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Tire experts [Archive] - Chevy TrailBlazer, TrailBlazer SS and GMC Envoy Forum

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New to TB
03-11-2006, 04:46 PM
I have two questions:

Today I rotated my tires, while each tire was off I checked it for nails/screws/scrap metal (I'm in construction). I found a small piece of nail.

It was a trim nail, no wider than a brad, and it was less than half an inch long. It was in the, for lack of technical term, meaty part of the tread. When I pulled it out I put it into the groove of the tread for comparison, it was flush with the top of the meaty part- this means it went no further than the meaty part of the tread. I put some rubber cement into the hole for the time being.

Should I plug it? It's a very tiny hole that hasn't gone that deep, I'd hate to do more damage by ripping all the way thru the tire and belt and widening the hole, just to plug it. What should I do?

Next question, all of the wheels came off easily except for the front driver's side tire. It took half an hour of soaking (CLP), pounding, and prying before it would come off. What finally took it off was long hard strokes of a large heavy bar from underneath the truck banging outwards. I figured it rusted or seized from corrosion, but I found the real culprit when reinstalling the wheel. There is a small rim on the front hub that fits right inside the 2"+ hole in the center of the wheel. The rim on the passenger's side fits right inside of the whole in the wheel, however the rim on the driver's side is VERY tight to get in. That is what was holding the wheel and that is what made it so hard to get the wheel back on. I had to pound it again to get it back on, tightening the nuts finally clamped it on fully. I wiped some CLP on it before installing the wheel, but I'll probably have this problem the next time. Other than grinding down the hole in the wheel or the rim on the hub, what else could be done? Anyone else have this problem getting their wheel off?

MTPockets
03-11-2006, 05:06 PM
No expert here :no: , but if the tire you pulled the brad out of isn't loosing air, I'd say you are fine. You can have it leak/tank tested if you are unsure. I'd just apply some never-seize to the raised turn on that 'sticky' hub. You dont wanna mess with the bore on the wheel as I think these are needed for wheel centering?!?

G/luck
Joel

New to TB
03-14-2006, 06:57 PM
No expert here :no: , but if the tire you pulled the brad out of isn't loosing air, I'd say you are fine. You can have it leak/tank tested if you are unsure. I'd just apply some never-seize to the raised turn on that 'sticky' hub. You dont wanna mess with the bore on the wheel as I think these are needed for wheel centering?!?

G/luck
Joel
Yup, it's not loosing air at all.

I wasn't planning on grinding the hub, just thinking of the very few methods to fix this.

Bearcat
03-14-2006, 08:59 PM
[quote=New to TB] Anyone else have this problem getting their wheel off?[/quote
Never had a problem pulling a wheel. How many miles installed before you gave it a try? If it's not leaking, you're probably OK. If you marked the spot, park with it the 'hole' at the top of the wheel and spread some water with dish soap all over the tire. No bubbles, no leak.

New to TB
03-14-2006, 09:02 PM
Never had a problem pulling a wheel. How many miles installed before you gave it a try? If it's not leaking, you're probably OK. If you marked the spot, park with it the 'hole' at the top of the wheel and spread some water with dish soap all over the tire. No bubbles, no leak.
13,000 miles, this was my first tire rotation.

I gave it a soap bath, no air at all. Plus, the nail wasn't long enough to get in all the way.

blandmiller
03-15-2006, 08:39 AM
I had a hard time removing my wheels the first time also. I used steel wool to remove the corrosion (rust/aluminum) and coated the hub surface with lithium grease. I re-apply the grease everytime I re-install a wheel.

trailblazer02
03-24-2006, 09:24 PM
I work for Goodyear and we don't recommend ever "plugging" a tire. When you plug a tire you essentially jam a piece of sticky rope into it and creating a larger hole. This also means that you are breaking and spreading apart the metal cords inside the tire which voids the manufacturer warranty and also creates a safety hazard. If it is not leaking, don't worry about it. But if it is take it to a tire center that "patches" the hole from the inside. Yes, this can be a little pricey but the service usually comes with some sort of warranty. This is just like patching a bike tire and becomes a permanent fix where the plugs are just a temporary fix. As for rotating your tires you should be doing this every 6,000 miles.

lacer_2005
03-24-2006, 09:44 PM
Anyone else have this problem getting their wheel off?

I didn't have this issue...sorry I can't help more.