead of the tire over the rim. Additionally the internal surface of a tire is very slippery. Because a patch will not stick to this type of coated surface you must clean the inside of the tire at minimum 5 inches out around the hole.
You must then abrade the surface with a special tool that will give the patch bite when adhesive is use to apply it. Normally kits will come with an abrading tool to scrub the inside of the tire. After this you need to clean the surface again and prepare the patch.
For the patch to stick you will normally need to use adhesive however some patches are sticky back. At the very least you want to apply adhesive into the hole where the center plug of the patch plug will fit through. FOLLOW MANUFACTURER’S DIRECTIONS.
Remove the peal away covering on the patch and insert the plug tip through the hole of the hole in your tire. While pulling the plug through the other side you want to press down on the back of the patch and then flatten the patch against the inside of the tire.
This is somewhat of a skill and you can expect to ruin a few plug patches if you don’t do this regularly.
Although this type of patch and plug together is better than a simple string plug the string plugs have been used for many years before this patch system was popular. As we said surfaces inside the tire need to be prepared correctly and applying the patch is not the easiest thing to do especially on the side of the road or in your driveway and not in a shop with all the tools necessary to do it cleanly and correctly.
For this reason a string plug has the advantage. It is easy to master and can normally be done in a few minutes with basic skills. This is not to say it always is the best option but it can be a good option.
Final Note
Tire Plug Repair Tools are a good part of your on the road repair kit. You may never need to use them but if you do then you have a better chance of getting to a Tire Repair mechanic who can review your work.
Never try to repair a tire with sidewall damage. Patches that you might try to apply internally will not hold. The sidewall of your tire takes a lot of load and can not be damaged at all and be safe to drive on.
Never make a repair yourself unless you understand what you are doing. The best way to learn is to be taught in person so someone can review your work.
Never drive on a tire that is leaking. Always replace the tire with your spare and drive to the nearest service shop for help.