# Can you plug a tire in the sidewall?



## tinknal

This is a half ton 4X4 with heavy duty light truck tires. I use the truck for hauling wood on the farm, a couple of loads of hay a year, and getting to work in blizzards. I will use this tire as a spare. I have a tire plug kit but have never used it.


----------



## coolrunnin

Yes I do it all the time, but never put the tire on the front of the vehicle.
Never had a problem so far.


----------



## copperkid3

Can you or should you? The way you answer depends . . .

And for liability purposes only, anything that you take from

this thread is for informative purposes as well. (I neither play

at being a lawyer, nor do I want to be sued by one as well.)

That being said, the answer still centers around "it depends".

How big is it, exactly 'where' on the sidewall is it located and 

whether (or not) it is legal in your state to do so. Here's what

the rubber mfrs association has to say on the matter:

&#8226; Repairs are limited to the tread area only (No sidewall repairs).

&#8226; Puncture injury cannot be greater than 1/4 inch (6mm) in diameter.

&#8226; Repairs must be performed by removing the tire from the wheel
to perform a complete inspection to assess all damage that may be present.

&#8226; Repairs cannot overlap.

&#8226; A rubber stem, or plug, must be applied to fill the puncture injury
and a patch must be applied to seal the innerliner. A common repair 
unit is a one-piece unit with a stem and patch portion. A plug by itself 
is an unacceptable repair.


Most reputable tire repair shops will NOT do the repairs 

if they don't fall within the parameters shown above.

If they are repaired, it is advised that the tire

be used on the rear only; not on the front.


----------



## fixer1958

Do it yourself, go for it. Legally you can't repair a tire that has a puncture within 1" of the shoulder of the tread area without being advised that the establishment is not held responsible. 

Actually they prefer the bad tires be put on the front for stability in case of a blowout.
I don't understand that logic.
Just what I have read and they get paid more than I do to figure it out....supposedly....?


----------



## plowjockey

I would (and have dozens of times) cold-patch a hole in the sidewall, but never plug it. 

Not enough sidewall thickness, IMO, plus it's always flexing a lot more, than the tread area.


----------



## clovis

Several years ago, one of my customers was an auto repair shop.

I pulled in one day, and the rep that sold tire plugs to the shop was in. He was driving a full size Chevy truck, and had 12 plugs in the sidewalls in each of his front tires. He left the plug ends dangling so you could see them easily.


----------



## unregistered41671

clovis said:


> Several years ago, one of my customers was an auto repair shop.
> 
> I pulled in one day, and the rep that sold tire plugs to the shop was in. He was driving a full size Chevy truck, and had 12 plugs in the sidewalls in each of his front tires. He left the plug ends dangling so you could see them easily.


I would hate to meet him in the road one day.


----------



## Barn Yarns

How about patch the hole and put a tub in it?

I agree that sidewalls shouldnt be plugged, but if its a spare to only get you the few miles to a better repair, then i would patch and tube. 


Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


----------



## coolrunnin

Unless you can break the tire down yourself, no shop around here will patch a sidewall leak due to liability issues. I'm not throwing a good tire away myself, I wil continue to plug them and go on.


----------



## coolrunnin

Barn Yarns said:


> How about patch the hole and put a tub in it?
> 
> I agree that sidewalls shouldnt be plugged, but if its a spare to only get you the few miles to a better repair, then i would patch and tube.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today



Why patch and tube? One or the other is effective.


----------



## unregistered41671

coolrunnin said:


> Unless you can break the tire down yourself, no shop around here will patch a sidewall leak due to liability issues.


With good reason.


----------



## Barn Yarns

The op said it would be his spare. If before it gets used if the patch fails, then the tire will still hold up. 
I only check the air in one of my spares... And that is on my bike. 




Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


----------



## Grumpy old man

Just buy a new tire .


----------



## haunted

I think I'd try to replace it with a used tire. I've done side wall plugs due to extreme poverty, but they leaked air very quickly and it really was not satisfactory. Had to air up the tire at least once every day.


----------



## 95bravo

Last spring I managed to put a 3 inch slash way up in the side wall of my riding mower. I got it to seal with green slime. I had to put a ton of that stuff in to get it to the slash. I have not bought a tube in while. It might be a cheaper option.


----------



## coolrunnin

Possum Belly said:


> With good reason.


 Explain please. i can see no good reason but many self serving reasons


----------



## unregistered41671

coolrunnin said:


> Unless you can break the tire down yourself, no shop around here will patch a sidewall leak due to liability issues. I'm not throwing a good tire away myself, I wil continue to plug them and go on.





Possum Belly said:


> With good reason.





coolrunnin said:


> Explain please. i can see no good reason but many self serving reasons


To me, if tire professionals will not plug a sidewall due to liability, it must not be to safe to do. You would hope thy know their business.


----------



## AtomicFarmer

We have a 2000 Dodge 3500 flat bed for our farm truck. A few weeks back my dad punctured the sidewall of one of the front tires, took the tire off the truck (still on the rim) and took it to our local, trusted tire shop. They wouldn't plug it, saying it is illegal here (PA) to plug a sidewall. Dad bought a new tire, because a new tire is much safer and cheaper than dealing with an accident caused by a bad tire letting go at highway speed with 100 bales of hay on the truck.

Another alternative to new is always retreads, which has a separate thread, I think. I run retreads on my Dakota and like them a lot.


----------



## coolrunnin

A month ago I had a flat on the front of my semi. They wouldnt repair a 3 month old 26 ply all but brand new tire and return it to steer axle, but would sell me a 3/32 worn out tire for that position, this was a supposed professional. 

You can run recaps by law on the steer of a big truck but their insurance wont allow them to mount a repaired tire on the steer.


----------



## fishhead

When I lived in AK I had a front tire go flat while driving 65 mph with my 77 Ford HiBoy. There was no swerving or anything.

Then I had to hitchhike 50 miles to and from Delta Junction with the tire.

It turns out that somehow 3 of the 4 tires I had just gotten mounted went flat. At least 2 of the 3 had pebbles inside the tire.


----------



## saltydogburt

Plug it.Its a spare for petes sake.I pluged a huge hole in a sidewall on our woods truck.I used a rope seal that was a crankshaft main bearing seal for the plug.worked for years.


----------



## Sawmill Jim

The reason for putting the worse tires on the front is you have a means of steering . If you have ever had a rear tire blow at 70 plus MPH you would know what it is all about :bow: At 70 plus that car\ truck what ever will go into a fast dog track very hard to keep control of because it tries running sideways . I know from experience as i had a car years ago that for some strange reason the rear tires would last about 30 days . :facepalm:


----------



## swamp man

It ain't ideal, but neither is a blowout in a blizzard and not having a spare. I'd go for it, but check it for a few days to make sure you're holding air. If the tire dudes at the shop were geniuses, they wouldn't be working there. Tire shops are in the business of selling tires, not fixing the one you already have.


----------



## blufford

Why not instead patch it from the inside and install an inner tube.


----------



## logbuilder

blufford said:


> Why not instead patch it from the inside and install an inner tube.


That's what I'd do. But tubes are old school I guess.

And as someone earlier asked why the patch if you have the tube, it is to keep the inside clean where the tube and the tire interact.


----------



## coolrunnin

blufford said:


> Why not instead patch it from the inside and install an inner tube.


That works but most shops will not make repairs to a side wall, hence the plugging.


----------



## MNBobcat

The proper way to do it is to patch it from the inside. Then grind the top of the patch to roughen it up and install another, larger, patch over the top of the first patch. That way you have a double thickness of patch in place. Then install a tube. The tube holds the patches in place. Without the tube, the patches can come loose due to the flexing of the sidewall.


----------

