A flat tire on your car or truck can be very inconvenient, and in many cases, there may not be an obvious reason for the tire to be flat. Not every flat tire requires replacement, but if you don't know why the tire lost its air, taking it to a tire repair shop for an inspection is an excellent place to start.
Flat Tires
There are many reasons that a tire may go flat without any warning. Many times, the tire gets punctured while you are driving and then slowly leaks until all the air is gone. Other times, the air can leak around the bead where the tire seals to the rim and cause the tire to slowly become flatter.
Old tires that have been on for a long time may develop some rust between the bead and the wheel. If the rust flakes off when you hit a bump or while driving, the gap left behind may be enough for air to escape from the tire. Sometimes a bead leak can take weeks to go flat.
Punctures are more obvious, and if you look closely at the tire, you may find a nail or screw in the tread that you picked up on while driving. If the nail or screw stays in the tire, it may seal the puncture enough to keep the tire from going flat for a while. Eventually, air will begin to leak around the nail, and the tire will go flat.
Tire Repair
The majority of tire repairs on passenger vehicles are punctures, and the tire repair shop can repair most of them. Once the tire repair tech removes the nail or screw from the tire, the tech can clean the hole with a tool called a ream, then they will insert a rubber plug into the hole that will stop the air from escaping.
The rubber plug is made from soft self-vulcanizing rubber that bonds with the tire once it is in place. The plug is effective for most punctures as long as they are in the tread of the tire. Sidewall damage is not repairable this way and often requires purchasing a new tire.
Patches are also sometimes used inside the tire to seal a hole in the tread, but in order to patch the tire, the tech will have to separate the tire from the rim. Many shops will opt for plugging the tire to save the time of breaking it down, but if you ask them to patch and plug the tire, they will do it most of the time.
If the tire is leaking around the bead, breaking down the tire and cleaning it to remove rust and other debris is often enough to stop the leak. In some cases, the bead on the tire is damaged or rotted and requires replacement, but the tire repair tech will not be able to tell until the wheel and tire are separated.
For more information, contact a tire repair service near you.
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