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I thought I was a smart arse the other day when my I walked out of the house and noticed my wife had a puncture on a week old/new tyre. There was a screw in the repairable section of the tread, so I used a screw in plug designed for car tyres so my wife could get to work on time and get it repaired during lunch. It only took 10 minutes and I thought I was being kind to the garage by not filling the tyre with £20 of messy sealant.
Anyway, turns out the garage think the plug may have made the hole too big to repair, apparently british standards state the max puncture size is 6mm. They were happy to attempt the repair but said there was no guarantee it would be airtight. The head of the plug is more like 7mm on the surface but the bit that screws in is 6 to 6.5mm depending on whether you measure the threads or shank, of course the thread tapers quickly to less than 3mm, but when they do a repair, do they bore out the hole from the inside so it tapers towards the outside of tyre? If so, 6.5mm would be the minimum size and it would be bigger in the middle of the carcass?
I’ve never had a puncture that can be repaired. Apparently there is always some reason why they can’t and why I need a new tyre...
^^^ this 😐
I'm tempted to go to a different garage, pull out the repair plug and put the leaky screw back in, and cross my fingers. The only good bit of the story is I got my wife to ask them to confirm they could repair it and they called before starting, so at the moment we have not being charged anything...
Depends...
Some times it's just a patch. A big patch mind
Plugs are drilled. One school of thought is that they weaken the carcass.
Or you can have a major repair with localised vulcaning
I’ve never had a puncture that can be repaired. Apparently there is always some reason why they can’t and why I need a new tyre…
In much the same way that something can always be found that needs fixing to ensure your car passes its MOT...
Where I work it’s normal to fix a puncture provided it’s not on the edge of the tread bordering the sidewall, but that’s because it’s expedient to do so, we repair and refurbish cars, it’s not in our interest to spend money putting on a new tyre when it’s not necessary. If a tyre has to be replaced quickly, because a driver is waiting to take a car offsite, we have a couple of racks filled with part-worn but good condition tyres that have been salvaged; new tyres usually only go on if it’s been approved as part of the original quote to Motability, because of significant damage on arrival.
I’m tempted to go to a different garage, pull out the repair plug and put the leaky screw back in, and cross my fingers.
I wouldn't be happy knowing my wife was driving a car with a tyre that might blow out...
I've always asked for a repair, especially on new tyres. - Depends upon how much the OP drilled out - me - I'd let the garage sort that.
Major repairs can be done much better these days with a plug at the tyre depot, rather than send away.
Run flat, then forget it £££££££££
I don't think there is any chance of a blow out, the patch is big on the inside. To be honest I suspect the garage are just trying their luck on a tyre sale. The standard says 6mm, as far as I can see this is 6mm and less, they said it might have a slow leak but if theres a big patch on the inside and the 6mm plug through the hole, I'm thinking thats a load of rollocks.
PS I've not drilled or filed out the hole at all like you do with mtb tubeless kits, the kit is simply a blunt piece of plastic you screw into the hole. It has no cutting capability so if I pulled it out the rubber would probably close up to the original puncture size.
Search for 'stop and Go'.
Used on motorcycle tyres with great success.
Fires a mushroom shaped rubber plug into the tyre.
I carry a set in one of the panniers on my BMW.
Major repair.
Hmm, tyres and brakes. Always money well spent.
The ones I've had repaired (including a runflat and a motorcycle tyre) usually have the offending hole drilled out to make it uniform and then a plug patch fitted from the inside.
This consists of a large patch with a rubber plug in the middle. The plug is pulled through the hole and the patch glued onto the inside of the tyre. The plug is then trimmed to the level of the tyre tread.
All the repairs were excellent and I used the tyres to their full capacity and wear limit.
This consists of a large patch with a rubber plug in the middle. The plug is pulled through the hole and the patch glued onto the inside of the tyre. The plug is then trimmed to the level of the tyre tread.
This is the type of repair I have done too. More hassle as you have to break the bead compare the ones you just push through with an awle but better. Get a manual bead breaker and do it yourself. Safe, cheap and quick.
When I were a lad it were all inner tubes.
I had a run-flat plugged on the roadside. Leaking a bit but that might be corroded alloys.