Hole in tire

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 24, 2004
Messages
14,505
Location
Top of Virginia
Yeah, I have a little hole in one of the Acura's tires now. Saw a screw sticking out of one of the tread grooves (valleys) on the MDX at the store this evening. I left it in there until we got home, then I slowly unscrewed it. It was in the tire a good 1/4". No air has escaped yet, so it's probably fine.

But I'm wondering about the steel belts. Don't they say to never just patch a hole from the inside because you can get water into the belts and they'll start to corrode? I'm sure this screw was down to the belt. You can't really "see" into the screw hole in the tire, but the screw was deep.

What's the right course of action? Leave it? Take it to Sam's and have them repair it? What would they do...would they drill the rest of the hole out and do a conventional patch-and-plug?

Thanks.
 
Put some dish soap in water and pour over the tire at the puncture. If it is leaking you will see bubbles. I've plugged my own tires with good success. After my house was built i had so many nails and drywall screws in the gravel drive that i was plugging a tire every 2 months!!! Got pretty good at it.
 
the current logic, for the reasons you said, is to plug and patch. The patch stops the leak correctly, and the plug keeps water away from the steel cords.

I actually had a tire take a hit, then fail a couple of months later when the steel cords rusted and finally gave out. It was a learning for me!
 
If it's not leaking I'd probably leave it alone. According to the Rubber Manufacture Association they recommend an elaborate procedure where you dismount the tire, clean out the puncture, patch the tire from inside AND put a plug in the tire. I'm leaving out some steps. When I worked at a Goodyear for a very short stint, we dismounted the tire and installed a patch plug, rebalanced. It was a lot of work and quite the bargain for what was charged.

I just put a plug in from outside to fix a leak most of the time and it has always worked for me. RMA says to not repair a tire from the outside while it's mounted on the wheel though.
 
Originally Posted By: mechanicx


I just put a plug in from outside to fix a leak most of the time and it has always worked for me. RMA says to not repair a tire from the outside while it's mounted on the wheel though.


I bet they say not to plug it on the rim,because sometimes you can push part of a worn off nail into the tire where it will bounce around. I usually try and roll or shake it after i plug it to make sure nothing is in it, but you need goood arms.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I bet they say not to plug it on the rim,because sometimes you can push part of a worn off nail into the tire where it will bounce around. I usually try and roll or shake it after i plug it to make sure nothing is in it, but you need goood arms.


They also say that because there could be additional damage inside that you won't see if you don't look. There have been reports of blowouts shortly after doing plug repairs and some of these could be traced to inside damage.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys. Right now, there is no leak. I just went out to the garage and the tire's still sitting at 32psi. But I'm concerned about moisture getting into the screw hole and corroding the steel belts. I guess I'll see what Sam's Club says about it.
 
Sam's Club drilled the hole out and did a correct plug-n-patch. He said it didn't appear to be leaking, but when he took the tire off the wheel, he could see a slight pin-[censored] where the screw did ever-so-slightly poke through.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Sam's Club drilled the hole out and did a correct plug-n-patch. He said it didn't appear to be leaking, but when he took the tire off the wheel, he could see a slight pin-[censored] where the screw did ever-so-slightly poke through.


I hope they did not use anti-seize on your lug nuts.
 
They always do. I always bring the vehicle home and clean it off. Too late, I know, but then I know it's cleaned off.

Edit: Really? "h.o.l.e" is censored? Wow.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
They always do. I always bring the vehicle home and clean it off. Too late, I know, but then I know it's cleaned off.


The issue that I had was that their techs failed to reduce the amount of torque needed due to the lubricant. And with lubricant on the studs, it is much easier to cross-thread the lug nuts. Don't ask me how I know this...I had to replace all of my lug nuts after Sam's crew touched them a few times.
 
The only time I've ever had stud failure was on a Dodge Grand Caravan after the local Chrysler dealership cross-threaded the lug nuts. They did it TWICE (on repeat trips).

My local Sam's and Walmart has been very good for tire and wheel installs. I've bought tires from Sam's for my '97 Cadillac, my '07 Chrysler, and my '05 Acura. And Walmart's mounted tires for my '07 and '11 Toyotas (wheel swaps). I've had very good service from both shops.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

Edit: Really? "h.o.l.e" is censored? Wow.


Haha! When I saw the [censored] bar, I guessed that you typed "pin p.r.i.c.k."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom