Today my wife called to inform me that her(mine on the weekends!) 92'400e had a flat rear tire. Changed it out with the spare (thanks MB! for easy to use jack/tools)

There seems to be a nail in the tire. My question is should I get it repaired or replace the tire. The BF Goodrich Touring TA 205/65R15's have less than 8k on them and we dont do much high speed driving just 0-60 real quick. Would it be safe to repair this tire or should I buy a new one?
P.S. I found out why everyone says to get rid of the stock 195/65's when leaving a parking lot in traffic (up in smoke!)

Thanks in advance,
AlanSound
92'400E 125k
96'Ford ExplorerV8(Gotta have an SUV for work - Free Tires!)
89' Wellcraft Scarab V8

Fix it, but get it patched from the inside (like in the old days). Stay away from those plug things. When they shove the awl, file and plug seater thru the radial plys, usually end up breaking more strands of the belts, leading to a weak spot in the belt.

__________________
Jeff Lawrence
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
No matter what you fix, there will always be something else to fix..
"Warranty" is just another way of postponing the inevitable.

My experience is that to fix it properly, you need to plug AND patch. If you only patch, water, etc. will get through the hole and rust the belt causing it to seperate. However, you will have a tough time finding someone who will do this.

I think we may have come upon a subject as controversial as what oil to use. Although I stand by my above recommendation, I have used a zillion "Safety Seals" on steel belted tires. These use no glue, the heat from the tire vulcanizes them. I went through a period back in the mid eighties, when the expensive Eagles on my '85 Mustang GT had so many of these plugs in them they looked like cactus. I ran the tires all the way to the wear bars with no problems. I have found myself plugging many a tire with the Safety Seals because it is so convenient for me. I have probably used a hundred of these brand seals and only had problems once. This was because the nail went into the edge of the belt.

Good luck,

Larry: Where can I get the "Safety Seals" Are they something like a tire patch with a 1 inch long plug attached that goes thru the hole from the inside? I saw one of them in the south east, but I can't find any here in the north east.

P E H

P.E.H., I have seen those plugs at AutoZone.

__________________
Jeff Lawrence
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
No matter what you fix, there will always be something else to fix..
"Warranty" is just another way of postponing the inevitable.

Jeffsr: I didn't try Auto Zone, only tried jobber houses and some tire dealers. I'll see if I can find them in Auto Zone next time I get there. Thanks

The "Safety Seal" I mentioned is a specific brand available from service station suppliers. I would not reccomend the plugs that I've seen elsewhere, the ones that use glue. The Safety Seal uses no glue, the glue can rust the belt. The Safety Seal itself is about 3 inches long and about 1/4" diameter. You use the Safety Seal tool and push it through the reamed hole doubled up, that is in a U shape with the bottom of the U going in first. When you pull it out it pulls part of the bottom of the U back into the hole from the bottom side. If you decide to use these, I recommed buying the kit with the tool and some seals. I bought a few hundred seals a long time ago and don't remember the name of the supplier, I will try to find them and pass the name along.

Duh, I went to safetyseal.com and found the product I have.

Good luck,

[Edited by LarryBible on 01-04-2001 at 08:17 AM]