Really? Both my wife and daughter know how to use a SPARE TIRE.
It may be patchable with a lot of extra cleaning, but it will never balance correctly again. Fix-A-Flat is a decent "dire emergency" tool, but I wouldn't ever plan on using that tire again, at least not long-term.
Some fix-a-flat formulas tend to corrode rims pretty badly, too.
Hence the rim corrosion they cause, which often results in a rim that you can't mount ANY tire on again because the air leaks out the corrded bead-sealing surface.
My 70 year old mother can change a flat tire, why can't your wife?? My wife can rebuild engines and transmissions, again, why can't your wife?? No big secret for working on cars, just have to get them interested in not being taken when they're getting the oil changed...
SteveL
Fix A Flat formulas that have water in them can corrode rims if you dont demount the tire and dry them out. Otherwise, there is nothing corrosive in Fix A Flat.
These tires CAN be balanced. The degree of damage to the steel belts can affect the ability to achieve smooth operation, but this has nothing at all to do with Fix A Flat. It is a function of the damage, and the subsequent patch.
There is no big deal in patching tires where these temporary inflatants have been used. They are not intended to be put into the tire and left forever.
You are not supposed to leave that crap in the tire forever. Blow up the tire with a temporary inflatant and get it serviced as soon as possible. Water in the rim, whether by Fix A Flat or by air compressor belchover, WILL in time corrode the rim.
If you use Fix A Flat, it is to get you to a tire repair enterprise; it is not intended as a permanent repair.
My ex wife and my daughter couldnt fix anything,nor could either of them jack up a car and mount a spare. If yours can, you are blessed. I was cursed with *unts who could tear up more than I could ever keep fixed.
Of course not, but people do wait longer than they should. Well, anyone who cares about maintenance wouldn't use the crap at all, but that just kinda proves the point, doesn't it? The very people that use the crap are the least likely to remove it immediately.
Blow up the
But if I were running a tire store, you could be DAMN sure I'd a) charge extra for the labor of trying to properly clean out a slimed tire/wheel assembly, and b) would NOT warranty a patch to adhere properly.
Then WHAT are they doing behind the wheel? Sorry, but there are certain very basic skills that ANY driver MUST have, and IMO installing a spare is one of them. Its not particularly difficult.
Good for your mother but not every woman (or even man) have enough strength to apply 125 Newton-meters of torque with a 10" wrench, and that's assuming the locknuts were properly torqued and no rust. Removing a wheel and placing it into a trunk is also a challenge for some. Rebuilding an engine in a properly equipped shop may not require as much muscle strength.
Teach them how to change a flat tire.Get them to their car, or your car, and let them remove and then replace one of the wheels/tires.Nothing beats OJT. cuhulin
No excuse. If they can't turn the wrench when they practice-change a tire (EVERYONE does that when they get a new car, right???), they can buy a longer wrench or a cross wrench at WalMart and throw it in the trunk. With a cross wrench, I can put more torque on a lugnut than an impact wrench can, and I'm no bodybuilder.
I use a 4 way/cross wrench and I keep a long cheater pipe in my van.Sometimes the tire shops put the lug nuts on too tight with their air impact tools.I only use the cheater pipe to remove lug nuts that are too tight, never to tighten them back up. cuhulin
THAT is the real solution. Rather than buying a can of Fix-A-Flat, buy a decent cross-wrench.
It is MUCH easier to change tires with a decent wrench than with the crappy things that come free with the car.
A better jack wouldn't hurt to have in the trunk either.
--scott
When I said buy a loud horn and wire it directley, of course I meant the relay should always be used.I have bought some things (including a 1960s four cylinder Mercedes Benz diesel engine) from J.C.Whitney company before over the years.I don't think J.C.Whitney company ever gyped me.I reccomend J.C.Whitney company to everybody. cuhulin
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