I agree with you. However, there are a lot of lazy/under educated techs that use "temporary" patches.
I agree with you. However, there are a lot of lazy/under educated techs that use "temporary" patches.
For once I agree with you. For all the reasons you mentioned. Way back when I worked in tires, we only did the internal repairs. I've seen many tires that had a small nail and looked fine from the exterior, only to be shredded internally. The only way I would send a customer out is if a competent person evaluated the tire inside and out.
Now my personal vehicles, and even my motorcycle, has received many regular old fashioned tire plugs. But I know they have never been driven while dangerously low. In a professional shop? No way.
In reply to iadr:
I agree with you, internal inspection & patch if deemed repairable.
I have a buddy who gives the customer the choice, only catch is the easy patch is free. (That way, it's like, well, it probably wasn't going to work anyway).
He figured people would only want the free patch, but he found that many wanted it done the right way.
Not to mention the cost of the easy plug if more than covered by the client goodwill it generates.
The internal patch using the above appropriate inspection methods is what I was taught at Ford Technician School for all of the reasons you mentioned. It is still what I insist on for my own tires.
Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: For once I agree with you. For all the reasons you mentioned. Way back when I worked in tires, we only did the internal repairs. I've seen many tires that had a small nail and looked fine from the exterior, only to be shredded internally. The only way I would send a customer out is if a competent person evaluated the tire inside and out. Now my personal vehicles, and even my motorcycle, has received many regular old fashioned tire plugs. But I know they have never been driven while dangerously low. In a professional shop? No way.
This, no way I would use a rope plug in any professional capacity. On my own stuff, maybe if it's a tire more than halfway through it's life and I don't feel like dragging it to Discount or whoever else is doing free repair these days for a internal plug. And only if it's a puncture in a spot a tire shop would be willing to repair (no sidewall or near sidewall punctures).
Another strike against rope plugs is if not properly installed the tire can delaminate, hence the big patch on the end of a proper pull through plug. Gotta get the hole clean, slather the hole in rubber cement, and slather the plug in rubber cement.
The only legitimate reason for doing an internal repair is to inspect the carcass of the tire. A plug type repair, DONE PROPERLY is actually more effective in protecting the cords of the tire from water intrusion.
I moved into a shop 28 years ago. We patched a lot of tires that had been plugged by the previous ownership, because they had not followed the hole through, they had jammed the plug straight, beside the angled hole. The tire would wear, the hole would open. In the 28 years I and people trained by me have been doing it, plug failures would be pretty close to zero. If I can't follow the hole, I patch. Both are a perfectly acceptable operation, when DONE PROPERLY.
Its pretty interesting to check out tire manufacturers recommendations vs tire repair manufacturers recommendations. One says to replace every tire ever cut, the other says repair everything using the proper patch or plug. Follow the money, I guess.
We use plugs from the outside, while im personally not a fan my opinion has fell on deaf ears around here. No comebacks up too this point but im also very picky about it. If i dont think it will be safe i send them to someone who can do an internal repair.
I like plug and patch units and its all I ever stocked in my bike shop. for the exact reasons you stated. inspection of the inner liner and plug and patch will follow the hole if angled etc.
I've never ever had a problem with a properly-executed outside plug. Hell, on the E46 I've got dozens of autocross passes on a set of tires where at least 2 tires have 3 plugs between them. And they're dailies, too.
I worked for a tire dealer back in the day. We did plug repairs all the time. The only no-no was doing them in the side wall, because the repair would never vulcanize. I've been repairing my own tires that way for years. IMO, anybody that tells you its not a legitimate repair is just trying to make more money off of you.
I've done a e36m3 load of outside style plugs and never had a comeback, I've done a ton of em on my rigs with no issues. I like em better because they're non intrusive in terms of having to dismount, remount and balance. You dont even have to take the tire off the vehicle. Less variables=less failures in my experience. No chance of bead leaks, no scratches on peoples wheels, kill on flat rate time. I like em.
I've NEVER had an issue with a tire plug repair after using them for 20+ years professionally and personally.
That being said, my shop will no longer use them because of said liability. Fine with me because we sublet the patch repairs to the tire shop now anyway.
Sounds like someone may have to fire a couple of techs. That's a crappy attitude for a business.
I think you missed the 3rd (most important) reason. The business reason- perception. Regardless of whether they are good or bad, there is a perception that it is a jackleg way to do it. It is a technique that looks like the company is trying to charge the most they can for the least they can get away with (gee, who just said that?).
If you want your dealership to be perceived as jacklegs who are trying to charge a lot for minimal effort, go for it. Consumers who take their cars to dealerships for service generally have a higher expectation than that.
If you would like to be perceived as a "nice guy" willing to save them a little money, tell your techs to refer the customer down the street to the shop that patches tires using non-approved methods. It's easy to sell fully inspected internal patches to customers who already expect you to be doing a better than average job.
I agree with you, but we use the Tech plugs with never an issue. If there is the slightest hint of sidewall flex on the outside I will dismount a tire to inspect it for damage, period.
Our old Tech distributor would demonstrate the plugs by ramming a hole in the sidewall of one of his van's tires. Before it finally wore out, he had something like 20 plugs sticking out the sidewall on his driver's front...
As a business, I would patch them.
Personally, I don't patch tires, I plug all of them and have never had one fail.
Something else to consider from another standpoint is that removing the tire to patch it isn't like when everybody had 75 and 80 series tires on 15 inch and smaller wheels. Dismounting a large diameter low profile can be "traumatic" to the tire, wheel, and tire pressure sensor. You can buy awesome equipment to make the labor easy or you can charge a half hour labor for a tire repair, but either way it is going to cost time or money (repeating myself) and there's always the chance that a bead will rip, or the tire will slip on the rim and wreck a sensor, or...? And then get the choice of eating a $300-600 tire, or a $100 sensor (that you probably just ran out of and can't get until Monday, since this always happens a half hour before closing on a Friday) or making the customer pay for it, neither one of those is very palatable.
Much better to not dismount a tire unless you have a good reason to do so.
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