I have a leak in one of my tires. It's not necessary flat. Right now I can't afford to change the tire. Is fix-a-flat a long term solution to this issue, assuming the leak is neither on the sidewall nor in the stem?
it's not even a temporary solution.
just go get it patched for $15
The proper answer is no, fix a flat is not a permanent solution.
That being said, I have ran 2 or 3 tires on fix a flat for a year or more. Ran last one a year then refilled with faf a couple months ago. Still fine.
>>15228468
Doing so didn't damage your suspension or axle in any way?
>>15228462
This, get the tire patched. It does not cost very much. Some shops like Les Schwab will do it for free. Don't risk your life or the lives of others on the road because you are a cheap ass.
>>15228491
Uh..
>>15228491
Wut
>>15228420
go to pepboys and get a free patch
I've once used FaF just so I can get the tire changed and it couldn't be fixed.
They charged me for the cleanup.
>>15228420
take it off and bring it to a shop if you're a cheapass to avoid the mounting/unmounting fee
>I live in the boonies so I gots to pay
>>15228901
>>15228915
>what do you mean putting a can of goop in my tire will unbalance it?
yeah that's why it's not a long term solution and also why you should never use that green stuff in a car tire
>>15228420
fix a flat eats the inside of tires. don't.
>>15228491
No no damage to the car. It is due for an alignment but probably the first in its life. Its an 09 and I bought it with 36000 miles. Has 90500 now.
>>15229792
It won't "unbalance" it. It is distributed evenly throughout the inside of the tire. It balances itself in the same way that steel BB's will if you throw them in there.
>>15229936
The only way it wouldn't distribute is if you put it in and leave the tire as is until it dries.
>>15229936
Work at a tire shop, this is completely wrong. If you throw a tire with any sort of fix a flat on the balancer the wheel WILL NOT balance. You'll be adding more and more weight in different places just chasing loose materiel inside the tire
>>15228491
>>15232433
The loose material will balance itself out due to inertia pulling it to the point furthest from the axis of rotation.
I may have oversimplified the point with application of the theory to fix a flat, but this definitely works with steel shot, or even plastic BB's. Once the tire is rotating with sufficient speed (usually ~35 MPH in real world situations), the wheel will balance itself. This is the idea behind continuous wheel balancers.
>>15228420
>I have a leak in one of my tires. It's not necessary flat. Right now I can't afford to change the tire.
If you are in the USA, there are places that will fix a flat for free using either plugs (rare) or patches (more common) either for your good will in remembering them in the future. Locally, my Les Schwab patches anyone's tires for free. My local Sam's Club warehouse club stores patch any members' tires for free. Costco takes care of their members' tires.
Those store chains HATE HATE tire goop. It gets all over the inside of the rims which means they have to laboriously clean them before they can even remount a tire onto the rim. And they cannot patch a tire full of goop. The pain of cleaning the tire makes them quit except for Les Schwab IF you bought that tire from them because they have their "no matter what" guarantee (but their tires do cost more). But they won't love you for the trashy pain you caused for them.
GM has been trying the "tire goop" solution the past few years. Instead of providing a spare tire and jack with any but the most premium option package for new cars, they give you a can of this fix a flat style good and a 12volt air compressor. So you limp along, refilling the tire as needed until you are in range of a tow truck or have arrived at a service center.
If you have tire pressure sensors, I wonder if the goop eventually hardens inside and makes the sensor less accurate. It would be expensive to have to replace the tire pressure sensor as well after the good hardens inside the sensor.
>>15232513
Not only does the goop harden in the sensors it seals then closed I've seen many tire sensors ruined by fix a flat
>>15232468
Those only work on big tires for big vehicles. Continuous wheel balancers don't work on light vehicles, ie, cars.
And yes, fix a flat will make the wheel go out of balance and in most cases the gooey shit will be unremovable and the tire only solution is replacement.
Fix the tire. It's probably as expensive as a tire of that shit.
>>15228462
$10 at walmart.
I brought my wheel into townfair tire they charged me 4.75 to take the tire off, patch it and throw it back on
Best five bucks ever spent
>>15228420
>Right now I can't afford to change the tire
You can't pay 5 bucks to the Mexicans down the street to patch it?
>>15232513
>It would be expensive to have to replace the tire pressure sensor as well after the good hardens inside the sensor.
>>15232525
>Not only does the goop harden in the sensors it seals then closed I've seen many tire sensors ruined by fix a flat
TPMS Sensors at the Stealership are ripoff expensive due to labor. It would be parts cost $149 each sensor at my dealer or $40 each at walmart. After that, I'd have to go to a discount tire shop and have them dismount the tires and install the sensors and then test them.
More TPMS info, pictures, pricing:
http://www.stevejenkins.com/blog/2014/11/tpms-warning-light-replace-your-tpms-sensors-for-cheap/
>>15228892
>driving down the road going 35mph
>suddenly, already leaking tire pops
>10 killed including drive, 100s injured from the explosion
nigga how the fuck is a tire leak gunna kill someone
