Tire puncture - too close to the sidewall to save?

besides what I said in post#8 above, when I was in high school (hundreds or yrs ago ;) my summer job(s) were working at full service gas stations pumping gas, checking under the hood, the tires, etc, AND patching tires (I was trained and watched over by ole timers).

I know when a tire neads replacing and when it can be fixed. In this case its fixable.
 
I'd patch it myself with a plug kit. I've done so many times in that exact same spot with total success and no issues.

Also worth noting, does the tire leak?

Sometimes you are better off using *gasp an appropriate tire “glue” and simply seal the screw back in followed by tire slime inside.

I drove 50,000 miles with a nail in my cobalts rear tire, my truck is going on 4 years with a nail in that same spot both non-repairable.

Tried to “repair” a tire on my volt with a wire in the same spot instead of leaving the object in and the hole kept growing so I ended up mounting my spare and tossing

2/3 sucess is pretty good.
 
Buy two new tires for that axle and call it done.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I welcome opportunities to spend money on tires and brakes, and I would sell my car and take the bus before I would put a used eBay tire on my car.

Good luck with it. :)
 
DIY plug kit will fix that for the remaining life of the tire. That's what I would do. Or go ahead and buy a new set now. I've done both of these options. When I have money I get tires.
 
Also worth noting, does the tire leak?

Sometimes you are better off using *gasp an appropriate tire “glue” and simply seal the screw back in followed by tire slime inside.

I drove 50,000 miles with a nail in my cobalts rear tire, my truck is going on 4 years with a nail in that same spot both non-repairable.

Tried to “repair” a tire on my volt with a wire in the same spot instead of leaving the object in and the hole kept growing so I ended up mounting my spare and tossing

2/3 sucess is pretty good.
Never had one leak thank goodness👍
 
Picked up a screw in the tire late last winter. I took the wheel into the tire shop I usually use, and they said that the puncture is too close to the sidewall to allow the tire to be repaired safely.

View attachment 123978

Further, they said that particular model of tire is discontinued and so I have to replace both tires on that axle.

It was late enough in the winter that I put on on of the all-seasons, but now it's time for dedicated winter tires again.

So, opinions ... can this tire be saved, or was the service writer at the tire shop correct?

Thanks!
what size is it?

Extreme Winter Contact

I like Trav's slim plug idea. I've also seen that if one was leaking replacing the screw with a stainless set screw and plug glue so no head to flex.

I presume it was leaking or you wouldn't have gone to the shop.

I'd be very tempted to fix it BUT since my wife and kids use all the cars and aren't the most "gentle/conservative" drivers I would also be tempted to replace if funds available.

Buy 4 new and sell the others

I would also keep that one on the back.
 
@Number_35 - what is the date code on those? I wanted to get new ones but they were discontinued and I got WinterContact Si as the new version. I'm going to say somewhere around 2014 or 2015.

WinterContact Si is also discontinued now and the Viking Contact 7 that has been out a couple years is the current model.

Might be time for new not hardened rubber anyway.
 
I'd do a good job plugging it. Not once have I had a plug fail. And I drive a whole bunch more than most of you. Sometimes as much as 10K miles per month.

Which reminds me, I plugged a Michelin LTX MS (costco version) a year ago, and put about 30K on it so far.
This.. When I worked at / Ran a Shop I would not Plug/Patch a tire like this for a customer but on my own vehicle I have plugged them in that location and every single time it has lasted the natural life of the tire.
 
If it was mine I would string plug it. cant put a patch on that area inside the tire.
They are old its going to last another year or 2.
 
Picked up a screw in the tire late last winter. I took the wheel into the tire shop I usually use, and they said that the puncture is too close to the sidewall to allow the tire to be repaired safely.

View attachment 123978

Further, they said that particular model of tire is discontinued and so I have to replace both tires on that axle.

It was late enough in the winter that I put on on of the all-seasons, but now it's time for dedicated winter tires again.

So, opinions ... can this tire be saved, or was the service writer at the tire shop correct?

Thanks!
Is the tire actually leaking ? that looks like it might be a short screw.
 
It does look like a typical pan head screw and those are often very short, like 3/8" long at the most. With the head resting on the outer tread, there's a good chance it didn't puncture the inner rubber, let alone go all the way through.

Also worth noting, does the tire leak?

Sometimes you are better off using *gasp an appropriate tire “glue” and simply seal the screw back in followed by tire slime inside.

I drove 50,000 miles with a nail in my cobalts rear tire, my truck is going on 4 years with a nail in that same spot both non-repairable.

Tried to “repair” a tire on my volt with a wire in the same spot instead of leaving the object in and the hole kept growing so I ended up mounting my spare and tossing

2/3 sucess is pretty good.
Is the tire actually leaking ? that looks like it might be a short screw.

Unfortunately, I only found the screw because the tire looked very low one morning. It was certainly leaking, and fairly quickly.

I'll post a photo once it's out.
 
I remember when a tube would be installed in the tire.
We picked up a nasty sidewall puncture in '99 while camping. Limped to the closest town on the doughnut spare, and a shop installed a tube for me. They told me that tubes don't work well in radial tires. The tube lasted about a year, at which point I replaced the tire.

So not a permanent solution, but got us through.
 
Here's the culprit. Looks short, but was long enough to go through.
20221101_171232.jpg
 
I had bought a low-end patch kit quite a few years ago, and had never opened it. Based on the majority consensus here, I thought I'd try it.

20221101_171344.jpg


I watched a YouTube video about using a similar kit, which was good as this one had no instructions.

The repair went well. The plug is in, the tire is inflated to 36 psi, and I'll check the pressure tomorrow. If it holds pressure overnight, I'll use it. The plug passed the soapy water test.

Thanks, all, for your input.

P. S. Western Canadian BITOGers will know where I bought this. 😉
 
@Number_35 - what is the date code on those? I wanted to get new ones but they were discontinued and I got WinterContact Si as the new version. I'm going to say somewhere around 2014 or 2015.

WinterContact Si is also discontinued now and the Viking Contact 7 that has been out a couple years is the current model.

Might be time for new not hardened rubber anyway.
The date code is 1014 - so March 2014. Getting old, but the tires are in good shape.

Winter tires here get very little UV damage.
 
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