On The Road Flat Tire Repair Tips
There is nothing more frustrating than cruising along happily, vocalizing to music, and then suddenly hearing a loud POP and feeling pulling at one of your wheels. The immediate safety measure that you need to take is slowing down and pulling over to a safe shoulder of the highway as soon as might be practical and putting on your hazard lights. Try to situate your vehicle as far away from oncoming traffic as possible. You can use road flares if you will be working on the driver’s side wheels to alert traffic.
How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Flat Tire?
So, how much does it cost to fix a flat tire when you are on the side of the road? That all depends on whether you have roadside coverage. If you don’t have assistance, companies like AAA will change the flat for $50 on the road. However, you should check to see if you have coverage through a warranty first. Sometimes, roadside assistance comes standard with your new or pre-owned vehicles. If you are prone to breakdowns, you might want to invest in the AAA plan that entitles you to free towing, lockout services, fuel services if you run out of gas, jump starting, and fitting a spare tire. An alternative option for those of you located in the southern region of the United States is calling the TXDOT phone number on the back of your Texas driver’s license (or other southern states) for free roadside assistance
You really can’t per se fix a flat tire on the side of the road by repairing it with a plug because you don’t have compressed air to refill it. And driving on an undersized spare donut reduces the safe speeds that you can travel at and should only be used for as short a duration as possible.
Another alternative for people who fear the dreaded situation of being stranded on a busy highway or suffering a blowout at high speeds is run-flat tires. These tires are designed with a stable wall or hard insert within the tire that allows you to run safely on tires that no longer have air until you can reach a repair station or repair the tire yourself with a tire plug.
How to Fix a Flat Tire
Do you know how to plug a tire when you find that there is a puncture?
1: Basin of Soapy Water –It is as simple as using a basin of soapy water to locate the puncture if isn’t obvious. You will see the bubbling to alert you that there is a hole there.
2: Deflate the Tire –You then deflate the tire fully to flex for the repair.
3: Ream Out the Hole –Ream out the hole using the auger in your kit.
4: Apply Contact Cement –Apply the contact cement to lubricate and seal the patch.
5: Insert Plug –Use a tire plugger tool to compress the folded-in-half plug flush into the tread of the tire.
6: Trim the Plug –Trim the excess tire plug rubber with a razor blade and reinflate the tire.
7: Check for Leaks –Check again for leaks and redo it if it does not set properly. It is that easy!
The dealerships today still use tire plugs regularly when a vehicle comes in with a puncture hole. They are safe to use and will hold up to wear and tear for a long time if the hole is tight enough to hold a plug.
How to Change a Flat Tire
Do you know how to fix a flat tire when you are out on the road? Most people don’t really think about it until they are in a situation where they have little choice.
In order to fix a flat tire you will need to follow the following steps:
1: Location – Ensure that you are in a safe location with your hazard lights on. You will need level hard concrete or asphalt to safely use the tire jacks that come with vehicles. When using these tire jacks, you should only raise the car an inch or so off the ground and never place any body parts under the chassis. For, in the event of the jack slipping or failing, you could be instantly crushed by the weight of the vehicle.
2: Tools – Locate your car jack, tire iron socket, and any wheel lock kits in the trunk. Your owner’s manual should tell you what is included and where the items are located. If that doesn’t work, you could always call the dealership or search online for information.
3: Lift Points – Look for downward pointing arrows that are about 1-inch in diameter on the lower panels of your vehicle that are positioned under the doors and very close to the wheels. These indicate the lift points where there are bits of reinforced metal which will sustain the pressure of the scissor jack without deforming.
4: Scissor Jack – Align and setup the scissor jack on the lift point. Raise it up so that there is enough tension to slightly lift the vehicle without lifting the wheel off the ground.
5: Hub Caps – Use a flathead screwdriver or other improved too to remove the hubcap fasteners that usually clip on with tension.
6: Penetrating Oil – You should invest in a penetrating oil that will bust rusted fittings lose and keep it in your trunk. This will help you remove rusted lug nuts with ease by soaking them for 10 minutes or so in the fluid before trying to break them loose.
7: Lug Nuts – Use the tire iron socket to loosen the lug nuts. Although you may want to practice on a regular lug nut first, always try to remove any wheel locks early. These wheel locks require a special socket head that matches a pattern on lug nuts that are security-locked.
8: Raise the Jack – Once all the lug nuts are loose and removed, you can raise the jack and remove the wheel from the studs. You should not try to raise the jack too high and compromise its balance.
9: Spare Tire – Replace the wheel that you removed with the full- or mini-sized spare tire in the trunk. If your vehicle is not equipped with a spare tire, local mechanics or roadies assistance (including friends and family) can provide one to you.
10: Snug Up Lug Nuts – You can now tighten the lug nuts by hand and gently snug them up with the socket iron. Be sure to tighten the wheel lock lug nuts before lowering the jack.
11: Torque Pattern – After the wheel is relatively snug, with the hub, you can lower the jack and start using a torque pattern to tighten the wheels. This means that you will tighten the lug nuts relatively opposite the one just tightened to progressively and evenly set the wheel in place. Once the lug nuts are tightened as firm as possible, you can safely drive to the next service station.
Sell Your Car and Forget the Problems
Driving on bad tires can be dangerous, especially at high speeds. Are you driving an unsafe high mileage vehicle? If you don’t ever want to wind up stuck on the side of the road again, simply complete our cash offer form or call us now to sell your car today!
