LAST WEEK I REALLY NEEDED THIS STUFF RATHER DESPERATELY ------ AND IT WORKED, BUT - - -
I did not really have quite enough product in the 16 oz. can that I got at Wal-Mart [this is the 20 oz. can offered here] to refill my leaking tire --that I had to do at the gas station some 6 miles away. In essence, the operation was a success, but I had to resuscitate the patient again at the gas station some 6 miles and a number of grey hairs down the road. If the can was only a tad bigger, it would have added enough air to go safely, rather than unsafely with about 2 psi of air pressure, to the gas station where we completely filled the tire with air. By the way, my tire size was 225/70-14, which requires a pretty large volume of air to fill, but no more than most vans and trucks and less than some. This 16 oz. can would have probably been enough for a small 13" tire, but I should warn you - that the same thing happened 6 years ago, on a 195/70-14 that was an oversized tire on my sons 1999 Toyota Corrolla, but I would be getting ahead of myself.
HERE'S OUR STORY -- IT REALLY HAPPENED LAST FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22nd in Southern Indiana
IN A NUTSHELL: GREAT PRODUCT - BUT THE 20 OZ. CAN IS PROBABLY THE SMALLEST YOU'LL NEED UNLESS YOU HAVE 13" TIRESHERE'S THE TALE --
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT'S RAINING & YOUR TIRE GOES FLAT IN WAL-MART'S PARKING LOT?
This happened to me today and I was scared out of my wits. I had an hour to get home before my six-year-old son got off the school bus. I was 25 miles away and I just saw my rear tire and knew it had no air in it. I recalled using this product about 6 years ago and that it worked, so I ran into Wal-Mart and skipped the items I had come shopping for and went straight to the automotive section to hunt for this stuff. Twenty minutes later, standing in the parking lot, I read the directions and realized that I had to try to find what was leaking and remove it if possible. After breaking a small screwdriver and bending a key for a car we sold 5 years ago, I managed to remove a nail that was about 4 inches long -- the trouble was that the rest of the air leaked out rather quickly once I pulled out the nail.
READ AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS: PLEASE NOTE - WE ONLY HAD THE 16 OZ. CAN
The directions on the can stated that the valve stem had to be in the 8 o'clock position so I had my teenage daughter back the car up until the valve stem was at the 8 o'clock position. I shook the can for over 30 seconds as Angela timed me, then I screwed the hose attachment into the valve stem. It whooshed as a stream of white, foamy liquid rushed through the transparent tubing into the tire. I could hear air rushing in with it but then I recalled what had actually happened the last time I used this stuff about 6 years ago.
You guessed it, the hole was towards the top of the tire and the foam never got there allowing the air to simply escape very nosily out the hole. Since the flat was in the rear of my front-drive Plymouth Voyager Minivan, I drove it to a gas station that I knew had air, about 6 miles away. I went about 25 mph and many people hailed me as they drove alongside to inform me that I had a flat tire.
BUT THEN SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENED
By the time I reached the Chevron Station with the air, still some 20 miles from our home, I was convinced that I had turned the flat tire into spaghetti and that we would miss the bus. Well, I am happy to report that this was not the case. From traveling slowly, the tire had circulated that white sealant foam and had heated up some due to the extra friction caused by running without air. I filled the tire up and to my surprise there was no sound of escaping air. The sealant held and I drove, at a somewhat reduced speed, the remaining 18-20 miles in about 38 minutes to get home about 2 minutes ahead of the bus.
BOTTOM LINE: HAVE AN AIR SOURCE NEARBY IF YOU PULL OUT THE NAIL
This stuff does work, but after you pull out a nail from your tire it may be rather difficult to get it to hold the air before it can circulate and heat up within the tire. This was my actual experience with this exact product today, and it is consistent with what happened 6 years ago. In short, have an air supply lined-up when you insert the sealant as close as possible to where you remove the nail and insert the sealant. This will reduce the risk of running the tire flat and rendering it unserviceable. If you do this, you stand an excellent chance of executing a fast emergency repair that anybody can manage and, like me, you too might save the day.
[I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY PRODUCT OR COMPANY.]
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FIX-A-FLATW/HOSEProduct Description: Pennzoil Roadside, 20 OZ, Can, Fix-A-Flat Tire Sealer With Hose, Super Sized With Fast Easy To Use Hose Applicator, Ideal For All Passenger Cars, Trucks, & Vans With Wheels Up To 16", Non Flammable Formula.
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I bought this lugnut wrench earlier this year in order to be prepared for my next flat tire, since lug nuts are now tightened by mechanics using air-compressor-driven wrenches, and I find it impossible to loosen them with a standard lug wrench. The first time I had a flat tire and needed to use this wrench--at night in a cold, relentless rain--the wrench's round, disk-like gearbox snapped in half.
