Fix-A-Flat to fix tube leaks?

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Fix-A-Flat to fix tube leaks?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Patrick on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 04:27 pm:

Has anyone ever used Fix-A-Flat emergency aerosol flat tire repair to repair a tube type Model T tire? Doesn't the can have enough pressure to inflate a tire and doesn't it inject a foam type rubber solution that sets up and seals the tire from the inside? If the latter, is true, shouldn't the tire be spun until the foam coats the entire interior of the tube so that the leak is sure to be coated and sealed by the foam and so that the tire is balanced by the equally distributed foam and not put off balance by the foam going to the bottom of the stationary tire? How long should the tire be spun? Has anyone ever seen the inside of a tire that has been repaired in this method? Jim Patrick

PS. I have a slow turning variable speed bench grinder that I can use to spin the tire for as long as necessary.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 04:51 pm:

Jim - Interesting question. It'll be interesting to watch to see what kind of response your question gets, considering that Fix-A-Flat and similar products, I believe, were developed for use in tubeless type tires. I guess I just never even considered the use of Fix-A-Flat in tube type tires,....hmmm.....maybe something else to carry under the seat (just in case) huh?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 04:54 pm:

To add a bit more,....I know that in normal use, Fix-A-Flat and similar products sure leave a heck of a mess to deal with when it becomes time to repair a flat tire properly! I think for that reason (and there are other reasons) the commercial tire dealers that have repair facilities hate the stuff!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Miller, Mostly in Dearborn on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 05:05 pm:

Jim,

I tried it years ago in my T tire with zero success.It leaves a watery mess inside the tube and won't hold the pressure if you try to finish inflating it with an air hose.

My cousin who is in the tire business hates the stuff. It makes a mess of his machines when he breaks down a tire with the stuff inside.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Miller, Mostly in Dearborn on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 05:06 pm:

Harold, I type too slow.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By keith g barrier on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 05:07 pm:

I would not use fix-a flat, it is corrosive to the rim and hard to clean out. The slime brand works very well in tubeles or tube type tires , it has small rubber particles that penetrate to seal the leak. I have not used it in the T but would not hesitate to do so. They have tubes for mowers and such that already have the slime in them. I have no interest in either company, only personal experience. Have fun, KB


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Todd Karasti on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 05:40 pm:

Funny I just did that on a tubed car that just gets rolled around the garage. I got tired of airing up to move around. I figured what the heck it's just a junk tube anyway. Anyway it did not work. I think I will try the slime stuff.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 05:45 pm:

Dont use that crap.If it leaks out,it will make a mess.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Woods, Katy, Texas on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 07:47 pm:

I agree with all the above voting "nay". Fix A Flat is a last resort product even in a tubeless tire and rim. Not only will it leave a coated mess that is almost impossible to clean with any solvent, if not cleaned from the inside of a rim before it dries and hardens, it will leave a hard coating that will take sand or media blasting to clean. I have a Jeep alloy rim to prove it. Gasoline, acetone, nor alcohol will remove the coating. Most tire repair shops will not even attempt to fix a tire that had Fix A Flat in it. It won't work it tubes. If you have to use a similar product in a tubeless tire and rim, use a product called "Slime". It is somewhat easier to clean up, but not by much.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Borland. Bathurst. NSW. Australia. on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 07:52 pm:

G'day,
This gunk will not stretch as the tube will stretch at the hole. The sealer will only be forced out of the hole and into the space between the tyre and tube making a mess. Fit a new tube, and if the old tube is a good quality rubber type, patch it for a spare that might get you home some time.

Peter


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Aaron Griffey, Hayward Ca. on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 08:34 pm:

I bought one of those two-wheeled things with a ball-hitch ball & the pull handle to move trailers around with.
One tire weeps a little and the other would go flat in a few days.
I took it to a pro tire shop and they could not stop the rim leak so I tried Fix A Flat.
It slowed the leak a little, but only a little.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 09:47 pm:

I had a trailer tire that was not something I used on the road.It had a rim leak.I used Ultra black silicone around both sides on the bead.Never did leak again.But it did leave stuff on the rim I had to scrap off when I did change the tire..
Bead sealer can be bought in a brush can from Northern Tool and other places.Works well and dont make a big mess.
Along with the T hobby I also restore old garden tractors,so I have seen the mess left behind by fix a flat.Sand blast or live with it is about the only way to deal with the mess.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry Ostbye on Monday, August 13, 2012 - 03:24 pm:

Tried it once on my dirt bike... didn't work at all for me.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jared Buckert on Saturday, October 06, 2012 - 06:54 pm:

Major bump, but it could be a good thing to revisit. I was wondering if anybody's tried Fix-a-Flat or Slime recently in their tires? I've heard Slime is better than Fix-a-Flat, but not by much. Just wondering if anybody could prove or disprove that. Might be a nice thing to throw in the toolbox, with the hopes of never using it. You know, like the rest of the toolbox.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Saturday, October 06, 2012 - 06:59 pm:

None of my T clincher tire tube problems have been with the tubes but by how the stem is attached TO the tubes.......grrrrrrrrrrrrr
I'll never, ever, buy a rubber stemmed clincher tube........ever.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Sunday, October 07, 2012 - 07:54 am:

This pressurized can of glop seems to be made for tires with inner-tubes.



I have no experience with the stuff, but for what it's worth, here's their advertising:

http://www.slime.com/shop/tube-sealant/


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charlie B actually in Toms River N.J. on Sunday, October 07, 2012 - 09:53 am:

The stuff's mostly water which will continue to slosh around in the tire/tube. It will cause an imbalance condition at higher speeds. It will not inflate a flat tire. Used to use it on riding mower tires. Tubeless ones. Seemed to work but they are low speed creatures so the out of balance business didn't affect them. Had to spin the tires for a while until the leak stopped. If it did.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Sunday, October 07, 2012 - 10:06 am:

Tried Fix A Flat once on a slow leak caused by a mesquite thorn.. It didn't help at all.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jared Buckert on Sunday, October 07, 2012 - 09:49 pm:

Seems like the general consensus is that these products don't help you like they claim, but do add more trouble than they're worth. Good to know.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ted Dumas on Sunday, October 07, 2012 - 11:46 pm:

I pulled a locust thorn from my 24 T 30 x 3 1/2 and air spewed out. I bought some Slime and put in about a third of the recommended amount since its a smaller volume than a modern tire. that was 5 years ago and its still fine. Slime makes a tube specific product but I used the tubeless tire product as that was what was available.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve McClelland on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 12:26 am:

Jim
Years ago 198X something I used 2-3 cans of fix-a-flat in two tube type tires I had on a 1967 Ford F-250 my tires was bad almost worn out and back in those days, I was broke not enough money to buy any tubes or have them fixed.... So I picked up some fix-a-flat put it in two of them it inflated them with no problem it also sealed the leaks it was still in both of them when I traded the truck a year later....
So my experience is it worked for me.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cameron Whitaker on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 12:30 am:

I tried using Fix-a-flat on my '24 Touring, namely because that's all the nearby store had when I had a flat. It lasted for exactly 2 miles. It also made getting the tire off a real mess!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Borland. Bathurst. NSW. Australia. on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 06:01 am:

G'day,

This stuff will also cause severe corrosion to the rim as it leaks out. If you have used it in a tubeless mower wheel, you will find a lot of damage to the rim as it destroys the paint and starts the rusting of the metal. I have a set of damaged wheels from a mower I repaired for a friend that used the stuff during the drought and the burrs were real bad.

Peter


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan B on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 06:10 am:

Never used it on a T, but put a can (yea, you must follow the directions and use a whole can) into on I my garden tractor tire, and that was 2 years ago. Haven't had to put air in it since, and it was more than just a slow leak.

It does work. Not sure if I'd try it on a T though, considering the well documented consequences of a T tire blowing out while going down the road.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By A. Gustaf Bryngelson on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 11:13 am:

The fix a flat products are intended for tubeless tires, I have used some on tubed tires with luck, but only where there was a very slow leak, and that was on a slow moving farm implement. They do not use rubber to seal, it is a fibrous mess in a liquid medium. They should only be used on an automobile tire to get you to the next tire shop or home, so they should never be used on a car tire if you are already at home where you can correctly deal with the flat.
BestGus


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jared Buckert on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 01:45 pm:

Anybody had any experiences with the Slime family of products? Seems like Fix-a-Flat is more trouble than it's worth, especially if left in the tire. Maybe Slime is a bit friendlier?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Halpin on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 02:34 pm:

If you have"DynaBeads" in your tubes for balancing, don't go anywhere near this stuff.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Aaron Griffey, Hayward Ca. on Monday, October 08, 2012 - 10:45 pm:

If the tube will not hold air for a few minutes or so that means the hole in the tube is large for that Cr#$%p.
A in hole will seal up and you're set for a few years, a larger hole and that junk just goes through the hole in the tube and gets between the tube and the tire. What a mess. If you leave it in there a long time you will have a lot of trouble getting the tube out of the tire.
Then you gotta clean that junk out before you put in a new tube.
I have had to do a few when I worked in a couple of tire shops. Nasty job.
I would only use it on a worn out or otherwise poor tire or be sure to remove tube and tire when you get home and clean out the tire..


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