Plug and drive or plug, replace, and use plugged as spare?

5164 Views 33 Replies 15 Participants Last post by sanghill, 3 mo ago

mrsamsa

Discussion Starter · Apr 18, 2021

I was lucky and just happened to see a screw stuck in my rear tyre. I sprayed a bit of soapy wooder on it and I can see a tiny stream of bubbles. It's a pretty slow leak, but it's leaking nonetheless. AND the screw is on what would be considered the shoulder of the tyre so getting someone to patch it would be difficult at best.

I've decided I'm just going to use a plug kit and plug it up, but I'm wondering how everyone else has dealt with tyre plugs. Do you usually replace them soon or keep it plugged till it's time for a new set of tyres?

I'm torn cos this set only has about 10k kms on them and they look brand new. My spare is still the factory destination. I've read that I shouldn't patch tyre damage on shoulders or side walls.

My options are plug it and go, plug it and buy two new tyres and put them on one axle and keep the plugged tyre as a spare, or try to get my existing tyre patched professionally.

What are your thoughts?

See less See more

Save

1 - 6 of 34 Posts

rumrunner

· #5 · Apr 18, 2021

isn't their a technique called plug & patch where you use some combination of filling the hole w/ some rubber galvanizing product plus a patch on the inside?

excerpt: "4. From the inside out, pull a rubber stem through the puncture area sealing off the inside of the tire"

How To Repair A Tire | Sullivan Tire and Auto Service

Tires need to be repaired from the inside out and for your safety, never use a tire plug. Learn how to repair a tire for good with Sullivan Tire.

www.sullivantire.com

the preowned tires that I buy sometimes have professional repairs like this & they never seem to have any problems

Save

Reactions: 1

rumrunner

· #12 · Apr 18, 2021

mrsamsa said:
Is there anyone here who's has a puncture on the shoulder of their tyre, plugged it, and been just fine

yes. it was like yours, on the flat part of the tire, not actually at an angle coming out of the shoulder. a guy did it at a gas station & he didn't even need to jack up the car. pulled up, did it, & I drove away $10. not recently, but yeah, one time

Save

rumrunner

· #13 · Apr 18, 2021

AZJeeper said:
Depending on what website you look at, 4/32" is about the limit

interesting, good to know

Save

rumrunner

· #22 · Apr 23, 2021 (Edited)

reminds me, one day 15? yrs ago, getting off a a highway ramp, I was going too fast, cuz I was late for work, & couldn't avoid the following: a full 4'x8' sheet of plywood lying flat across most of the ramp, covered w/ nails facing up. punctured 3 tires, w/ 7 holes. miraculously I was able to make it to a local shop, before going completely flat, that plugged all 7 holes. I think that 4Runner was wearing 31 x 10.5 Wranglers at the time. who would lose a whole sheet of plywood & not know it?

Save

rumrunner

· #26 · Apr 23, 2021

just found a post of mine on a Subbie forum from 2014

"got 60k miles and 5/32 tread on OEM Yokos. noticed a slow leak couple days ago. couldn't locate anything protruding with my hands. been filling it and logging air loss, dec. low leak required professional help. local shop found the object with soap water in spray bottle an inch in from the edge of the tire. got it plugged for $20."

I guess I survived

Save

rumrunner

· #33 · 3 mo ago

saw this on a Cherokee I was test driving this week. didn't tell the dealer about it. I feel so bad

Tire Automotive tire Synthetic rubber Tread Wood

See less See more

Save

1 - 6 of 34 Posts

Top Contributors this Month