How to Plug a Leaky Tire

Got a flat tire? If a small puncture is the culprit, there'southward a skillful gamble y'all can prepare information technology yourself. Learn how to plug a tire and get back on the road.

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Introduction

Modern vehicle tires are tough, continuing upwardly well to crude terrain and thousands of miles of driving. Trouble is, tires are not invincible. Every so oftentimes motorcar tires spring leaks. Air tin can showtime leaking from anywhere on a tire, and the location of the leak determines whether or not you tin can prepare information technology yourself. And if you tin't fix it yourself, the location of the leak volition too tell you if you need a professional repair or a new tire.

Whether or not your tire is tubed or tubeless affects things, besides, because only tubeless tires can be repaired using the technique of plugging that we'll testify you here. The good news is that modern vehicles always have tubeless tires, and this means that repairing with a rubber plug is oftentimes an pick.

Plugging a tubeless tire is but a possibility when your puncture is in the tread area. If the air leak is where the sidewall of the tire meets the rim — this is chosen a "bead leak" — y'all'll need to visit a mechanic with a tire automobile to dismount the tire from the rim and remount it with sealing liquid applied to the dewdrop. If your sidewall has been punctured, you lot need a new tire, because damage there can lead to a blowout at highway speeds, even afterward repair.

Learn exactly how to plug a tire so next fourth dimension you spring a leak between your treads, you'll exist able to get up and running again in record fourth dimension.

Total fourth dimension completing the repair is about 15 minutes. Doing the piece of work yourself will save you about $20 and the fourth dimension spent driving to the garage and waiting.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Paper towels
  • Lather and water solution
  • Tire plug strips
  • Tire sealing cement

Project step-by-step (seven)

Step ane

Find the Leak

  • Pump enough air into the tire to fill information technology out and make information technology firm to finger pressure.
  • Examine the tire closely to detect the leak. In that location's no need to remove the wheel from the vehicle for this, but you lot will find information technology handy to elevator the vehicle up with a car jack to take the weight off the tire and allow it to be rotated.
  • Spray the tire methodically with a spray bottle containing a mixture of 20 percentage lather and lxxx percent water, if the location of the leak isn't obvious. Constant bubbles indicate the location of the leak.
  • Use pliers to pull out any nail, spiral, staple or stray metal that has caused the leak.

Find the Leak

Pace 2

Ream Out the Hole

  • Jam your T-handle reaming tool into the pigsty, then work information technology up and downwards several times while rotating information technology. This widens the pigsty and roughens the inner surface in training for plugging.
  • Pull the reaming tool out and inspect the hole. If it's not yet circular and compatible, reinsert the reaming tool and work it up and down some more than.
  • Sometimes, with tiny holes, the reaming tool won't insert into the tire. In cases similar these, use a hand-held drill with a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of your reaming tool. Use the drill and flake to overstate the hole, followed by the reamer to roughen the sides of the hole.

Ream Out the Hole

Step three

Prepare the Plug

  • Take a plug strip from your tire plugging kit. Thread it through the eyelet of your plug insertion tool. Apply pliers to help you lot pull it through the eyelet until it'south protruding from the eyelet as on each side.
  • Coat the entire plug strip in tire sealing cement, then practice the same with the pigsty in the tire.

Prepare the Plug

Step four

Insert the Plug Strip

  • Slide your plug insertion tool (loaded with the cement-coated plug) slowly into the pigsty in your tire. You'll demand to printing really hard to get the plug into the pigsty.
  • When the plug is inserted deeply plenty that only nearly an inch of it is sticking out of the tire, carefully pull the handle of your plug insertion tool straight up. The slot in the end of the tool'southward eyelet should permit information technology to slide free, leaving the plug in the tire.

Insert the Plug Strip

Stride 5

Fill the Tire

  • Connect the tire to an air compressor or pump, and then fill it with air that's 10 percentage below the maximum rated pressure.
  • Utilize more soapy h2o to verify there is no leaking around the plug.

Fill the Tire

Step half-dozen

Trim the Plug

  • Wipe off the backlog tire sealing cement from around the plug with paper towel.
  • Let the tire sit for five minutes.
  • Employ wire cutters to snip most of the excess off the plug, leaving 1/8 inch or so sticking out.

Trim the Plug

Step 7

Do a Final Leak Test

  • Spray the plugged expanse with more h2o and soap solution, watching carefully for bubbling. If you see none, the plug is doing its job.
  • Lower the vehicle, remove the jack, and then get back to driving correct abroad.
  • Opinions vary about whether a plug repair is permanent or temporary, but many mechanics consider it a once-and-for-all repair. I've never had any event with plugs applied this manner declining, even subsequently thousands of miles of driving. It can significantly increase the lifespan of your tires. Only be certain to service your spare tire in case yous demand it.

Do a Final Leak Test

Originally Published: August 27, 2020