Flat Tire

[wjmst]

So, I'm at work yesterday getting ready to leave and my coworker tells me I have a flat tire. I go out and take a look at it and sure enough it is completely flat.

Another coworker says he has a can of fix-a-flat in his car. I'm not too keen on using the stuff, but it also just starting raining, so I figured I would give it a try. Well, I don't know how long it was in his car, but the can didn't work. Period. The stuff wouldn't come out.

I abandoned that operation and decided to just pump the tire up and see what happens. I always carry a small portable compressor in the car for these situations (along with some rags, tools, and other misc items). The tire pumps up for about ten minutes. I shut the pump off and can hear the hissing air out of the hole. So time to get the spare and jack out.

For some reason the jack would not collapse enough to fit under the car. Thankfully, another guy grabbed his jack. He just didn't have a handle for it and of course my jack handle didn't fit his jack. So we used a screwdriver to twist the jack up and put the spare tire on. Of course we had to kick the tire several times to loosen it from the car.

I put some air in the spare tire. I could only inflate it up to 40psi not the 60 recommended on the sidewall, but it seemed fine for my trip home. Finally, since I have a Subaru, I needed to disengage the AWD. So I popped the hood and grabbed a spare fuse to take it back to the fuse box in the cabin and insert it into the AWD override slot. Thirty minutes later I was pulling into my driveway.

Always a fun time in the rain. At least I was in a parking lot with some helpers around. I'll get the tire repaired this weekend and check out the jack before putting everything back in the car.

I'm sure many of you have experienced similar situations. What do you carry in your car to ease the burden of a tire change? Is there a can of sealant that actually works, is safe, and doesn't mess up the tire monitor sensors? I use slime in my tractors and other equipment around the house. It seems to work ok but those are all slow moving machines.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I don't have to worry about the jack with a full size truck, even with a completely flat tire, the factory jack fits underneath easily. I have only had a flat tire one time on the truck though. I did have to pull two tires because my spare was a little bit smaller than the flat rear tire and I didn't want to put power through the axle with two different size tires. I don't know if it would have made much of a difference, but it was around 10 miles back to town. Never did carry fix a flat though.

 

[dragoneggs]

AAA card in my wallet. Nice thing is I can use it in whatever car I am in... even a friend's.

 

[dickfoster]

So, I'm at work yesterday getting ready to leave and my coworker tells me I have a flat tire. I go out and take a look at it and sure enough it is completely flat.

Another coworker says he has a can of fix-a-flat in his car. I'm not too keen on using the stuff, but it also just starting raining, so I figured I would give it a try. Well, I don't know how long it was in his car, but the can didn't work. Period. The stuff wouldn't come out.

I abandoned that operation and decided to just pump the tire up and see what happens. I always carry a small portable compressor in the car for these situations (along with some rags, tools, and other misc items). The tire pumps up for about ten minutes. I shut the pump off and can hear the hissing air out of the hole. So time to get the spare and jack out.

For some reason the jack would not collapse enough to fit under the car. Thankfully, another guy grabbed his jack. He just didn't have a handle for it and of course my jack handle didn't fit his jack. So we used a screwdriver to twist the jack up and put the spare tire on. Of course we had to kick the tire several times to loosen it from the car.

I put some air in the spare tire. I could only inflate it up to 40psi not the 60 recommended on the sidewall, but it seemed fine for my trip home. Finally, since I have a Subaru, I needed to disengage the AWD. So I popped the hood and grabbed a spare fuse to take it back to the fuse box in the cabin and insert it into the AWD override slot. Thirty minutes later I was pulling into my driveway.

Always a fun time in the rain. At least I was in a parking lot with some helpers around. I'll get the tire repaired this weekend and check out the jack before putting everything back in the car.

I'm sure many of you have experienced similar situations. What do you carry in your car to ease the burden of a tire change? Is there a can of sealant that actually works, is safe, and doesn't mess up the tire monitor sensors? I use slime in my tractors and other equipment around the house. It seems to work ok but those are all slow moving machines.

You have a lot to learn about tires. The number printed on the sidewall is the max allowable pressure not the recommended pressure for your car. Even 40 lbs was likely too much. Get yourself a plug kit and you can fix most flats yourself but take some time to learn something about tires first.

 

[BrandonR]

Air pump, tire plugs (sticky worms) and verify that the jack and tire iron are usable. That's my policy on every vehicle.

 

[cruz54982]

Ditto what BrandonR does plug kit is very cheap and will almost always work for nail , screw , etc. holes . pump it up and a done deal !

 

[turnkey4099]

Air pump, tire plugs (sticky worms) and verify that the jack and tire iron are usable. That's my policy on every vehicle.

Along with rapping the technician at the tire shop up-a-side-da-head with his **** rattle wrench. Last time I had a flat everything worked just fine up to removing the wheel. I could not budge any one of the lug nuts using a cruciform wrench. Middle of harvest season and no tire service trucks available. Tows either. One tow company send a guy out in a pickup. He had a socket set with a big cheater. He got all but one nut off. Truck cambe back late in the day on a car carrier, that last nut had been cross threaded and driven down tight. They had to bust the lug to free it.

Watch the techs "torque" the lug nuts. Rattle, rattle, rattle then pick up the torque wrench "click", yep it is torqued, but only AT LEAST TO THE TORQUE WRENCH SETTING. Truth is it is torqued to the setting left on the rattle gun the last time it was used...usually on a big Bud wheel on a semi.

 

[oosik]

In all my life, I've only had one flat tire. It was years before those tiny temporary spares - so I just jacked it up, changed it and repaired the original tire when I got home and reinstalled it. Two years ago I stopped to help a fellow with a brand new Lexus. He was very thankful but informed me he had no spare. Spare tire, even one of the tiny ones, was a option that he hadn't opted for. He was waiting for roadside service to come and fix the tire. Takes all kinds, I guess.

 

[dickfoster]

Along with rapping the technician at the tire shop up-a-side-da-head with his **** rattle wrench. Last time I had a flat everything worked just fine up to removing the wheel. I could not budge any one of the lug nuts using a cruciform wrench. Middle of harvest season and no tire service trucks available. Tows either. One tow company send a guy out in a pickup. He had a socket set with a big cheater. He got all but one nut off. Truck cambe back late in the day on a car carrier, that last nut had been cross threaded and driven down tight. They had to bust the lug to free it.

Watch the techs "torque" the lug nuts. Rattle, rattle, rattle then pick up the torque wrench "click", yep it is torqued, but only AT LEAST TO THE TORQUE WRENCH SETTING. Truth is it is torqued to the setting left on the rattle gun the last time it was used...usually on a big Bud wheel on a semi.

With plugs and a compressor you rarely need to remove the wheel. Sometimes you can even do without the jack.

 

[skipmarcy]

No, he probably had a "donut" spare tire and yes, it is supposed to have 60 psi - says so right on the sidewall "Inflate to 60 psi". Those tires are dangerous at 40 psi. They are designed as strictly a crutch to get you off the road at lower speeds.QUOTE=dickfoster;4658528]You have a lot to learn about tires. The number printed on the sidewall is the max allowable pressure not the recommended pressure for your car. Even 40 lbs was likely too much. Get yourself a plug kit and you can fix most flats yourself but take some time to learn something about tires first.[/QUOTE]