Dumb Spare Tire Question….

So I have a dumb spare tire question…

I have the stock spare for my 05 Sport (wrapped in the same tire that I have on the truck now), but I’m pretty sure the spare is steel not Aluminum. Unfortunately for me, I just found a nail in my drivers rear tire.

How long can you drive on the stock spare for? I won’t have a chance to get the tire with the Sport Wheel fixed until Tuesday.

Edit: Spare Tire is only a couple of months old, 1200 miles less than the others. Mostly worried the weight of the steel wheel will throw off my ABS or something since it’s not the same as the other 3 wheels?

 

You can run it until you find time to get the original fixed, it won’t hurt nutten.

 

How old is the tire on your spare? If it's the original from 2005 I wouldn't trust it on the highway.

If it's a recent tire, run it as long as you need.

 

Spare Tire has maybe 1200 miles less than the rest. Went up in size and got a matching 255/75r17 for the spare.

 

It's a full size spare. You can use it as much as you want until it wears out. If all 5 wheels are the same some do a 5 way rotation.

The only caveat is that tires should normally be replaced if 6-7 years old regardless of tread. In some cases you might get 10 years out of a tire. But if this is a 15-16 year old tire I might use it in an emergency only. And at slow speeds.

 

Kind of digging the black steelie look.

Also, here’s the one that came off:


And the culprit:


Didn’t lose any tire pressure, just can’t be sure how long the nail is. To be honest, I’ve been heard a tapping noise from the drivers rear for over a week. Guess I’ve been driving with a nail for over a week?

 

Spray some soapy water on it and see if if bubbles

 

Check the tread for dry rot on the spare, if none and you're not sure how old I'd just be careful with it.

 

Tire is almost as new as the other 4. I’ll edit the first post to reflect this, but I was mostly worried about the weight of a steelie vs the Sport Aluminums. Throwing something out of whack.

 

Interesting thought, but I think you would be okay. Mine is a 2WD though so I could be remiss on my knowledge.

I ran into the rot thing buying my wife's Rav4..sidewalls were fine but looking close revealed rot in between.

 

You can run it indefinitely. Weight won't throw anything out of whack.

The only concern is the OEM shank-style lugnuts engage the wheel over a very small tapered area at the tip. For long-term use you'd want to have full-size conical-seat lugnuts like these. For just a few days don't worry about it.

 

Ok so I sprayed with soapy water and I don’t see any bubbles other than what lands when I spray? Should I air down the tire and then pull the nail or just yank it out?

 

Pull the nail out and put a plug in it good to go.

 

Pull that nail out, it might be a thumbtack. Or it might be super short and not punctured through. Soap test again, if no bubbles, put it back on. If it worries you, you could have it plugged and patched. Mark it really good so the tire shop can find it. Plug and patch is a solid repair vs only plug or only patch.

When I hear the tick tick tick like something in my tire, I try to find it, if it's a rock I just pop it out. If it's a nail, I kick the sidewall so I can find it later. Then stop at a tire shop. Pull it out in their parking lot, soap test, if leaking I can have it fixed. If no leak I drive away.

As far as 3 aluminum, 1 steel tire, it isn't gonna harm anything. I once bought a car with 4 different brands of rubber and 4 different wheels. It certainly drove better once I got matching sets but the old ones were all round and rolled.

 

The soapy water is for finding leaks. You don't need it since you know where the nail is.

Have a plug kit ready to go, yank out the nail, ream the hole with the file in the plug kit, install the plug. The rubber cement is optional; I never had to use it:

https://youtu.be/3aQRO29ZzbE?t=404

 

Plug it yourself. Easy and cheap. Sometimes you don't even need to remove the tire from the vehicle.

 

I almost never take the tire off the car. Front tires are easier. You can turn the wheel and have more room. Rears are tricky if you have a low car or mud flaps. But it can usually be done.

The trick is to add 10-15 psi over “normal” pressure.
Make sure you have the plug ready and in the plug tool.
Then pull the nail, ream the hole quick, and stick the plug in.

Kind of have to work fast. But that’s how I do it.

Here lately, I usually air up and run down to Big O’ tire.
They do a plug on patch for FREE. I usually try to tip the tech a few bucks.
But some of them won’t take it. I don’t think they are “allowed” to take tips.

It depends where I am at, and what I am doing.
Some times I plug them, other times I have a plug/patch done.


Now for the hate, You’ll really know you did a good job when you have to cram to plugs in the same hole to get the leak to stop I can’t be the only one that’s “gotten the job done” this way?

 

You are not alone in that regard using more than one plug.