Can I fix a really small hole in my sidewall?

Is there any way to fix a really small hole in the sidewall of my radial tire? I finally ground some white walls on my truck last weekend after wanting to for years and now one of them has a small drill bit (yes it is all the way through) in the the sidewall and the tires are way to old for my to be able to buy just one to mach. This really ****s because I have a budget of zero and buying a new set of tires might take my truck off the road for some time.

 

you might can plug it, but it might not be safe, best to get new tires

 

A tire shop wont patch sidewalls I think a tube would be the best way to go.

 

i say just put a tube in it and call it good

 

^ Ditto

 

Plug it and patch the back side. We do it allthe time on truck tires.

 

boot it and then tube it.... tire shop will do that and it might cost 30 bucks

 

Have any of you run a tube in a radial tire? I never even thought of that

 

Just had one fixed on an OT truck around here. Tire store pulled the tire and put a patch on the inside. No Problem !!!

 

plug, patch, or tube, any will work.

 

The problem is the side walls flex so much, A patch will leak after a short time. Same thing with a plug. like sayed try a tube.

 

there is no way a plug will work safely on a side wall. As for a patch, it is iffy at best that it will even stick in that area. I would say the safest and best way short of replacing the tire is to go with a tube.

 

This has worked EVERY TIME I have done it, pardon me, tire shops are in the.....

never mind...

Plug and patch, put it on the back axle if you are the slightest bit woried.

 

I've run tubes in several radials. You have to make sure that the tube is actually designed for use in radials (it will say so on the package).

Plugging/patching the sidewall of a radial is NOT a good idea. The whole point of radial tire design is that the sidewall flexes and the tread stays flat. The flexing of the sidewall will eventually cause the patch to delaminate.

 

They used to make a tube specifficly for radials, I got one in the mid 80s when I ran over hundereds of roofing nails on night...

I seem to recall that a regular bias tube won't work.

 

Plugging a radial tire is no diff than any other. It's done a lot with great success, usually without a patch unless the hole is a big one. A patch will be more of a guarantee, but that hole in the picture will plug and probably never give you any more trouble.

 

I've run tubes in a pair of radials for years. They are two piece wheels and they wouldn't hold air so I tubed them.

There is a reason why reputable tire shops won't patch the sidewalls of radials. It's called safety. The plug and/or patch will not flex with the sidewall. Most radial sidewall blowouts (which will happen with a patch) take more than the tire out. The tread usually stays in tact and gets wrapped around the axle taking out things like the inner/outer fenders, doors, brake lines. Tube it, it might save your life or someone else's.

 

The only issues I have seen with plugging radials has nothing to do with the process per se, but the problem arises when the tire has been run low/flat and then plugged. The plys had already separated, and then air can work partially past the plug and get between the plys causing a "bulge".

A patch (or a patch + plug) may hide the damage, but still the tire is unsafe.

These bulges often give plugs a bad rap.

When I was a kid I got a hole in a radial I couldn't afford to replace, I ran a sheet metal screw in there for a really long time before convincing a shop to patch it for me, never was a problem, and neither are the others I have had done or done myself since.

 

Plugging will fill the hole a patch won't.. A plug patch is the best way of repairing BUT not the sidewall

I have been in the tire business for 30 years. Amazing the people that will repair tires that should be discarded.

Also a questionable tire should go to the front NOT th rear.

 

Yikes. Never....never tube a tebless tire. Never....never repair a sidewall.
Yikes.

 

I can't comment on your specific situation but take it from someone that has been repairing tires for 30 + years.

Have someone at a shop buff the inside puncture area and place a radial patch over it. Then put a radial tube in it.

Now remember that you are dead in the water the next time you get a puncture. Can't just plug and go. And yes I would put it on the rear just for piece of mind.

 

I had the exact same thing happen to the sidewall on a Blazer. I got an xlarge bottle of that green slime tire sealant from the parts store, put the whole bottle in and let it cure with the hole at the bottom, so gravity would keep the slime in the hole while it cured overnight. It held just fine until we turned it in for cash for clunkers, a few thousand miles later.

 

OK I called Kragens auto parts and they have a radial tube in stock. Is there any big trick to putting it in or is it just like doing a bicycle tube?

Thanks!!

So glad I can fix it.

 

BELIEVE IT OR NOT THE CURRENT RULE IS TO PUT THE BEST TIRES IN THE REAR OF YOUR VEHICLE. State police testing has proven the best control in a skid is to have the best traction in the rear because a driver can control a skid better using the steering even when the front tires are not as good as the rear, once the rear end comes around in a skid the driver has a lot less ability to correct the vehicle. Yes I know it goes against everything we were always taught in the past, but I recently attended a school in tire presentation on the new practice, as part of the GM tire program for dealerships. When you watch the tests by state troopers on wet pavement it makes good sense....

 

343W is right- or at least that is the current theory they're preaching through the tire shops I work with. You wouldn't believe the guff I've gotten from customers who think I'm a ***** for telling them that but yes, the best tires should be in the rear for the above stated reasons.

Also, a few years ago I had a used tire outfit sell me a set of radials that they installed on my '50 Dodge with the original wheels. They told me that it needed tubes inside because of the wheel design. I put many miles on that truck and never had any problems with the tires or tubes.

Jay

 

Well, whatever the traction issues, I would rather have 5 rear blown tires to one flat front tire....
Call me old fashioned, even call me stupid, but for this reason and this reason alone, I will always have my best tires on the front.

 

Oh well, I guess that explains a lot. People in the tire business want to sell tires. Also a lot of them don't even know how to put in a good patch. If the patch comes loose, it aint the patch's fault, it's the technique used.
On the other hand, I've been repairing my own tires for over 50 years, since before radials were even invented. I have plugged many radial tires in the past 30 years, probably a couple of dozen. Mine usually end up wearing out before I buy new ones. Sorry about that.

AS far as OPs puncture, based on my first hand experience, a plug will work just fine at that location.

 

Never repair a sidewall. Never tube a tubless tire. Never. Ever.

 

I am the shop manager for a truck tire retread shop, I have worked there for 16 yrs. Doing a sidewall repair in a truck tire (22.5 to 24.5) is no big deal if the tech. knows what he is doing and follow the correct procedures. Car tires are different, the sidewall is not big enough and the amount of flex that the sidewall does as it goes down the road WILL break the repair patch loose and it will start leaking again. You might find someone that will tell you that they can get it to work but we would never do it because we stand behind all our work and our reputation is on the line. Best thing to do is try to find a used tire with about the same amount of 32nds and buy it.

 

I put a tube in and it worked. After thinking about it a little I realized that if I ever got a screw or nail in a tubed tire it would go flat instantly unlike a tubeless tire that has a good chance of having a slow leak or the nail or screw acting like a plug and not going flat at all. As my truck is really low and requires a floor and tools to change a tire I will not be able to trust the tire to go on any road trips. I guess I will stop at the used tire shop and see if they have a similar tire and hope that the ground white wall will be the correct size.