I would pull it out, might get lucky and it's not all the way through. If it is I'd plug it. It's worth a try.

 

I would stick a plug in it and drive on. You could always use it as a dedicated spare and make sure the air is kept up if you are really that concerned about it.

 

Assuming it is leaking, the nail is probably turned toward the center of the tread area or at least perpendicular to the tread surface. Based on many I have plugged over the years, I would not be afraid to get a kit and plug that one. I would keep an eye out for development of a bump on the sidewall that would indicate belt failure, but if nothing develops soon, you are probably ok.

Or if these kinds of things worry you, you could plug it and use this as your spare and do 4-tire rotations until you wear out the set. Or you could go buy another tire. That tire is easy to find as a takeoff for fairly cheap.

 

I operated a tire shop for 12 years and if it was my tire or my customer, this is what I would do:

I would have the tire dismounted and inspect the inner sidewall in the area where the puncture went through. As long as the inside of the sidewall has not been compromised in anyway, then I would plug it.

One of my tires had a similar puncture not long ago and I plugged it and made it my spare.

Good luck! Hopefully the inner sidewall is not damaged.

 

I operated a tire shop for 12 years and if it was my tire or my customer, this is what I would do:

I would have the tire dismounted and inspect the inner sidewall in the area where the puncture went through. As long as the inside of the sidewall has not been compromised in anyway, then I would plug it.

One of my tires had a similar puncture not long ago and I plugged it and made it my spare.

Good luck! Hopefully the inner sidewall is not damaged.

I worked for a tire shop for a few years and this is what we would do with the exception of using a plug. We always patched our "flat repairs". I am not a fan of plugs, they almost always end up leaking where a properly done patch rarely does. Most places now won't patch tires, everything is repaired using a plug, because they are cheap and take about 2 minutes to do and they charge the same. Granted it has been 20 years since I was a tire jockey but I find it hard to believe that plug technology has changed all that much.

 

I work at Costco in the tire center. Now we kind of go above and beyond the safety standard but the RMA (rubber manufacturers of America) don't recommend repairing anything within an inch of the sidewall. Seems crazy but yea with that's said id try plugging it myself and if that failed I would replace it.

 

I'm with WarEagle JK on this one. Dismount, inspect, and if needed plug and patch from the inside. No need to turn it into a dedicated spare. I have seen nails and screws enter the tread and curve toward to sidewall on the inside, chewing up the inner liner, better to inspect the inner liner than just plug from outside.

 

That's a screw.

Just FYIzzle.

:mooning:

 

I had a tire from our '04 Grand Cherokee repaired by a local tire shop after getting a nail puncture in the same area shown by the OP. The shop plugged it and then patched it on the inside. Ran that tire for years with no further problems at the puncture site. FWIW, our local Wal-Mart refused to repair it.

 

If my butt was riding on that tire I would have it "patched" and moved as the spare. I always have a tire patched if possible. I have driven on plugged tires when I had to have it done in an emergency, basically without any issues. Only one ever leaked. However, there's a reason why tires on emergency vehicles in my area can not ride on a tire that has been plugged. I like using that as a standard for myself.

 

The sad part all this talk and not one of us know if that nail doesn't barely go in the tire and on top of that its in the thread

 

Hi WF, Hoping for some advice on tire repair: at some point over the weekend we picked up a pretty hefty nail in one of our tires. I took our Jeep into the tire repair place today, and they told me the nail is too close to the sidewall and that they'd have to order a new tire. I searched the internet a bit and couldn't really find anything conclusive--any mechanics out there who know whether this is correct, or if I should just go somewhere else? Thanks!

BS! Have a shop patch it...or plug it yourself. Their just trying to sell you a tire.

 

No reputable repair facility would repair that tire. They are not trying to seel him a tire, they are trying to cover their butts from being sued. A tire does felx there so a plug or patch may not hold.
This is why they sell road hazard warranty for tires. You could plug it yourself and keep the tire as a spare.

 

Think I'll see if another shop is willing to patch the tire after an inspection, or maybe just try to run down a used Dueler A/T to keep as a spare (good point regarding the abundance of inexpensive Sahara take-offs). In any event, thanks everyone for the solid advice--it's very much appreciated.

 

I had the same problem. I had a nail go into a tire in almost the same spot as your. The shot would not repair it so I bought a new tire. About 4 months later, I got a nail in the same area on the new tire (which cost $150). Knowing the tire shop would not repair it, I went to Autozone and bought a plug kit then went home and plugged it. That tire lasted another 40,000 plus miles without any problems. So, I would take the screw out and if it leaks air, I would put in a plug.

 

golden opportunity to get new bigger tires silver lining here folks. If you drive slow and only around town I would patch it if indeed it is leaking. IF you spend hours on the highway driving 80mph I would scrap it.

I guarantee if you find a tire shop to patch it and a month later have a blow out of your sidewall and are injured or kill someone else you will be suing the tire shop that did the repair.

 

Plug it or patch it and move it to the rear, if it stays up until your next tire rotation all should be good. I have patched tires with a similar nail/ screw in them with no problems.

 

Plug that buisness.

It'll be fine.

 

Here's another nail in a tire that's close to the edge. Bet NTB wouldn't fix, but I'll see if Discount Tire will dismount & let me inspect the sidewall. Lucky it's on the right-rear already.

Pulled out a 2" ringshank, plug's been holding for a couple days, didn't lose any pressure when I plugged it also. Most of my driving is within 20 miles of my house, rarely hit 70, and then only for a few miles max. If there's no sidewall damage, I'll roll with this for a few weeks before heading to Ouray. Got about 20,000 miles on the tires, hate to have to replace one now with another year or two to go on these.

Noticed this while mounting some lights in my rear bumper. Just one more damned thing to do

Big nasty nail

Untrimmed plug, sawed it off flush later

 

Patch and plug. fills the void and seals the inner liner.

 

Had one in the exact same location just this weekend. Discount Tire wouldn't repair it, so I bought a new tire. Sucks the tires only had 1500 miles on them. I also couldn't buy the replacement certificate on the new tire unless I bought them for the other 4. That doesn't really seem fair, how often will I need to get all 5 tires replaced due to road hazard at the same time.

 

This is the guideline most tire repair shops use. You'll either have to use one that doesn't or patch it yourself.

 

Back the screw out and soap the area. No bubbles? You're good to go. If it bubbles.....then I'd have it patched from the inside and use it as a spare.