Tire Patching

CapitalTruck · October 2, 2009

I recently had the local Goodyear patch the inside of one of my tires. They advised me that since it is the second patch in the tire (different spots/punctures) that it won't be able to be patched again in the future. Is that reasonable (normal) or just a marketing ploy?

dlstewart01 · October 2, 2009

My wife is the worlds worst for getting flats. I know the local Goodyear store has put three plugs in one of her tires before.

rodram · October 2, 2009

....PLUGS ..... and .... PATCHES ... are two totally different animals....

... you will not find any tire shop in my area willing to put a plug in a leaking tire anymore....

... everyone wants to peel the tire off and patch the inside of the casing

... more $$$ for the tire repair and rebalance... but more important for the tire shop there is less liability involved in actually patching the tire rather than just pushing a plug into the nail hole... and sending the customer on his/her way

... as for multiple patches, I think it depends on the severity of the puncture and the condition of the casing as to when enough is enough before throwing the tire out

dlstewart01 · October 2, 2009

....PLUGS ..... and .... PATCHES ... are two totally different animals....

... you will not find any tire shop in my area willing to put a plug in a leaking tire anymore....

... everyone wants to peel the tire off and patch the inside of the casing

... more $$$ for the tire repair and rebalance... but more important for the tire shop there is less liability involved in actually patching the tire rather than just pushing a plug into the nail hole... and sending the customer on his/her way

... as for multiple patches, I think it depends on the severity of the puncture and the condition of the casing as to when enough is enough before throwing the tire out

They WILL here in the ole United States. Theres not a tire shop in town that won't plug one.

pwall · October 2, 2009

They still will here in Ottawa too......

jblakeney · October 2, 2009

I recently had the local Goodyear patch the inside of one of my tires. They advised me that since it is the second patch in the tire (different spots/punctures) that it won't be able to be patched again in the future. Is that reasonable (normal) or just a marketing ploy?

Well, just me here but. I WILL not have one just plugged..... I get this installed in nail holes. You will not sling this out. Now if they are string'n the tires with the strings I would BE VERY LEARY of driving it out of the city limits.

Just depends on which one they are doing. If its the one like I usually get I'd feel good unless the 2 boots were going to be on top of each other. Since you can NOT SLING the patch out as it is like a nail. Centripetal force keeps it in for the most part the glue just keeps it from leaking.

I have more than 4 in one tire I got after Katrina in 2005 from my neighbors new roof (GRRRRRRRRRRRRR) before he got that entire roof I had one in at least every tire (they were brand new had not even washed the blue off the letters had them put on 2 days before Katrina)...

OH yeah, I have about 69k on those tires right now..... I am waiting for another 3 or 4k and I am going to replace em.......

Jbo

Zembonez · October 2, 2009

Discount tire here still plugs tires... had a couple done on my company vehicle in the last year and they have lasted 10s of thousands of miles.

dlstewart01 · October 2, 2009

I recently had the local Goodyear patch the inside of one of my tires. They advised me that since it is the second patch in the tire (different spots/punctures) that it won't be able to be patched again in the future. Is that reasonable (normal) or just a marketing ploy?

Well, just me here but. I WILL not have one just plugged..... I get this installed in nail holes. You will not sling this out. Now if they are string'n the tires with the strings I would BE VERY LEARY of driving it out of the city limits.

Just depends on which one they are doing. If its the one like I usually get I'd feel good unless the 2 boots were going to be on top of each other. Since you can NOT SLING the patch out as it is like a nail. Centripetal force keeps it in for the most part the glue just keeps it from leaking.

I have more than 4 in one tire I got after Katrina in 2005 from my neighbors new roof (GRRRRRRRRRRRRR) before he got that entire roof I had one in at least every tire (they were brand new had not even washed the blue off the letters had them put on 2 days before Katrina)...

OH yeah, I have about 69k on those tires right now..... I am waiting for another 3 or 4k and I am going to replace em.......

Jbo

I started driving in 1960 and have yet to have a plug come out or have one leak???

C. Charles Hahn · October 2, 2009

....PLUGS ..... and .... PATCHES ... are two totally different animals....

... you will not find any tire shop in my area willing to put a plug in a leaking tire anymore....

... everyone wants to peel the tire off and patch the inside of the casing

... more $$$ for the tire repair and rebalance... but more important for the tire shop there is less liability involved in actually patching the tire rather than just pushing a plug into the nail hole... and sending the customer on his/her way

... as for multiple patches, I think it depends on the severity of the puncture and the condition of the casing as to when enough is enough before throwing the tire out

I find the same thing around here.... plugs are a big no-no.

Matt_ · October 2, 2009

We use a plug/patch combo. You take the tire off the wheel, prep the inner surfaces, and then install one of these guys:

I have seen lots of plugs leak and have pulled them out and fixed them correctly with the above method. Just because 1 person has used plugs and hasn't had one leak doesnt mean that holds true for the millions of other drivers out there.

Back to the original question at hand..... the most I would install is 3 plug/patch combos. Can you install more and be fine? probably.... id depends on where the holes are located.

Generally, we would look at the age of the tire. If the customer was in need of a new tire due to wear anyways we would advise them its better just to get a new tire. I HAVE put a 4th patch is some "new" tires on special occassions for customers too. It's subjective to each case. There's no rule book out there that says "it is unsafe to have ___ patches in a tire".

REV353 · October 2, 2009

To me is sounds like a store or company policy. I would not be concerned with how many patches, rather where they are and how big of a hole was patched. If there is enough room to properly install a patch I don't see a limit on how many. The wheel balancer will tell you when enough is enough. I have been repairing my own tires for over 20 years, I plug them and patch them, I have never had a problem with either when they are installed correctly. The voice in your head will tell you when to replace it, you will know when the cost of the repair is close to the value of the tire you need to repair. Most of us call that common sense.

Zembonez · October 2, 2009

To me is sounds like a store or company policy. I would not be concerned with how many patches, rather where they are and how big of a hole was patched. If there is enough room to properly install a patch I don't see a limit on how many. The wheel balancer will tell you when enough is enough. I have been repairing my own tires for over 20 years, I plug them and patch them, I have never had a problem with either when they are installed correctly. The voice in your head will tell you when to replace it, you will know when the cost of the repair is close to the value of the tire you need to repair. Most of us call that common sense.

Sadly that is a disappearing commodity in this society where we all have to find somebody to blame for anything that goes wrong.

This discussion is starting to sound like an oil change argument... everybody has an OPINION and none are based on anything other than what they believe.

This place amazes me at times.

blackout07 · October 2, 2009

Discount tire here still plugs tires... had a couple done on my company vehicle in the last year and they have lasted 10s of thousands of miles.

Yeah they sure do, but not more than 2 plugs.

Nick The Great · October 2, 2009

My Dad has a tire machine on the farm, and we always 'patched' our tires. I've never had a 'plugged' tire.

But his rule of thumb is 3 or 4 patches, depending on how severe they all were. Just a little nail or something, no biggie. Now usually, after 4 patches, the tire was due to be replaced for tread reasons anyway

Zembonez · October 2, 2009

Discount tire here still plugs tires... had a couple done on my company vehicle in the last year and they have lasted 10s of thousands of miles.

Yeah they sure do, but not more than 2 plugs.

Really don't remember ever having a single tire patched or plugged more than once. I'd become a little wary of one with a few repairs. Might be time for a new tire. Since the tire is the only part of the vehicle that touches the ground, I don't want to chance it.