Let me preface by saying I hate using fix-a-flat, mainly because I know what an SOB it can be to break down the tire. That said, over the last month, I've had a slow leak in a tire on the Lincoln, needed air every 7 days...this week, it's been every day, roughly 20psi a day. Anyway...it'll be a couple days before anyone can get the tires in I want, and probably another few days before I can actually find time to pick them up. So the question is, what kind of an effect will fix-a-flat have on the TPMS system??? Ok to use, or should I keep my fingers crossed and my spare accessible???

I would ue a plug there cheap and easy 2 find the hole... my guess is you had a nial in it then it came out is why your puting in air every day

^^^Dry rot...it'll be 2-3 days before Tirerack can get the tires to me. It could be easier, and I just have them sent some place and get the tires changed on lunch, but I absolutely refuse to pay the additional labor, fees and taxes for another $150-200. So I'm gonna have the new tires and old tires and tell the shop to mount and balance.

eek dry rot... buy a rabit foot lol I'm guessing your tpms system is some electronic sensor deal in the tire??? Can't be good for it whatever anyone says

I can't imagine it playing well with the tire acid.

Ryan

My understanding is that it is not good for them, yet the OEMs are using it as the answer to saving the weight of a spare. Won't be much good if you shred a tire...

The other aspect of the fix-a-flat is that it is flammable, so poses a risk when dismounting as well. It makes a mess of the rim also. I also say nail or screw, The dry rot leakage doesn't come about until they are real bad. Being on the farm with a real cheap *** father, we run the tires as long as we can get which generally is when they can't hold air long enough to do the job.

^^^Tires are 5 years old with 56k on them...I had the tire off over the weekend looking for a nail/egg/puncture or something...didn't come up with anything.

put soap and water in a spray bottle and use that to find the leak. I many times can not find the hole until I do so.

x2 on soap and water... I've never seen one leak because of dry rot, and I'm a cheap sob... usually run them till the cords show.

Aside from that, put a used one on for a few weeks. I'd be shocked if you couldn't find a half assed decent used tire for $20 installed around there...

I'm just gonna order the tires tonight...my boss can drive tomorrow, and tirerack now says it should only take a day to get...so if I order tonight, maybe I'll get em in and on Saturday.

Some more props to Tirerack btw...did some hardcore shopping today for the tires I wanted, called all the local shops...most hadn't even heard of the tires I wanted and don't even have a listing, those that do are no less than $50/tire more expensive.


What does suck is when in the hell did a mount and balance job start costing $15-20/tire, plus a mandatory charge of $6.99/tire for TPMS inspection/provisions, plus old tire discard fee of $3/tire. I don't recall ever paying more than $10/tire (including discard fees) for any of my Swampers.

I just paid $15 per tire, no bs or disposal fee at Firestone. Maybe it's the same deal in your area if they are an authorized installer.

Ryan

I have the convenience of my own tire machine... just no balancer. I used to do them by hand though. Around here, if it is 17" and larger, they charge $20 for a flat repair...

Go to walymart and buy the bubbles that kids use. Its works great due to its elasticity.

I use a heavy concentration o f dish soap with water in a spray bottle. The kids bubbles would likely work, just likely cost more...

UTfball68 said:

^^^Tires are 5 years old with 56k on them...I had the tire off over the weekend looking for a nail/egg/puncture or something...didn't come up with anything.

Click to expand...

Best way (well the way i do it anyway) is to take the wheel off and put about 35 psi in it and then hold it in a tub of water and rotate slowly until you see the air bubbles streaming out of where it's holed.

In our workshop i've got an old bathtub outside filled with water just for that purpose.


Also when you have the valve stem section submerged give the stem a little wiggle just in case it's been pulled a bit hard and also you will be able to see if the actual valve has a slow leak too.

Sometimes if you have had your tyres go flat and they have broken the bead away from the rim you can get crud in between the beading and rim edge which will allow a slow leak to occur when the car is sitting so if you are ever demounting and refitting your own tyres it pays to run a wire brush around the bead seating areas of your rims to ensure that there is a clean mating surface for the tyre to seat into. ........ extra tip - when you are mounting tyres onto steel rims don't use dishwash liquid to help slide the tyre onto the rim ..... the acids in the dishwash liquid promote rust in the rim.

My grandpas buddy owns a tire shop so tires and mounts are cheap for me I can get tires mounted for a plate of grandmas leftover spageti he gos nuts over it lol

BTW...been carpooling with the boss lady the last few days...decided driving on a tire like that isn't worth it, oddly enough, only lost 10psi while it's sat since Thursday. Also called around tons of different places...no one was open past 6:30 and no one was open on Independence day. Finally broke down and decided to give WalMart a call, they wouldn't touch loose tires because they they didn't want to be held liable for blah blah blah. Finally, called Sears...mount and balance is gonna be $9.99/tire and I'll go see them this Wednesday.

Glad you got everything straightened out...


To answer your original question, I saw in NAPA today that FixAFlat says it's tire sensor safe... Kinda late though

Fellro said:

My understanding is that it is not good for them, yet the OEMs are using it as the answer to saving the weight of a spare. Won't be much good if you shred a tire...

The other aspect of the fix-a-flat is that it is flammable, so poses a risk when dismounting as well. It makes a mess of the rim also. I also say nail or screw, The dry rot leakage doesn't come about until they are real bad. Being on the farm with a real cheap *** father, we run the tires as long as we can get which generally is when they can't hold air long enough to do the job.

Click to expand...

Walmart also won't very from the size spec inside the door on tires I try not to buy any thin at all from there