Was changing the brakes on my 2013 mustang today and saw the rear passenger side tire that I just bought brand new less than a month ago has a nail in it.
Judging from the location and size of the nail in the picture, would this be patchable or would I be in need of a new tire? I really hope it’s not the latter…
That almost certainly can be patched.
Tester
As long as there is no internal damage from driving on low air pressure, then yes it can be repaired…
Unless it is a RFT (run flat tire/zero pressure) that states it can NOT be repaired… The fine print (paragraph) will say if it is or not for a RFT…
Check with the company that you bought the tire from, it might have road hazard on it…
There is a good chance that it doesn’t need to be patched. A nail head that small could indicate a short nail that doesn’t go all the way through.
You could pull it out, then wet the area with soapy water and if it doesn’t generate a lot of very tiny bubbles, you are good to go. If it does, then you need to put on the spare and take it to the shop for repair.
I would plug that thing.
An improper repair (plug) can/will void the warranty on most tires, So I would NOT plug it unless you had no other choice… Who ever you bought the tire from will most likely do a tech patch (patch-plug combo)… And although I never had a plug blow out when doing them years ago, they have been known to blow out leaving a large hole in the tread allowing rapid air pressure loss and possible causing a wreck…
I’ve had plugs fail so would always want a boot or the combination plug and boot. Now I remember, I ran over my heavy duty tape measure and the clip imbedded in the tire. I measured and it wasn’t all the way through but I replaced the tires since they were in the yellow. I don’t like patches but even if it is not all the way through, I’d still want a boot on it.
I got a nice tire at garage sale for $10. 3 yrs old. Why do folks keep single tires? Nail hole.
If the tire isn’t losing air then the nail likely has not fully punctured the tire. If you leave it in the tire the nail will be pushed farther in as the tread wears, and it may eventually puncture the tire. I’d pull the nail out and test the tire as @keith suggested. If there are no bubbles then just keep an eye on the tire to see if you start losing air. I’d plug the hole only when the tire starts losing air.
+1
That is the only type of tire repair that I trust, and–I think–it is the only type of repair that the tire companies approve.
I go about it differently
I spray the soapy water BEFORE I pull out the nail
If it bubbles, it definitely needs to be repaired with a patch/plug combo, such as the one that the other guys already mentioned
Good tip. db
As someone that has easily seen 10-20+ flats and or objects in tires a day (sometimes found while in for other services), that is not always the case, a lot of times it will not show up as leaking when sprayed until you try to slowly pull it out, then it will leak, the tire has to be rolling with the tread flexing for a better word before it leaks sometimes…
But as db4690 mentioned, always spray it down before you pull it out 1st, but slowly pull on it while spraying it to see if it will leak or not…
