Ran over a nail, had a new plug kit but I was surprised there was no glue included, and not mentioned in the instructions. So I shoved the plug in, it was gooey enough as is. Haven't put the wheel on yet but it's not leaking. Anyone been down this road? I've plugged tires before, and has always worked, but always used glue.
Old habits are hard to break...apparently the newer style of plugs have the glue embedded in them. I still apply glue onto them.
Does anyone else light the extended end of the plug for a few seconds after it's in the tire to heat the glue? An old guy that has been changing and fixing tires for years showed me to do it. Seems to work.
I haven't had need to use those on a car tire but use them on my riding lawn mower after I paid 10 bucks to have one if it's tires repaired and the tire store plugged it.
My OT car tires always seems to find nails, screws and other pointy objects. They have worked great and I keep them in the car. Sent from my LM-G710VM using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
We used to repair tubeless truck tyres with these with no problems. Even used 2 of them in the same hole once and it was still good 6 months later when a new tyre was fitted. Grossing 44,000lbs each and every day.
I know I know.....I've used plugs only when I had to but prefer a patch....but funny the new set of trailer spec tires I bought when I got a nail - the tire shop guys said really quick on a patch job - HELL - I'm already down to the cords - you still want it patched ?
Once I got a tire weight through my tire in my work truck when I was out of the area. The hole must have been 3/4 of an inch wide. When fleet finally showed up I think the guy shoved about 4 of those in the hole and it held at least for the 30 mile trip back to the yard. I think we were both surprised. He followed me. It made a total believer out of me. Safe, it probably was not. But it did work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Love those little guys. Eventually I always have a proper patch installed but those little guys can really get you out of a bad spot.
Use them at least 2 times a week at work, I've been using them for 25 yrs. Installed correctly they last the life of the tire. You don't need glue and the redish ones work WAAAY better then the thinner black ones.
Same here. I use the sticky newer plugs, but have a can of rubber cement type glue for plugs anyway, so figure I can’t do wrong with the plug and cement.
I had a plug go bad on my 70 Challenger, 5 or 6 years after installing it. Self valcanising tire plugs are much more reliable the the old glue in plugs. One advantage of plugs over patches in the upper midwest is protecting beltd from rusting. When i made tire repairs for a living, at the service station back in the ninties i saw a few belt seperations due to rusted belts around older patches.
I almost forgot, I had to put a plug on the driver rear tire on Dads Dodge coupe at the out a sight drags this summer. We found a roofing we must have picked up loading the car. so far the plug has heald up to at least a dozen 12 second passes, burnouts and a bunch of street miles with no problems.
You just reminded me. I lent my plug kit to a bloke at Sydney drags one year. He plugged one of his slicks on his big block powered Altered and ran low nines all day with it. Convinced me of their merit.
Yep use them a lot. Try to keep from the tire shops from fooking my wife outa air sensors. New we only patch from the inside thing and the air sensor is rusty. $115 please Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
i use a tire patch that has a plug built onto it you have to prepare the tire as if using a patch but then pull the plug through and then seat the patch a very solid repair
We call those “ camel hairs “ they work great never had an issue. I never glued them , ream the hole, stuff it in, cut off the excess and burn it a little. ive used the thin black ones you need to apply glue to, work great as well. the last 6 or so years I did automotive those plugs became “ illegal “. So we had to do plug patches from the inside. a much better repair I was told...... but the 15 or so years before this became supposed law, I never had nor did I ever hear of a plug failing. you can still buy the kits at most parts places.
In the past I’ve used a similar kit twice with success while being parked at an event. I also carry a small accessory plug in type portable compressor I purchased at Home Depot.
Something else I have been wondering: Are you supposed to fold the plug evenly in half and leave both ends sticking out, which makes removing the tool more difficult, or leave one side shorter and have it slide through the tool inside the tire? Thanks for all the replies.
Hello, Despite what is out there for a quick flat tire fix, these little goopy things are handy. It is easy for a gas station mechanic to do the insert and repair. We have never had to do the insertion our selves. It is hard to look at a fairly new tire with tons of tread flat. But, it is also just as hard hammering in a spike tool to create a larger hole, too. For us, it is best left to the guys working at a tire shop that do it almost everyday. The local tire shop is one of the busiest places as the racks are always full, the low tire air hose is constantly used to keep the locals driving around, as a courtesy service. They also check for flats and nail/screws in the treads after they have to pump in some air. It does repair the flat or slow air leak, but the cost of tires is nothing compared to family safety, so we usually get a new tire after several trips to the store or gas stations. Jnaki from an old post: "My wife said that we are too far away from home to safely drive on only 4 tires without a spare. So, we went into the nearest town and gas station. This old grizzly guy comes out and sees that we have a somewhat, flat tire. He looks at the nail and says he has just the thing. He did have this funny tool and a goopy thing that he put into the hole. He trimmed it up and filled the tire to the allotted pressure. It was a fully functioning air-filled tire. He even put it into a trough of water to check for any leaks. He convinced me that it should be good for the long trip home and to give my wife some assurance of being safe." https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...u-have-ever-done.1183164/page-4#post-13464277 Rubber plug: "...It has a rubber plug that is built into it, so once this is pulled through, the metal piece comes off, the inside is a patch, it seals the inside, it seals the outside, it's considered a permanent repair." When we finally got home, we were happy that nothing else kept us from enjoying the weekend. Soon, we both drove the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery to various places during the following week and the flat with the plug was forgotten. It was months later that a friend had a similar incident and he also, had a plug inserted into his tire. He was given the assurance of at least 50 miles to his house and it started leaking within 25 miles. Then it hit us that we had a plug in the tire from months back. It was still full, the balance was not giving us any clue as to being off kilter. So, it must take some skill as to how the plug was installed as to how long it will last. That old guy knew his stuff. We had saved up enough money to buy a new tire and “retire” the plugged tire to the local dump site.
I carry one too. It’s seems crazy you need to make a hole 5-10 times bigger than the leak to fix a leak. The greatest plug machine I ever worked was when I worked for Sears Inglewood auto center. It was air operated; you put the really soft plug in it that was shaped like a little rocket with pointed flange. Screwed on the top that had about a 1/8” flat end with a hole for the plug. A white pointed plastic end went on to help you get the end thru the hole in the tire. You pulled a trigger and the air shot the soft plug in the hole; then you trimmed the excess with a razor blade. Never had one come back or leak.
I still use a patch if it's not away from home. But I keep those plugs in my tool bag for trips. I dismount the tires and use a flapper disc to get the area smooth for a patch. Then do as my dad taught me and apply rubber cement, and light it with a match to vulcanize it. Then stick a patch on it and remount the tire. Never had one fail yet.
I've used them on everything from thin lawn equipment tires to the tires on my semi truck, always with glue. The glue just seems to help get it through the hole and sets quickly to help with any small leaks. I bought a set of used tires for an old Jeep I used around the place, Alabama Power, our electric company, had pulled them off one of their pickups. Every one of them had plugs in them, one had 21 IIRC! They were still on the old Jeep when I sold it 5 years later, none ever lost a pound of air.
We still have a couple of tire repair services intown that do it the old, and as far as I'm concerned, right way, dismounting the tire and applying a patch to the inside and that's where I go. My roadster has no room for a spare, and along with my AAA card, I try to remember to put a 12V mini compressor in trunk if I go very far out of town. Perhaps I should relent and also keep a plugging kit aboard
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