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Veteran
Posts: 141
 
Location: Simi Valley, CA | I just had a a low tire(tubeless radial) which I ran a short distance and now won't hold air. However the tire is still in relative good condition. Can I put a tube in it to continue to use the tire? The tire is 7years old and a Coker replacment tire is $ 375 a B.F. Goodrich 225X15 R70. Please advise! |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9666
  
Location: So. Cal | The right answer is to patch the tire. We used to do that but most shops aren't willing to anymore. But the answer to your question is yes, you can use a tube to make it work. The guy I bought my '40 International from used tubes with the new radials because the rims were in bad shape, and it worked. He lived in the sticks and had his own tire machine. But good luck finding a shop that will be willing to work on or even to retain a 7 year old tire. I recommend you find an old garage that has a tire machine and see if you can talk someone into repairing it for you. You'll probably waste your time with any of the large chain tire stores. I just replaced the tires on my commuter car and I had to argue with them for quite a while to let me put a tire size on the car that it didn't come with. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9904
Location: Lower Mainland BC | .
Ernie: My first guess would be that running the tire with low pressure resulted in the loss of the "bead", i.e. the close contact between the tire and the rim. If that is the case, the "bead" can sometimes be restored by airing up the tire (with a good high capacity air compressor), maybe with the wheel and tire off the car or at least with the wheel jacked up so there is no weight on the tire.
If the leak is in the side wall, you are done (or you need a tube - which seems ridiculous but staring at $350 make it less so)
The preferred method of fixing a radial tire with a hole in the tread is a "mushroom" patch, with the tire off the rim. As Nathan suggested the big chain tire stores will likely not want to do that because of the age of the tire (7 years is apparently some legal threshold between safe and "blowed up real good").
If you can't find an independent shop to do the mushroom patch, then O'Reilly's or PepBoys might sell a DIY tire repair kit (which I always carry with me on road trips in my cars). Like these in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQWSzM5-Vwk
Good luck.
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Location: Under the X in Texas | There are radial tubes intended for radial tires. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 654
Location: Finland | I agree Dave , the sticky strip (or dog s**t as they are called in Finland) is one thing that belongs to every car. |
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Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Posts: 13049
Location: Southern Sweden - Sturkö island | In Sweden the professional tire shops use a much larger mushroom patch. The installation requires tire removal from the rim. The patch is glued to the inside of the tire and the stem is pulled out throug the damage hole. This is the only acceptable method for tire shops here.
That said, I always carry the dogs**t strips in the trunk with my modified Sodastream carbon oxide pressure tank. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 406
Location: Hilltown, PA | I can hear the "Danger Will Robinson" sirens from here . . .
First things first - how low was the tire and how far did you run it? This is critical because when you run a tire low enough or far enough you do structural damage to the sidewall. This damage is not always easily visible, which is why many tire shops will no longer repair tires - the repair products available are just fine, its the qualification of the run low tire that creates a liability issue.
This is also part of the reason why tire shops that will repair a tire use the t-type or mushroom patch as you call it. Installation of this type of repair requires removal of the tire from the rim and gives the opportunity to inspect the tire interior for damage. The external rope type repair skips this important step and opens the door for lawyer-palooza.
As far as inner tubes go, yes you can install an inner tube in a radial, BUT you MUST use a radial type tube, AND you need to be aware that with a tube installed that tire will run warmer than the others. How much? Depends, usually not enough to be a concern. You don't run NASCAR do you?
The drawback to an inner tube is that any puncture results in a complete flat, since once the tube is compromised the offending object can't plug the hole, as it will with a non-tubed tire.
My recommendation would be to find a competent tire tech, most likely in a non-chain store, and ask him to do an evaluation of the tire to determine 1) where the leak is, 2) if the tire is still safe to be repaired, and 3) if a t-type repair is appropriate.
If the tire sidewall exhibits damage inside the tire or the puncture is in the sidewall it's junk - no hedging. Once that happens it's a blowout waiting to happen. If the damage from the puncture is too large to repair with a single properly installed t-type plug/patch a tube can be used, but the t-type repair should be performed anyway to eliminate a place in the tire interior that will abrade the tube. Honestly if it gets to that point, and it was my car, I'd replace the tire.
Gregg
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Veteran
Posts: 141
Location: Simi Valley, CA | Thank you all for the input and advice, I called Cokers tech support this morning and they said the same thing. The leak is in the sidewall, the age of the tire is 7yrs, I drive the car all the time on city streets and Freeways. So I think I will take my wifes advice "Due to Safety concerns". I'm going to purchase new tires and switch to a 215x75R series( instead of the 225x70R x15), BF Goodrich Wide White wall that will match appearance to my rear tires(235R70x15) and definitely maintain the air pressure of 35psi. Plus the 75 series may make the power steering work easier too! |
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Tubes in a Radial tire
