tires

[helomech]

I just push the run flat button.

[jamesneuen]

I had no idea. Do all tire shops do that?

[Sniper-T]

They used to... now days they are more likely to shove a plug in and send you on your way. when you're back in two months, it is too bad to fix again, and they sell you a set of tires.

[robsdak]

edit to add:

If you have a tire off the rim, or if you lost the bead and cannot get it to set with a Spanish windlass, or don't have the means, here is a way to do it in an emergency... Can be dangerous, but it does work. IMO tis guy uses too much ether, but the result is the same.

that is an awesome sound it makes, like a whuuummmP! i have done it before and used a long piece of 1/8" copper tubing attached to propane like an over-sized grill lighter. mounted several 36" tires. nothing like put playing and roll one off the bead.

[Sniper-T]

do a tractor tire and it feels like it pops your ear drums.

[ElevenBravo]

^
that is exactly how it is done 'properly'. called vulcanizing.

In the end, this is the proper, proper way... A DIY plug is mostly an emergency fix, though... Ive had them last long enough to wear out the tire, just remember your mileage will vary, literally... :-)
(Ya like how I worked that in??)


EB

[Gunfixr]

Back in the day, when I was driving that huge 4x4 running on 44" tall 18.5" wide mud tires, and going off-road all the time, needless to say I had some tire issues occasionally.
Plus, I was driving professionally for awhile a tractor with a dump trailer, going all kinds of places.
When we took the truck/trailer to a tire shop, this is what they did: They removed the rim, and accessed the hole from the inside. The scraped it out with basically a rat tail file. They then installed from the inside a "patch plug", which was sealed in with vulcanizing cement. It was a rubber stud with a large patch base, and had a steel pin sticking out of the end. This was pushed into the hole, and could be grabbed with pliers and pulled out until the patch section was tight against the inside. The stud part was cut off and ground flush. Re-install the tire on the rim. Done.

I had purchased one of those tire plug kits, and got something pretty large stuck in the tire. Took 3 of those tarry stringy things shoved into the hole to make it stop leaking air, and a couple days later, they came out. Took it to a tire shop. This was way before the "patch plug" was invented. They did the same thing I had done, but instead of those tarry stringy plugs, they used narrow rubber strips which were soaked in vulcanizing cement. Pushed them in just like the cheap stringy plugs, and cut them off as close to flush as possible.
These didn't come out.
So, I went to NAPA, and bought the heavy duty tire plugging kit, and threw away the cheap stringy plugs. The reamer and installer were much heavier duty than the regular set. I also got a can of vulcanizing cement. Then, I went to the local rubber shop and bought a piece of roughly 1/16" thick rubber, most of a square foot. Kept all that in the truck, with a pair of fairly heavy scissors. Next time I had a hole in a tire, I just pulled out what was in there, cut an appropriate sized strip of rubber, reamed/scraped out the hole, slathered the cement on the rubber strip and pushed it in like the stringy plugs. It just went in a lot tighter, and had the cement on it. Trimmed it close to flush, called it good.
Just remember not to push it all the way and then pull it back, leave the "looped" end inside.
None done this way came out. Did that for years.

I used to mount and dismount those tires, and some smaller 38" tires before I got those. Did it all with only a small, engine mounted air compressor, with probably a 5 gal tank. They were internally balanced with a ground rubber powder. You just had to have the right amount, and have dry air inside. When the tires needed replacing, as long as the new ones were the same, just transfer the powder to the new ones.

[Stormfeather]

Like many here, I have the heavy duty plugs, a air compressor and a 20 gallon air tank on my BOV, I have only used the plugs one actual time though, and they lasted for a good 9k miles til I got new tires.