Damn it

So I went out shooting this morning ( photo-shooting ) and heard a click click click
pulled over found this jewel in my back tire. Well there goes the owl-hunt made my
way over to Big-O-Tires they took it down pulled it out and went to patch it.

Dude comes in and says you had this tire patched before, about 1 inch away from this one.

Sure as hell about 300 miles into this new truck ( 2021 at the time ) I hit a similar bolt
and had it fixed.... and now.... after 2 tire rotations lucky me picks up another not only
in the same tire but right smack next to the last place.

They wouldn't touch it - said it was too close to the previous fix, put my spare on for me
and sent me on my way.

The spare is a different tire, no TPMS, hub-cap wasn't replaced.

They said take it down to ( name withheld ) and they'll do it.
Question 1 - is it really that dangerous to patch close to a previous patch.
Question 2 - with only 13,000 miles should I just buy 1 new tire of same OEM.
Question 3 - anybody got one they wanna get rid of LOL ... ( Phoenix area ).

 

Not sure about patches, but you can get a good plug kit for cheap. Looks like an ideal candidate for a plug.

 

Had something similar happen to me. 2nd puncture, rather large cut. Had it patched from the inside, then swapped the spare onto the rim, put the patched tire on the spare's rim. It'll hold air okay and be useful as a spare.

 

Just tighten the bolt. You probably could get by with a truck (big truck) patch.

 

Chances are (and I'm not a tire tech so I'm purely speculating here), the fact the tire was already repaired it may be too close and you can't have a patch overlap another patch. That tire does look like it's got a decent amount of tread so if you can find a used tire that might be your best bet.

 

For a straight up puncture like you're showing, a plug would work fine. I've run plugs for miles and miles....still am on a couple of tires. Sidewall damage and cuts are a different story. Keep a quality plug kit handy and you're good to go. If you've never used one, there are videos that make it easy.

 

Oh it definitely will have to be done from the inside.

 

Oh of course. I'm only pointing out that compared to a plug, the patch is like, 2" round on the inside so I could see it being a problem if there's not enough of the actual tire to adhere to, you know?

 

Plug and patch, have balance checked.

 

I used to work in a tire store, and the shop you took it to told you the correct thing based on the tire MFG and safety recommendations. A tire cannot be repaired and maintain its original structural integrity if it is repaired within one inch of the sidewall, within one inch of a previous repair, or more than three repairs in the same tire. There is a maximum size to, but I forget the exact number. I THINK it might be 1/4 inch.

Basically, if you get it repaired, the tire has a higher chance of a catastrophic failure (blowout), and most tire shops won't take that risk.

 

A proper repair is a mushroom shaped plug patch. The patch portion seals the tire, and the plug portion ensures that the steel reinforcement inside the tire does not rust and compromise the tires structural integrity.

 

I keep a plug kit and electric air pump in the vehicle...

 

I found 2 of the original tires with low miles ( < 5000 miles ) for $160 installed.

If it's the real deal I'm gonna get those and replace the 'spare' with one of these Firestone Destinations. Why they would put a Hankook on this
truck while all other tires are Firestone Destination doesn't make sense to me. That way if I ever have really use the 'spare' it will at least match
the rest.

If this isn't what they say it is I'll just bite the bullet and buy another Destination.

June is a good month for us the wife gets 3 paychecks and I plan on buying her a set of Wildpeaks for her 2017 Forester this month so it's
time to buy stock in tires I guess.

 

Been there. Easy fix with a plug. Be thankful its not the sidewall.

 

Patch it and move on.

 

2 holes within an inch of each other? - I'm kinda wary of it - thought I'd check here and online other sources it's a bit dicey.

 

Bring it to a good tire shop, they will make the right call, patched not plugged.

 

^ This, same thing I was told back when I was wrenching.

 

Discount Tire fixes flats for free. Even if they didn't sell them to you. No, I don't work for them, but they are on my Christmas card list.

 

I came here to say the same thing.
I've been using Discount Tire for over 20 years and never had a problem. If something happens to a tire and it can't be repaired, they'll replace it, if it has a decent amount of miles on it they'll pro-rate the cost of a new one, at least thats what they did for me when several nails punctured mine years ago.