Is it possible or even worth it to fix a tire that has a slow leak?

[Cougar]

Hey guys, sorry if this is a dumb question but one of my tires appears to have a slow leak and I was wondering if it's possible to have it fixed or if I should buy a new tire? If it is possible to get it fixed does anyone know about how much it will cost and if it will be a permanent fix?

I have to keep filling it with air every few days so I'm assuming that it's not some freak occurence so I want to get it taken care of as soon as possible.

 

[pyonir]

If it isn't on the sidewall you can patch most tires. Costs from $4 to $15 around here.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Might as well buy a new (2 actually) tires. How new/old is the tire? You can fix it if it's in the tread but not the sidewall. It probably won't be worth it

 

[Yax]

Originally posted by: Cougar
Hey guys, sorry if this is a dumb question but one of my tires appears to have a slow leak and I was wondering if it's possible to have it fixed or if I should buy a new tire? If it is possible to get it fixed does anyone know about how much it will cost and if it will be a permanent fix?

I have to keep filling it with air every few days so I'm assuming that it's not some freak occurence so I want to get it taken care of as soon as possible.

Car tire? Go to costco, its free.

Anywhere else, about $6.

 

[pulse8]

Just put a bit of fix-a-flat in there when it's low. It'll plug whatever small hole is in the tire.

I did that once and road the tire until I needed new tires without any problems.

This could very well be horrible advice, but it worked for me once.

 

[GroundZero]

depends on the condition of the tire.
if it has alot of treadlife left have it patched. who knows it may even be something as simple as a loose valve-stem core...

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

How much has it been used and how much did they cost?

 

[Cougar]

so $4-$15 is what a mechanic would charge? This is the rear passenger tire for my car and I have no idea where the leak is. The tire is as old as the car (1999 Taurus) and around the sidewall it's all weathered and cracked (am I right in assuming the sidewall is any area but the tread itself?).

Edit:

The tire isn't like new but the tread is still in pretty good condition.

 

[Heisenberg]

As long as the hole isn't in the sidewall and the tread isn't split or something, then yes it can probably be fixed very cheaply and will be good as new. No sense in buying a new one if you can get that one fixed.

Edit: You'll have to take it to a tire place. Most general mechanics don't fix tires.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Cougar
so $4-$15 is what a mechanic would charge? This is the rear passenger tire for my car and I have no idea where the leak is. The tire is as old as the car (1999 Taurus) and around the sidewall it's all weathered and cracked (am I right in assuming the sidewall is any area but the tread itself?).

4 year old tire - time to get new ones bud. Might as well spring for all 4

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Cougar
so $4-$15 is what a mechanic would charge? This is the rear passenger tire for my car and I have no idea where the leak is. The tire is as old as the car (1999 Taurus) and around the sidewall it's all weathered and cracked (am I right in assuming the sidewall is any area but the tread itself?).

4 year old tire - time to get new ones bud. Might as well spring for all 4

I'd say at least two new ones. weathered and cracked sidewalls are probably a good sign.

 

[Cougar]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
How much has it been used and how much did they cost?

Well, my car has almost 50k miles on it and the two rear tires are the original tires. I bought the car used and I did have to have the front 2 tires replaced right away because they were shot.

 

[Cougar]

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Cougar
so $4-$15 is what a mechanic would charge? This is the rear passenger tire for my car and I have no idea where the leak is. The tire is as old as the car (1999 Taurus) and around the sidewall it's all weathered and cracked (am I right in assuming the sidewall is any area but the tread itself?).

4 year old tire - time to get new ones bud. Might as well spring for all 4

I'd say at least two new ones. weathered and cracked sidewalls are probably a good sign.

Hmmm, that's what I was afraid of. I'll have to make it a point and look at the other rear tire and see what the condition is. It looks like I'm going to tack up quite a bill in the near future. I need to get an alignment and I most likely will need to get a rotation since I've put almost 20k miles on my wheels (I know, I'm an idiot for not getting it done sooner and I should have my car privleges revoked).

So what is a good place to get tires? Is NTB good, or should I go to Sears or some other autoparts store?

 

[pyonir]

Well i usually go to Discount Tire Co. out here. Pep Boys has store brand tires (Futura) that have been decent. Wal-Mart has good prices on tires and I've had good experiences with their oil change service. Just tell them to put the two new ones on the front, the best two tires for the back and that should be good for your rotation.