by Grant

Created on: July 13, 2010   Last Updated: July 14, 2010

If you’re faced with a flat tire, how do you go about fixing it? That will depend on your willingness and ability to determine the cause of the flat. If you just want it fixed without getting dirty and without using any tools, maybe the best thing is to belong to an auto club which will send a tow truck out to fix it for you. If you'd rather take care of the problem yourself, then you will first need to inspect the tire.

An inspection of the tire while it is on the vehicle may reveal the cause of the leak. Tires are often punctured by nails or other small metal items. Locating the leak may be easy or it may be difficult. If you can't find the air leak on your first inspection, then fill the tire to the recommended pressure and move the car just enough, so the portion of the tire which on the pavement can be easily inspected. Also check the valve stem, since this is also a common source of leaking. You can pour water on it to see if there is an active leak. If you still cannot locate the leak, then you will need to remove the tire from the car (You will almost always need to remove the tire to repair it, unless you have easy access to the puncture with the tire on the car). Once the tire is off the car, thoroughly inspect the tire. Feeling your hand across the surface of the tire will help you find hard to see objects. The last resort method to find a leak is to submerse the tire in water. Even just submersing a portion of the tire at a time will find almost any leak. 

If the puncture is in the sidewall or is too large, the tire will need to be replaced. If you can find that the leak is located in the tread area of the tire and the puncture is small, then you should be able to fix the leak yourself with a tire repair kit which can be bought in most auto parts stores. These repair kits have strips of repair material and tools used insert the repair into the tire. You will need to remove any foreign objects from the tire before using the repair kit. I find the best tool for this purpose is a good pair of pliers. Lineman's pliers and a pair of needle nose pliers will remove almost any object from a tire.

There are two tools that come with a tire puncture repairs kit. One has a file surface to prep the tire for repair. Before using this tool prep the tool used to insert the repair by putting a strip of repair material into the tool per the instructions. It is easier to install the repair if the tire is pressurized, so fill the tire to at least 25lbs of pressure before beginning the repair.  After removing any foreign object, use the file tool once, then insert the tool with the repair strip so only about an half inch of material is out of the tire, then pull the tool out of the tire(Some kits may instruct you to twist the tool before pulling it out of the tire). If done properly, the tire will be sealed by the repair strip. If there is a lot of excess repair strip sticking out of the tire, you can cut it closer to the tire using the cutting edge on the linemans pliers. The excess will wear off on the road when driving, but may cause some additional tire noise until it does wear off.  I used to work in home improvements and had several tires which had as many as ten of this type of repair that did not leak, so you can be confident that one or even a couple of these repairs can be done to your tire. 

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