Puncture repairs

Submitted: Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 19:29

ThreadID: 56202 Views:2510 Replies:5 FollowUps:9

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Avan

What is the best emergency puncture repair that can get you to the next town for proper repair. Vechile is 4 x 4 with caravan in tow.

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Reply By: splits - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 20:30

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 20:30

That is a good question and one that is difficult to answer because it depends so much on the type of tyre plus the size and location of the puncture. Chances are that when you get to the next town you will be told it is not repairabnle even if it is because they want to sell you a new tyre.

The best way to find out is go straight to the people who make tyre repair equipment and one of the biggest in the world is Rema Tip Top. Most of the tyre services around the country use their products. They only have seven branches around the country but if you can't get to one their website says they will respond to any requests for information that comes from the site either by a rep calling or email.

Look them up on Google and you will be amazed at what is available. You may find you can do some permanent repairs in the bush.

Another thing you may find useful is the tyre repair DVD currently being made by Mick Hutton from Beadell Tours. I have ordered one myself after talking to him on the phone recently.Check out their web site. It contains a lot of information on tyres with some of it covering repairs.

Brian

AnswerID: 296213

Reply By: Member - Luke (SA) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 20:31

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 20:31

Buy yourself a plug kit. Easy to use and very worth while IMO. All you do is
1; make sure tyre is pumped up
2; remove offending puncture maker
3; put string/plug thru slot in plugging tool and put glue on plug
4; push reaming tool thru hole in tyre and twist while pushing in and out
5; push plug in hole (don't push in too far, you want about 5-10 mm sticking out) and remove tool quickly
6; pump tyre back up to your preferred pressure and away you go

If possible you can do it while still on the veichle

You can buy these kits from Motor Traders, Rays Outdoors, Aussie Disposals, Supercheap and places like that

Hope this helps

Cheers Luke

AnswerID: 296214

Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Yalgoo) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 21:03

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 21:03

Phill G put me on to these and as long as you are not running a tube they are the bees knees. while i wouldnt officially recomend it they are a bit better than just an emergency repair

FollowupID: 562287

Follow Up By: Peter 2 - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 21:50

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 21:50

Do yourself a favour and only buy a good quality kit.
Either the ARB kit or the original Speedy Seal form the US.
The cheap ones have cheap tools which often come apart and allow the tool to stab your hand during use.
Do not use the lube provided with the kit as it will prevent the plug from sticking to the tyre.
Rather buy a small tin of the Rema Tip Top vulcanising fluid, dip the probe/auger in it and locate the hole in the tyre using the vulcanising fluid as lube.
Then fit the plug to the tool, dip it in the vulcanising fluid and then insert it in the tyre leaving about 10mm proud, remove the tool and you are done.

FollowupID: 562302

Follow Up By: warfer69 - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 22:11

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 22:11

Hiya Pete

I just bought the speedy seal from ARB,was impressed with the tool quality !
Thought it was value for money !

Cheers

FollowupID: 562310

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 22:49

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 22:49

Davoe, unfortunately, you've been getting a bit of practice :-(

I agree with everything that Peter said - especially about using glue and not lube.

FollowupID: 562324

Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Yalgoo) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 23:23

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 23:23

I actually got told by the tyre place to use the special cement on the threads rather than vulcanser. didnt make sense to me I thought special cement was for tyre patches

FollowupID: 562331

Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 15:05

Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 15:05

I think the original one was the "Safety Seal" brand, Comes in a red plastic box. I have also seen the ARB version and this kit looks as good.

Quality is important as you don't want the plastic handle of a cheapy brand snapping off as you are pushing the plug into the tyre. Otherwise you may push the tang into your hand.

As mentioned above, these plug repair units are only good for tubeless tyres, but the best thing is, usually you don't need to remove the tyre from the wheel rim.

If you have tyres with tubes in them, you will need something like the "Tyrepliers", or "R&R Beadbreaker" kits, as you will need to remove the tubes from the tyre to patch or replace them.

Bill

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FollowupID: 562426

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 20:56

Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 20:56

Davoe said: "I actually got told by the tyre place to use the special cement on the threads rather than vulcanser."

Yeah, the blue Rema special cement can be used - the guy who lead our first Madigan Line trip used it on normal plugs, and I reckon he'd plugged more tyres than we'd had breakfasts.

My preferred plugs are the Tech brand ones, and the glue they recommend is the same as their vulcaniser glue. I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference.

And Sandman said: "don't need to remove the tyre from the wheel rim".
Not only that, but you don't have to get the jack out to remove the wheel. Front ones, just roll the vehicle forward until the hole is accessible and turn the wheel, so you can easily plug it. Rear ones, you might have to crawl under.

FollowupID: 562530

Reply By: Shaker - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 23:25

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 23:25

I would suggest the ARB kit, as it needs no glue.

AnswerID: 296275

Follow Up By: traveller2 - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 08:20

Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 08:20

None of them actually need glue but you will get a better more permanent seal using the vulcanising fluid as well.
I staked a tyre in the wall last year on the Madigan, the stick was as thick as a big finger, plugged it using the process above with one plug and it lasted for over 6 months and about 7k before it started to leak very slowly. Shoved another plug in with plenty of vulcanising fluid and it is still ok.
The guy at the tyre place nearly had a heart attack when he saw the plugs hanging out of the centre of the tyre wall!!
Mind you my 37" tyres don't get as hot as the smaller ones and I have beadlocks and runflats inside, besides they are nearly worn out treadwise so another few k and they will be coming off.

FollowupID: 562356

Reply By: Peter H - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 09:54

Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 09:54

The speedy seal is a self vulcanizing plug that does not use glue, one of it's selling point is that it self vulcanizes to the tyre. If you use glue you risk the bond between the plug and the tyre. They say other brands have trouble with this as the glu breaks down or something. I have used Speedy seal on a numbe of occasions and would recommend it. I have also patched the inside of tyres with the Rema glue on patches and sleeves over the years, nowdays I prefer not to take the tyre off the rim in the bush if I can help it!

AnswerID: 296315

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 21:06

Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 21:06

Regarding glue, it depends a bit on where the puncture is. A small hole in the tread from a nail or tek screw only needs a small plug, and no matter what you use, you'll get a good seal. Put a rock through the tread, and its hard to get anything to seal, and usually end up with a patch from the inside.

But when you have staked the tyre on the shoulder or sidewall, glue seems to help, because the wall is a lot thinner than the tread. I've plugged or seen plugged over 100 tyres over the past 9 years, and these days prefer to use glue on all plugs because they are much more likely to seal first time.

FollowupID: 562538

Reply By: Member -Dodger - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 15:18

Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 15:18

I have the ARB speedy seal kit and have used it and found it better than my previous kit which was purchased from S/Cheap. Great tools and a very efficient seal.