I have had to have a new tyre today because, apparently, the original tyre had been incorrectly repaired previously.
I went to an independent tyre dealer, which I have used before, with a (very) slow puncture. The fitter was very conscientious; he inspected the outside of the tyre, then removed it from the wheel and inspected the inside. Finding nothing, he replaced the tyre on the wheel, reinflated it and fetched a bucket of soapy water and sponged it over the tyre until he discovered a tiny leak, blowing very small bubbles.
The leak was on the site of a previous repair, done at the same dealer. The fitter attempted to repair it, but when he did the soapy water test it was still leaking. The fitter said that he thought the foreign object which caused the original puncture had not been removed and was causing the leak, or that the air was escaping from another (unidentified)place and exiting through the original hole.
The method of repair (both times) seemed to be smearing some sort of sealant on the inside of the tyre. In the past, when I have had tyres repaired, the hole has been drilled out and a rubber plug has been inserted and (I think) heat treated to make a good seal. I can't help but think that this method been used in the 1st place, my tyre would still be OK (it was a Michelin Primacy with plenty of tread left on it). As it was, they offered me a discount on a new tyre, which I accepted.
Does anyone know anything about modern tyre repairs?
Thanks,
Mr T.
Edited by Pugugly on 16/08/2008 at 19:24
|
|
The last repair i had (last year) used one of those large mushroom plugs from the inside - with the hole gouged out and the inner surface ground down. The patch was vulcanised afterwards. I have no problem with a repair like this, even if it was on a bike tyre.
|
That's exactly how it should be done. There's a British standard relating to this and its considered perfectly safe.
|
|
Many years ago I had a tyre that slowly lost pressure which was diagnosed as a porous alloy wheel. This was repaired by using an inner tube which solved the problem. Is this not acceptable these days?
|
|
Inner tubes can only be used in certain sized tyres. With low profile, it's generally a no no because of the higher temperatures generated.
|
I was told that many tubeless tyres had rough interiors that would wear through a tube with the flexing. Certainly the insides of many tyres have all sorts of "pimples" and casting marks.
Porous alloys are often blamed for corrosion on the beads - if it is really porous, then a good dollup of bitumastic paint on the rim should stop it.
|
|
Had a slow leak on a steel wheel-turned out to be be the join in the wheel when it was made-originally sealed by the paint but leaked as it aged.Fixed with a tube.
|
|
|
