What can be more disgusting than getting stranded at the middle of the road because of a nail in your tire? And in most cases, you don’t know how much distance you can get a repair shop, and this uncertainty leaves you more at distress. Worst of all is if you don’t have a step me at your disposal. So what do you do? Can you repair the puncture all by yourself? When I asked this question to one of my friends who serve at the Concord Chevrolet dealership, he said yes, there are some DIY repair techniques, to handle such situations, but for long-term effect, you need to pull down the tire from the wheel.
He is the one suggested this step-by-step process on how to fix the puncture of the car tire, all alone.
1. Detecting the Leak
Even common sense says that the first step which is the most difficult one is to find out the exact place from where the air is leaking. The best way he suggested that can’t go waste is mixing some dish soap along with water apply the mixture thoroughly covering the entire circle of the tire. The place from where you can see bubbles coming out is certainly the leaking area. Mark that particular spot with tape.
2. Jacking up the Car
The next step involves the loosening of the lug nuts that are required to remove the tire. Things will be easier if you have an impact wrench in your toolbox. Do not skip this step before jacking up the car or else the tire can spin dangerously while removing the nuts.
Now, get ready to jack up the car to bring down the wheels. Use the jack stand on a plain surface to maintain a stable balance of the car. Now, place your car jack to the exactly recommended jacking points suggested by your car manufacturer, and use them to lift the side you will be working on.
3. Clean the Hole
You need to remove all the lug nuts to take down the wheel from its wheelbase. Here start with cleaning up the leaking area with the help of the rasp tool, keep inserting it in and out of the puncture hole for a good number of times.
4. Plugging In
A plug needs to be threaded just right at the middle of the rasp tool to push it inside the hole. To ensure a perfect sealing and an easier way to insert it, first lubricate the plug with a generous amount of adhesives like glue or rubber cement. Now, hold the plug intact and avoid moving it at least for one minute to allow the adhesive to set and dry up. Now cut out that part of the plug which is still sticking out from the surface of the tire.
5. Inflating the Tire
You are at the last step, of filling up the tire with the recommended air pressure to ensure the right smoothness in the movement of your car. Now, it is time to re-install the wheel, clean up space and drive off.
As suggested by our mechanic friend from the Chevrolet dealer near Concord, you need to keep a well-equipped toolbox ready to fix up a flattened tire, when you don’t have any other option.