What To Do If You Have A Slow Puncture? (The Complete Guide)
Creators: name: OBD Tech Plymouth
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: If your tyre is slowly leaking air but you face difficulty in spotting any damage, you might have a slow puncture on your tyre. Unlike a sudden puncture which can cause a tyre to release air rapidly, in a slow puncture the air is released slowly no matter if you are driving your vehicle or parked. 

Use only the best quality tyres from renowned manufacturers such as tyres plymouth. Safety is important for you to keep the tyres in their best condition possible to avoid any accidents. 

In this blog post, we are going to discuss everything you need to know about how to find and fix the source of a tyre leak. 

Why Does Slow Puncture Happen?

There are different reasons for a slow puncture that may occur on your tyres as you drive on roads, but there are some of the usual culprits that cause slow tyre punctures are nails, screws and other sharp external objects which stuck in the groves of the tyres. 

This allows the air to be released from the tyre. If the larger sharp object comes into contact with the tyre then it can cause an instant flat of the tyre to burst.  

Another common reason for slow punctures is because of faulty valve stem. The valve stem is a small rubber protrusion through which air is filled to the tyre when maintaining the tyre pressure. If the valve has an issue, it can lead to slow air leakage.

If car service has been not done correctly or tyre safety management can lead to bulging, cracked or damaged tyres. These damages can result in loss of air pressure in the tyre and may impact the tyre structure. If the tyre structure has a problem then you need to replace the tyres with new ones. 

Can You Drive On A Slow Tyre Puncture?

The are a lot of reasons why we do not recommend driving your vehicle with a slow tyre puncture. Even though it seems tempting to do so, if the air releases slowly, it could start leaking air at a faster speed once you start driving your vehicle.

A tyre with low pressure can affect the handling, and braking performance of your vehicle even if the tyres have slow puncture. Driving continuously with a damaged tyre can cause more issues with the vehicle and cost you more to fix the damaged parts.

If you are in the middle of the road and you have no option other than driving on slow tyre puncture, in that case, you can drive your vehicle to the nearest garage to fix the problem.

How Can You Find Where The Tyre is Leaking?

You can use soapy water or simple water to find the leak in the tyre. Mix water and soap in a spray bottle and spray them all around the tyre. Ensure you spray all sides including the tread, sidewalls, the valve stem, opening and along both sides of the rim.

Once you spray all the tyre’s surface, you will see the leak by spotting the bubbles forming around. You can remove the wheel from the vehicle to easily spot the leak or you can turn the steering wheel to see the inner sidewall.

One another way to spot a tyre leak is to remove the whole tyre and drop the tyre into a large tub of water, you don’t have a big enough tub you can drop a section of the tyre at a time. When you notice bubbles begin to form in the water you will find the leak.

How Can You Stop Air Leaking On Your Tyres?

There are two ways to stop a leak on your tyres either you can use a tyre plug kit or you can use tyre puncture sealants. But if you don’t know how to use it, or you want peace of mind then you have to fix your tyre leak by a professional tyre expert. 

Most garage and tyre fitting centres will repair tyres depending on the condition of the tyres otherwise they will recommend you to replace them.

Stopping Air Leaking From The Wheel Using Tyre Puncture Sealants





Ensure you check the instructions on the tyre puncture sealant tube because sometimes they have different ways to use it.




Pull out any external object from the tyre such as a sharp rock or nail using a pair of pliers.




Ensure your vehicle is lifted from the ground or you remove your wheel from the vehicle.




Unscrew the valve cap and fill the sealant.




Fit the nozzle of your sealant onto the valve stem properly and release the contents.




Rotate your tyre by driving your vehicle so that the sealant will flow evenly inside, and avoid heavy lumps from forming.



Stopping A Tyre Leak Using A Tyre Plug Kit





Lose the lug nuts in your tyre by using an impact wrench or a lug wrench. Losing or breaking the lug nuts before you jack up the vehicle will ensure your vehicle’s weight is still on the wheels. 




Use a jack stand to safely jack up your vehicle.




Use a wrench to remove the wheel and lug nuts from the hub.




Remove any external objects such as nails or sharp rocks from the tyre using a plier.




Clean the hole using a rasp tool so that the area becomes rough and apply the fix to hold.




You will find a plug and insertion tool in your repair kit, thread the plug through the insertion tool.




Lubricate the plug using glue or adhesive, this will create a better fix.




Apply force to plug into the tyre using the insertion tool and let the glue dry.




Remove way any protruding plugs and inflate the tyre.




After some time spray soapy water on the tyre to check if the seal is holding properly.




Attach the wheel on your vehicle lower down and tighten the lug nuts. 



Conclusion

At last, driving on a slow puncture tyre is not safe, so it is better to fix by yourself or get help from a professional. Invest money in good quality tyres Plymouth is important so that you don’t need to face frequent punctures.