ragnarok_jku

This is what I'd do. I keep a tire repair kit with plugs in my Jeep at all times.

I had to pull one of my tires out of rotation a few months ago due to something similar.

Rednroll

I would plug it and for good measure (dare I say), use a can of fix a flat. The plug will seal off the nail hole, where if there's any small leak surrounding the plug the fix a flat should fill in around the plug and seal it pretty well the rest of the way.

TheTerminator

Really? Firestone couldn't do it? A bunch of n00bs. When I went to Iceland, I sliced my sidewall (some flimsy street tires), and some local small shop plugged that one right up and it held air no problem. I also plugged my own tire once in the tread, and it's being holding forever now with 0 air leaks. Same with other tires on other cars. Plugs are awesome and are a permanent fix from my experience.

rob_engineer

I had a bad experience with fix a flat. The tire would not balance because the fix a flat stuff would roll around and throw off the balance.

kmrtnsn

You didn't do a great job explaining exactly where the nail was but if Firestone will not patch it, it is likely in or too near the sidewall. Patches will not adhere well here due to flexing of the tire. Plugging outside the tread area is also a no-go. Tubing is a no-go now that everything has TPMS. Slime? Save it for your mountain bike. I don't know what tire exactly that you are running but with that much tread wear your options are to leaving this tire as a spare until you replace your tires or you could try to find a like tire with similar wear on Craigslist or on Ebay.

KG6SLC

I have plugged multiple tires and have NEVER had a plug fail even when using them for the rest of the life of the tire. This includes using plugged tires during their normal rotation with no failure.

Perhaps I've just been lucky but that has been my experience. For what it's worth, I make sure the "hole" does not have any foreign material that was picked up during the puncture when I make the repair. I make sure my repair kit includes rubber cement and I apply it to the plug during the repair process.

KG6SLC aka Eugene

rob_engineer

I too have never had a plug fail on cars & trucks. Funny, but atv tires are generally lower pressures. I've had some atv tires where I had a half dozen or more plugs in the same large hole and survived many miles of rocky rugged trails.

pdx-rubicon

Nail hole was dead center middle of the tire tread!
I'm going to try another shop first. then look into plug. I bought a bottle of slime to keep in the jeep "IN CASE" i were to need a spare tire.. i could slime it and air it up..
They showed me the nail... it wasnt that long... so i dont quite understand how they couldnt patch it.. good thing was they only charged me for rotation..not for "trying" to patch the tire..

Thanks all..

B

karls10jk

If the nail was in the center of the tread and they won't repair it then it's because they're concerned about the potential damage to the belts based on the entry angle of the penetration. Yes, a patch will hold the air but RMA guidelines say that if it's too steep then they cannot fix it because they'd be liable if the underlying damage to the belts rears its ugly head while you're driving down the highway.


Realistically- you'd probably be fine, but they have to look at it from a liability standpoint. I had a few shops refuse to mount cosmetic blems for the same reason. The sidewall had a small divet and even though Cooper released them as blems, the shop refused to mount them. I mounted them and the tires served me well on road and off.

kmrtnsn

We can't blame the shops for refusing to repair tires or mount them. It only takes one litigious asshole and his lawyer to ruin things for everyone. Business owners have to abide by the practice limits set by manufacturer's guidelines and their insurers, for good reason.