There will always be two choices for me with regard to my
car. I can go to a garage and have my vehicle looked at by a professional, or I
can ask my father for help. Dealing with Dad is the more interesting option.
My car's leaky tire seemed simple enough to fix. Just find
the leak and apply a patch, right? To locate the source of the leak, my father
brushed warm, soapy water on the tire. Right away, we noticed small bubbles
appearing by the rim, near the balancing weights. This posed a bigger problem
than originally speculated because a regular patch doesn't work on the bead of
a rim.
Undaunted, my father deflated the tire and pushed it from the
edge of the rim about an inch or so. He then used a wire brush and fine
sandpaper to remove the accumulated dirt and grime, creating a clean sealing
surface around the area that leaked. I wouldn't recommend using this surface as
an operating table or anything, but it was clean enough.
Although my father has an unconventional way of fixing
things, he has worked on cars for a good portion of his life. So I trusted him.
But even I was surprised when his weapon of choice was gasket sealant. Then
again, this is the man who helped me duct tape a tree.
After using a generous amount of sealant to coat the inside
of the rim, he filled the tire back up. There was good news and bad news. The
good news was that the leak around the tires weights was fixed. The bad news
was that two more leaks had appeared. Patiently, my father repeated the
laborious process (deflating the tire and removing it slightly from the rim),
and then used the sealant all around the rim this time. So did it work?
When the tire was re-inflated, there weren't any leaks and
the tire maintained its proper pressure. Using the materials available to him, my
father provided what may just be a temporary fix, but one that seems to be
working. Right now (a couple of days later), his unorthodox way of fixing a
tire leak is still holding its own – pressure.
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Re: Under Pressure: An Unorthodox Way to Fix a Tire Leak
