Nail hole in tire repair

[s219]

Boy, you guys are being too hard on Eric! He's just waiting for the resident TBN professional tire guy who covers weekend shift on the forums.

For a tractor tire, under field conditions, I'd just plug nail damage and keep on working. If there is liquid ballast in the tire, just rotate the damage to 12 o'clock so you're working in air when doing the work. It's a tractor and periodic field repairs will be needed to keep on working. There is little downside to a plug for this situation; even if it fails later on, it won't prevent you from doing a different or more permanent fix.

When cleaning up my property as construction wrapped up several years ago, I got 3 nail punctures in one day on my old Deere. Plugged them all right there on the spot and years later they are all still holding up fine.

 

[tcartwri]

I used a construction screw covered in black rtv the last time... That was four years ago.

 

[rgr33]

I've never seen one of those things Mace, what are they called and how do they work?

 

[tcreeley]

Amateur opinion.: You want the plug adhesive to make good contact. Rimguard is a beet based water soluble product- think sugar. I'd put the hole at the top. (Get the weight off of it.) Ream it out. Squirt rubbing alcohol in and through the reamed hole to clean the rim guard away from the hole. Let it dry. Then plug it.
You might try calling a shop and asking them- especially one you buy parts from. Get them talking, or go in and buy the plug kit and get them talking. You always learn something.

I last plugged a drywall screw hole in my Silverado pu. I had to use an electric trill to ream it - couldn't push the ream tool through until I did. The plug has held fine - 80lb pressure tire.
My front tractor tires came with 3 plugs when I bought it over 3 years ago. The tires are cracked, but the plugs are holding up well. They are cut with about 3/8 of an inch sticking up (between the lugs).

 

[tawilson]

I've been known to use a little contact cement with the plugs.

 

[George2615]

Eric,
I bought a manually pumped plug gun kit years ago. I plugged a front R4 tire on my Mahindra after running over a nail about 8 years ago. It was still holding air when I sold it last year.

Remove nail, insert reamer tool with screw on gun collar into the tire, prepare plug inside gun tube, unscrew reamer from the collar and QUICKLY screw on the plug gun (note that air will escape once you unscrew the reamer from the gun collar which stays in the tire), pump the gun handle which forces the plug into the tire then pull the gun away from the tire. Trim off excess rubber from plug even with tread. Clean gun when done.
I have done this procedure on many tires. It works best while air is still in the tire. Just top off the air PSI when complete and leak check the plug. I've never had a plug leak in the 15 years I've been plugging tires with this type gun. Here's a pic of the gun like the one I have. There is a more expensive air operated version of this type plug gun but the manual type works for me just fine.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a professional tire guy. I've only been mounting, balancing, and repairing tires for the past 45 years either working in commercial garages or my own.

 

[Mace Canute]

I've never seen one of those things Mace, what are they called and how do they work?

I call them a plug patch. They are installed from the inside and you prep the tire the same way you would prep it for both a patch and a plug. The little wire tip is poked into the hole and then you pull it through until the patch part is tight against the tire. After that you continue exactly like you would do with a patch and you cut the protruding part off. I always like to use lots of vulcanizing fluid inside the hole itself and some on the stem part to help it slide through the hole and help it seal the hole. They seal the tire against an air leak just like a patch would but also seal the hole against any intrusion by foreign matter including water.

Some might consider these to be overkill but I used to use just plugs and had reasonably good luck with them but I also had the odd plug leak so I switched to these as soon as I discovered them and have never looked back.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Guys, thanks.

I already answered my own question at the top of page 2 with a FAQ from Rim Guard's own web site. There is no special procedure required for Rim Guard. Simply plug the tire and carry on.

Mace, the plug patch is a product I was not familiar with and will check them out. Thanks! :thumbsup:

George2615, I've plugged and patched hundred of tires using Safety Seal products, but I've never seen a tire plug gun before, so I ordered one. Thanks.

Plug patch wise, I see that KEX offers all kinds of solutions.

http://www.kextirerepair.com/tech/misc/KEX-Tire-Repair-Charts.pdf

 

[Scooby074]

I'm not a "professional" but for a permanent repair I never use just a plug or just a patch; I use one of these if the hole is in an area that is repairable.

This ^^

The proper repair is to break it down and install one of these internal patches as pictured. I had my front tire on the BX done at a "professional shop" and thats what they used. Then they dumped a bunch of tire sealant in to deal with the crappy BX tires weather cracking. Its still holding air knock on wood,

 

[Glocker]

I used a tubeless tire repair kit on my new tractor (two years ago)and have not had a problem since. I'm not an expert but stayed in a motel 6 once.