It becomes obvious very quickly...  you have a flat tire.  If you're head is in cloud nine and you haven't noticed it - you can bet someone else driving near you will point it out quickly.  You pull over and realize that your CAA membership ran out last month and your cell phone battery has gone dead.  What to do now?  Well Ron presents us here with an article on how you can easily repair a tire on the side of the road or at home, if you your that lucky.  The repair takes about 5 - 10 minutes. 

You will need a small compressor with you - that's the catch.  Most places will sell them for under $20 and the repair kit for the tire itself usually runs for around $10.00.  Canadian Tire and Princess Auto both carry them.  They run on 12 Volts and plug into your cigarette lighter and work quite well except for being a little slower than regular air pumps.  So here is what you do after jacking up the car and removing the wheel and tire.

The first thing obviously - find the leak.  If you can't tell which tire is flat, then do us all a favor and go to the nearest trash can and tear up and deposit your driver's license in there, put a for sale sign on your car and hitch hike home.  Otherwise, check the flat tire for foreign objects sticking out of it and listen for the hiss of escaping air.  It is likely from a hole in the tire or the valve stem or valve. Make sure the valve is screwed tight into the valve stem - if it is loose - this may solve the problem.  (See below for pictures of valve stem tightening tool.)

P.S. I'm not sure if this is type of repair is feasible on a run flat tire, but if it was me I'd try it, it beats walking! 

A nail was the guilty object in this case.  Don't throw rusty old nails on the road !  Yellow chock was used to mark the location of the hole.  It may seem obvious, but once the nail is removed and the tire is rolled around; that hole can become hard to find.  The chock will help in relocating it.

The nail was skillfully extracted with a pair of pliers.  For those of you that love the smell of escaping tire air - inhale now.  If it isn't all gone yet - it soon will be.

The hole needs to be cleaned out, so if a drill is accessible, drill it out with the bit size specified on the kit - usually about 1/4 inch.

If you can't use a drill, then a tool made specifically for this purpose with a comfortable, somewhat ergonomic hand grip is used.  This tool is called a Reamer. (Please save the jokes about someone getting a new @^#* reamed.)

The reamer in action.  A pushing, pulling, twisting motion is used until the hole is adequately cleaned and sized for the plug.

The hole, ready to have the plug inserted.

Plug from the kit, prior to installation.

The plug is threaded through a slot in the inserter tool and centered so equal amounts of plug stick out both sides.

Using the T-shaped handle on the top of the tool, grip the handle and insert the repair plug into the hole.

Using elbow grease, push the plug into the nail hole until it is seated properly.

A properly installed plug will protrude above the surface of the tire about 1/2 an inch.

The excess plug sticking out of the hole is trimmed off with your Swiss Army knife, if on the side of the road. If in the garage use a larger knife or scissors! CAUTION! Do not cut yourself or create new holes to be repaired.

The tire after the repair.  Check your kit to see if a certain amount of drying or setting time is required before you remount the wheel and drive on the tire

If the situation allows it, it is a good idea to mix a little soap with water and apply it to the area where the patch has been done.  If there is still a leak, bubbles will appear. 

Tools and supplies used in this installation. 

Please note: The nail included at the bottom of this photograph is a very important part of this kit.  Without it, the repair would not have been possible. 

 Valve tightening tool, valve cap and the valve stem.

Valve Stem Tightening Tool.  Sometimes a loose valve is the culprit when a tire goes flat.

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