Nail in the tire?

[Power4]

A few days ago when walking around my car i notice a nail stuck in on of my rear tires. It looked like just a piece of a broken nail or large staple or something since it had no head or pointy end sticking out. The tire didn't look like it had lost any pressure and I didn't want the nail to go in farther so I carefully pulled it out. It looked like it went in at an angle and didn't penetrate all the way thru the tire as it's been several days now and the tire still hasn't seemed to lose any pressure. What I'm wondering is could this have weakened the tire and potentially make it easier for me to get a flat? I'm going to be doing a pretty long road trip soon (about 500 miles one way) and I don't want to be stuck with a flat along the way. Should I have a shop check the tire out?

 

[Art161]

I suggest you have a reputable tire shop demount the tire to check for any internal damage. Make sure they know how to demount and mount a tire with the Ford TPMS.

 

[ranger04]

In your case it might have been better if the nail would of went through, then you could have plugged it with a proper fix. Now as it stands you have a weakened area, however, if your not loosing air presure, you should be good to go. A nail in the tire usally makes for a slow leak, pull out the nail and you have a fast leak. When I find a nail in my tire, I leave it in and drive to the tire shop and let them pull it out and repair as needed.

 

[The Fang]

Dude I had a chunk of metal 3/4 inch wide pulled out of one tire and they plugged that sukker 20k ago. still riden on it.

 

[UrbanRedneck]

I wouldn't worry about it. Spray some soapy water on the area to make sure it isn't leaking, but if not I'd leave it alone.

A tire is not one solid piece of rubber, it is actually many different layers of different kinds of rubber combined. The outer layers form the carcass of the tire, which includes the sidewall and tread, houses the beads, etc. But the innermost layer is a thin, more flexible rubber that I think is called the bladder (I forgot exactly). This is the layer that holds air. So as long as the innermost layer is not punctured, there is no increased danger of a flat, because that tiny puncture in the outer layers is not really a weak spot, unless something else happened to go right into the same "hole".

This is why a tire plug is NOT the right way to fix a tire. A plug filles the hole in the outer carcass, but does little for the inner layer, and this is why they will always eventually leak. A Patch is not the best answer either, as it just fixes the inner layer, but does nothing for the hole in the carcass, which can lead to the patch failing. The best fix for a hole, and the industry recognized proper fix, is a plug-patch, which is like apatch with a plug comming out of the center of it, it does the job of a plug and of a patch, to fix both parts of the tire.

 

[Art161]

The best fix for a hole, and the industry recognized proper fix, is a plug-patch, which is like apatch with a plug comming out of the center of it, it does the job of a plug and of a patch, to fix both parts of the tire.

And just try to find a shop that repairs tires that way. I finally found one, after a bunch of phone calls.

One modification to what you said. If the puncture is from a nail, screw, or something similar, and it entered the tire at more than a 15 degree angle from straight in, then you are supposed to use a separate plug and patch. The combined plug-patch does not work properly if it is installed at an angle greater than 15 degrees.

 

[Power4]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm bringing it into the shop on saturday for it's 30,000 service anyway so I'll at least ask them how long and how much it'd take for them to check it out. But I'm not too concerned since it's been a while now and the tire hasn't seemed to lose any pressure and you guys say I don't need to worry.