twinmill28
Spilled Milk
- Messages
- 1,545
- Location
- El Centro, Mehico (Way So Cal)
I removed a drywall screw from my rear tire in the driveway yesterday thinking I was ready. I was wrong.
I'd bought a new plug kit after using up all the plugs from my previous kit. I thought the new kit would be better as it had what looked like larger handle reamer and plug inserter and should theoretically be much easier to use. I was wrong.
The first couple mistakes I made were thinking it would only take a couple minutes, only having HUMMER installed on-board air available (usable but slow to fill), and thinking this plug kit would work. The temps were in the 110 degrees and I was working in the sun, but this should only take a couple minutes--right?
Once you identify the leak (I used an empty Pepsi plastic bottle with some dish soap and water in it--no magic formula needed, just need something that will bubble up with an air leak). I looked the tire over and found a small innocent looking brad head in the tire--it looked like a brad as the screw head was worn down from the road. Once I dumped the soapy solution on it it bubbled right up.
I gathered some needle nose pliers along with my trusty diagonal cutters (dikes) and some vise grips as back up just in case. I went ahead and laid out the plug kit and tools and made sure I was ready as once you pull the offending hunk of metal you now have a hole in your tire. This would normally be ok if I had my shop compressor on hand but that was not the case.
I pulled the screw right out no problem and the tire immediately started blowing air. I went ahead and grabbed the reamer from the plug kit and made the appropriate straw sized hole, what a PITA but doable. I then grabbed the replacement plug (which I'd pre-threaded into the insertion hole) and attempted to stuff it in the tire (the kit recommends 2/3 of the plug into the tire). This is where things went wrong and the plug would not insert. Try as I might it wouldn't go and minute by minute I was getting closer to heat stroke and possibly a heart attack. I pulled the insertion tool out and dumped the now useless new plug. I put a new plug into the tool, re-reamed the tire some more and continued to attempt inserting the new plug. By this time trying to kick the plug in I broke the handle for the insertion tool and needed to resort to my vise-grips on a now bent insertion tool. Between twisting and pounding on it with a BFH I was finally able to get the plug in about 2/3 or so and able to pull the tool out leaving the plug in the tire. By now I was completely out of breath, sweating like a whore in church and about to die. I went ahead and hooked up the on-board air and waited until infinity to get the tire pressure back to 40 psi to match the rest. I was barely able to throw the tools in the truck and drag my butt in the house before I was completely exhausted.
The moral to this story--if you can afford it and have a tire guy ready, spend the 30 or 40 bucks to have the tire plugged at the local shop. If you're on the trail have an ARB plug kit with the aluminum handles on hand and be prepared to get hot and sweaty.
I hope this helps the inexperienced make a decision on how to plug a tire--but for God's sake, don't buy what looks like a good kit at Autozone, spring for the ARB or equivalent kit that's made to take a beating because that's what you'll need to give it.
I'd bought a new plug kit after using up all the plugs from my previous kit. I thought the new kit would be better as it had what looked like larger handle reamer and plug inserter and should theoretically be much easier to use. I was wrong.
The first couple mistakes I made were thinking it would only take a couple minutes, only having HUMMER installed on-board air available (usable but slow to fill), and thinking this plug kit would work. The temps were in the 110 degrees and I was working in the sun, but this should only take a couple minutes--right?
Once you identify the leak (I used an empty Pepsi plastic bottle with some dish soap and water in it--no magic formula needed, just need something that will bubble up with an air leak). I looked the tire over and found a small innocent looking brad head in the tire--it looked like a brad as the screw head was worn down from the road. Once I dumped the soapy solution on it it bubbled right up.
I gathered some needle nose pliers along with my trusty diagonal cutters (dikes) and some vise grips as back up just in case. I went ahead and laid out the plug kit and tools and made sure I was ready as once you pull the offending hunk of metal you now have a hole in your tire. This would normally be ok if I had my shop compressor on hand but that was not the case.
I pulled the screw right out no problem and the tire immediately started blowing air. I went ahead and grabbed the reamer from the plug kit and made the appropriate straw sized hole, what a PITA but doable. I then grabbed the replacement plug (which I'd pre-threaded into the insertion hole) and attempted to stuff it in the tire (the kit recommends 2/3 of the plug into the tire). This is where things went wrong and the plug would not insert. Try as I might it wouldn't go and minute by minute I was getting closer to heat stroke and possibly a heart attack. I pulled the insertion tool out and dumped the now useless new plug. I put a new plug into the tool, re-reamed the tire some more and continued to attempt inserting the new plug. By this time trying to kick the plug in I broke the handle for the insertion tool and needed to resort to my vise-grips on a now bent insertion tool. Between twisting and pounding on it with a BFH I was finally able to get the plug in about 2/3 or so and able to pull the tool out leaving the plug in the tire. By now I was completely out of breath, sweating like a whore in church and about to die. I went ahead and hooked up the on-board air and waited until infinity to get the tire pressure back to 40 psi to match the rest. I was barely able to throw the tools in the truck and drag my butt in the house before I was completely exhausted.
The moral to this story--if you can afford it and have a tire guy ready, spend the 30 or 40 bucks to have the tire plugged at the local shop. If you're on the trail have an ARB plug kit with the aluminum handles on hand and be prepared to get hot and sweaty.
I hope this helps the inexperienced make a decision on how to plug a tire--but for God's sake, don't buy what looks like a good kit at Autozone, spring for the ARB or equivalent kit that's made to take a beating because that's what you'll need to give it.
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