Lucky find...but I need a new tire!

[FastFordNut]

I had my car up on my cousins lift yesterday, giving him the nickel tour of the underside, checking exhaust bolts while they were accessible and basically just looking around.

To my surprise I found a small screw with a washer stuck in the left front tire just on the inside edge of the tread.

I was hoping for a shallow entry into the tread block but with just a little pulling I could hear air start to seep.

I wasn't expecting to be buying any tires just yet but I guess it could have been worse.

If the tire was rotated 180 deg I never would have seen it and would have likely found myself fixing the tire on the side of the road.

Now to solve the problem...

Where would be the best affordable place for a new tire??

[kraegar]

Uh, if it's a stock tire they have a pro-rated warranty.

[FastFordNut]

Uh, if it's a stock tire they have a pro-rated warranty.

I'm assuming you mean pro-rated through Ford?

I have never had any luck with that stuff before.

Even road side assistance failed me twice with my truck.

Thanks,

I'll give it a try.

[whazen1]

Don't even try getting a warranty on the tire. The type of problem you have is called a road hazard and there is no warranty for that. You have two choices:

1) If the screw or whatever is in the tread area, you can get it fixed with a patch plug combination. Any other type of repair is dangerous. Also, the tire will probably seperate down the road due to air getting into the inner liner of the tire and traveling until it develops a blister.

 

2) Go to a Goodyear Tire store or check for it on Tire Rack.com or Discount Tire. Shop the prices on the internet to get the best deal.

 

 

Good Luck,

 

"The Tire Guy"

 

PS Check out the web site called Selecttire.com. If there is something on there that interests you, let me know and I can get you a discount as I sell tires to that company.

[VNMOUS1]

Don't even try getting a warranty on the tire. The type of problem you have is called a road hazard and there is no warranty for that. You have two choices:

1) If the screw or whatever is in the tread area, you can get it fixed with a patch plug combination. Any other type of repair is dangerous. Also, the tire will probably seperate down the road due to air getting into the inner liner of the tire and traveling until it develops a blister.

 

2) Go to a Goodyear Tire store or check for it on Tire Rack.com or Discount Tire. Shop the prices on the internet to get the best deal.

Good Luck,

 

"The Tire Guy"

 

PS Check out the web site called Selecttire.com. If there is something on there that interests you, let me know and I can get you a discount as I sell tires to that company.

 

Hey "Tire Guy"....here's what Goodyear told me when I picked up a screw in a front tire at about 1,000 miles. I had it replaced (at WAY to high of a price) by a non-Goodyear store. They said had I gone to a Goodyear store, they often do "goodwill" adjustments. The example she gave me was that they would have paid 75% of my replacement cost regardless of the reason why.

 

So, to the gentleman with the "flat to be"...call a Goodyear store, tell them this story and ask them to call corp customer service. If that doesn't work, YOU call them. If none of this works, go to Tire Rack dot com. They're on sale.

 

Oh, and if it's within 1/4 inch of the shoulder of the tire, no one will repair it.

 

 

bj

[kraegar]

Guess a friend with a mustang GT just got lucky. Got a nail in her tire, took it to our dealership (same place I got my car) and they replaced the tire for a pro-rated amount, I think she paid like $30.

 

So I figured that was covered.

 

- Tony

[Alloy Dave]

I had my car up on my cousins lift yesterday, giving him the nickel tour of the underside, checking exhaust bolts while they were accessible and basically just looking around.

To my surprise I found a small screw with a washer stuck in the left front tire just on the inside edge of the tread.

I was hoping for a shallow entry into the tread block but with just a little pulling I could hear air start to seep.

I wasn't expecting to be buying any tires just yet but I guess it could have been worse.

If the tire was rotated 180 deg I never would have seen it and would have likely found myself fixing the tire on the side of the road.

Now to solve the problem...

Where would be the best affordable place for a new tire??

Do you need a new tire? They don't recommend plugging these tires?

[whazen1]

Vnmous1,

You are absolutely right. If you go to a tire store with a positive attitude and are nice, there are many times that you can get a goodwill adjustment. The only way to get it is when the guy behind the counter calls the manufacturer and asks for it. If they agree, they give him a special number and replace it at a prorated cost. These goodwill gestures are few and far between. If anybody does it any other way, the money comes right out of the dealers pocket. The manufacturer will only do a certain percentage of tires at a given time. It is also true that if it is 1/4 inch from the sidewall, it is toast and should not be repaired. The dealership usually goes by policy only and will not take the time to try to help out a customer on policy adjustments and will charge the most amount of money. Anyway hope this helps

[whazen1]

AlloyDave,

If it were me, I would get a new tire. With a high performance machine like we have, I would not want to have a tire blow at a high rate of speed. You can plug the tire but that is a very temporary repair for a couple of reasons. Remember that when you plug a tire you have broken through the belt package of the tire and cut some steel belts. The steel will then rust over time and the air that got in between the inner liner and the belt package will work it's way around and the tire will then seperate. Any tire dealer that does a plug or patch only can be held liable. The only proper repair is a plug/patch combo and if you look at the warranty book of any manufacturer, it states that it is only a temporary repair. If you look up some of the cases in "Tire Review" past articles you will see that there have been some multi million dollar settlements and quite a few deaths. Tire manufacturers get sued for this all the time and it usually ends up at the dealer that did the repair.

[Alloy Dave]

AlloyDave,

If it were me, I would get a new tire. With a high performance machine like we have, I would not want to have a tire blow at a high rate of speed. You can plug the tire but that is a very temporary repair for a couple of reasons. Remember that when you plug a tire you have broken through the belt package of the tire and cut some steel belts. The steel will then rust over time and the air that got in between the inner liner and the belt package will work it's way around and the tire will then seperate. Any tire dealer that does a plug or patch only can be held liable. The only proper repair is a plug/patch combo and if you look at the warranty book of any manufacturer, it states that it is only a temporary repair. If you look up some of the cases in "Tire Review" past articles you will see that there have been some multi million dollar settlements and quite a few deaths. Tire manufacturers get sued for this all the time and it usually ends up at the dealer that did the repair.

You may be right on many counts...I don't have any lawsuit data. All I can say is that I worked at a tire store for 8 years, and we'd do at least 10-15 plugs a day. We NEVER had a lawsuit against us, and never had a catastrophic failure. We did have a couple that leaked after the plug was done, but we found them just after plugging and then told the customer the hole was too large to work properly. 10/day x 250 days/year x 8 years = 20,000 plugs...looks like a pretty good record to me.

 

The guy that sold us our plugs (the brand name was Safety Seal) drove a van with over 50 plugs IN THE SIDEWALL of his van tire to show how well they worked. He'd come in once a month...with that same tire...he purposefully didn't cut the plugs off flush...he wanted people to see them and ask him what it was. Edit: I want to make it clear that even Safety Seal did NOT recommend use of their plugs in a sidewall...his van was only used for demonstration purposes...please do NOT attempt a plug in a sidewall...I think even if it's very close to the sidewall it's not recommended.

 

We used the "fiber" plugs...much better than the rubber ones.

 

You're probably right that the manufacturer's claim it's only a "temporary" repair. Just keep in mind that we also have warnings on McDonald's coffee saying it's hot because some bonehead person didn't know that coffee IS hot. Often corporate lawyers put things in their literature just to "cover their ass", without any real danger being present for 99.999% of the population. Take a look at the below link...there's actually a competition for some of the most rediculous warnings. Look at the one about shin guards. Don't get me wrong...I agree that if you're going to drive 150 mph in your GT500, the last thing you'd want to be thinking about is whether that plugged tire will hold. I'm just saying there is a gray area in the middle...and some of us don't drive at those high speeds.

 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m157..._17/ai_72328626

 

 

 

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[150man]

I did a search of the Goodyear website. Our GT500 tires fall in their "ultra high performance" tire category. I could find no warning on their website that repairing these tires is a no no. However, when looking at their race tire category, under the "techical info" section, they say not to repair their racing tires- replace them.

 

I had a screw punture one of my rear tires a few weeks ago and had it repaired in the normal fashion, and have noticed no bulging or any other problems so far. But after reading this thread I am thinking about getting a new tire. I'd hate to think, though, that everytime a pick up a nail, I have to buy a new tire.

[FastFordNut]

I'm planning on calling both the dealer and Goodyear to see how each responds.

I would be happy with a price break on a new tire.

I'm not a big fan of plugs with the exception of using them on my lawn tractor.

Especially on the front.

BTW the screw is located about an inch in from the shoulder.

Thanks to all for the input.

I'll post the final results

[whazen1]

Alloy Dave,

I can understand that you worked at a tire store for 8 years and did many plugs in tires. A couple of things you should keep in mind. It takes time for the air to work through the inner liner and finally seperate. I am sure many of the plugs you did had problems later and either the consumer or you never knew of the outcome. If you check the warranty booklet of any tire manufacturer, they say that a plug is an improper repair. Believe me they don't do this just to sell more tires but to protect the consumer from a grave danger down the road. Check page 10 in the Michelin warranty booklet and you can see by going to their web site. They also say that if the hole is more than 1/4" it is toast. Also, not more than 1 steel cord can be broken which as you know is almost impossible to tell. If you remember when you plugged tires, the area was reamed out first and that cuts more of the steel. Anyway, consumers can do whatever they want when it comes to repairing tires but I see firsthand the aftermath of the improper repairs on a weekly basis. Anybody that repairs a ultra high performance tire for any reason and uses the tire for high speeds is taking their life into their hands. Also keep in mind that most tire companies have a policy that states there is no speed rating on a tire after it has been repaired. Just trying to help people understand that tires are nothing to screw around with when you count on them to work the way they are designed.