Far too many posts on here about "spare tires" and "fix-a-flat".

Spare tires are not practical in our cars - what size will you carry? If you can't carry the size you need at the time, your issues are not really over even after you put the spare on.
And "fix a flat" just extends your problems, because any amount of goop shot into the tire that is sufficient to plug the leak will throw the balance of the wheel off. You will need a new tire and probably need to clean up the crud off the inside of the wheel.

In 110,000 miles of Crossfire driving, only ONCE have I had a tire go out such that someone had to come and rescue me. Twice now, Iv'e had leaks I had to deal with - one was just last night, I picked up a screw. I had my tire fixed in under five minutes without taking it off the car. Here is how I did it. I'd been to the store and noticed the car was 'off'. I found 12 pounds of air in the front right tire. Much less air and the tire would have come off the wheel - and I'd have been STUCK.

Anyway, in this case, like many, step one was to pump 34 pounds into the tire to keep it on the wheel so I COULD fix it. Leave the air compressor attached to the tire - if air starts escaping in later steps, you can just turn the pump back on and keep the tire reasonably inflated.




Step two was to park the car with the wheel all the way to right or left, then jack the car up and rotate the tire so that you can get to the object. Then, I let the tire back down on pavement so I can work on it without it moving. (Alternatively, you can leave the car jacked up, but I don't want the wheel/tire turning as I try to work on it.)

Step three, I grab a "tire worm" and insert it only about 1 1/2 inches into the tool. (I will get to the yellow arrows in a bit...)



Step four is to yank out the object using either 6-8 inch diagonal cutters or conventional pliers (the dikes will enable you to get a better grip and use leverage to left the object out - regular pliers work for objects that don't fight you very much). You now may have a lot of air escaping, if so, turn the air compressor on so you need not hurry at the next steps - you do NOT want the air to all escape, as the tire will separate from the wheel, and you won't be able to fix this yourself. (Alternatively, just leave the car jacked up so there is no weight on the tire - it won'[t separate if there is no stress of the weight of the car on the tire/wheel).
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Step five, coat the plug (worm, as I call it) with tire/rubber cement from arrow to arrow in the photo. Now, jam the tool into the hole in the tire and yank it back out. If the worm is WAY in the tire, I try to pull it back out so I am sure the coated part of the plug is in the hole, forcing the cement to seal the hole (if the object was really small-diameter, the size of the plug will be enough to plug the hole anyway). I give it a few minutes for any cement on the outside to set up, then use the diagonal cutters to cut off excess tire plug pretty much flush with the surface of the tire. Waiting means you don't get tire cement on the dikes, which is hard to remove from them if it sets up after it contacts the dikes.



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Pump tire to 32/33 pounds and you can drive on. I always check tire pressure after a few hours - if it is leaking (only happened to me one time) you can jam a second 'worm' in beside the one you just put in - that should plug it! But again, I've sealed two Crossfire tires, probably five lawn mower tires and maybe four or five truck tires and only had to do that once.
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ONE LAST THING - if it's a rear tire, you will probably need to remove the wheel/tire from the car, and most certainly if the car is lowered. SO far, I have only had to fix FRONT tires.

Following are pictures of the pliers and diagonal cutters I use, as well as the plug kit I bought (always get extra "worms" and an extra tube of cement, or maybe two - once you open a tube of cement, there is a limited amount of time before whats in there sets up).

 

An amazing procedural write up, clear and detailed

Thanks, it was a good read.

it’s definitely something I need to carry in my car. I’ve had 2 instances of this and both while away from home.

 

Picked up a screw eh?👍

 

Thats a great temporary fix until you can get to a tire repair shop and have it repaired properly, from the inside. James

 

Definitely carry a repair kit, but fix properly at Discount Tire / American Tire. They will do a proper repair for free. Just go to any franchise, and they will un-mount the tire, flat patch it from the inside, remount and balance and send you on you way.

 

This was a great walkthrough. I’ve ordered the “tyre repair kit” and I know a bit more about not being stranded (we do have AAA, just in case).

 

A couple notes...
For an externally inserted vulcanized tire plug, rubber cement is not required. It doesn't aid in sealing though it does act as a lubricant which can reduce the force needed to insert the plug. So pulling the plug strip halway into the tool is perfectly fine, if not ideal (greater range for the doubled plug to seat throughout the tire depth). If you don't have any cement don't worry, just use the reaming tool to make sure the hole is opened up a little. Always use the reaming tool anyway to clean out the hole. Keeping air in the tire while plugging is more about ensuring the tire is not deflecting a lot when you are attempting to push the plug in. Without the resistance the inflated tire provides, it is much harder work, and for lower profile tires you can bottom out the tool on the rim if the tire collapses inward. If you notice any air leaking after the repair attempt, it is most likely the puncture was at an angle and not perpendicular to the tread. In that case you may need to insert another plug that lines up better with the hole. But you need to remove the wheel to have any chance to inserting a plug at some angle other than 90 deg.