DIY tire puncture repair

My tire got a big screw on it after a mild but wet storm. I didn't know but my aftermarket tire pressure sensor began to show decreased readings and I feel slight wobbling of the car due to the screw in the wheel. The tire was losing pressure so slow that I didn't bother to check and hope for the best. I stopped to kick the tires and they were still solid. It was night so I drove home and still went out to pick up my kid after school football.

On the way home the OEM TPMS alarm went off. But I know my car was drivable due to prior experience in my old car. I stopped to kick the tires again and carried on my way home. It was until the next morning that I discovered the screw.

I changed into the spare tire and loaded the punctured tire into the trunk ready to go for a repair. Then it dawned on me why I didn't repair myself. If anything went wrong, it couldn't be worse than a big screw in the tire. I still drove some 20 miles with that thing. It took the whole night for the tire to lose air completely.

The cheapest kit is less than 3 dollars! Since my screw looks big, but far from the maximum of 1/4" beyond which a tire should not be repaired, I opted for the more expensive kit with glue. The repair also looks quick and easy on youtube.

Then I noticed on the package that it is only intended for temporary repair. So I did some research. It will cost about $10 to $20 for a repair in the tire shop. I expect $10 for my tires from Walmart. And precisely I like Walmart tires because if they are damaged I can throw them away without sorrow. And I don't need to pay for insurance, nitrogen, and alignment.

The proper repair glue a flat piece of rubber onto the inner surface. The same material is then like welded together. That would be better than plugging the hole on the outside only. But even plugging the hole with wielding glue, some claim that it will last 10,000 miles to the life of the tires.

I decided to give it a try. I will notice if the pressure drops by even 1 psi. The OEM sensor will only warn for a 10 psi drop.

So I applied a lot of glue and did the repair. The difficult part is the threading of the plugging rubber into the huge needle. The rubber filler is very sticky and made my latex glove useless. I searched for the drying time and it was about 20 min. I waited for 30 min before I pump up the tire.

I thought it was a failure because the pressure didn't raise. But it took a long time because overnight the pressure reached zero. Usually, the tire has over 20 psi when you needed to pump it.

The pressure held; I checked with a digital gauge. It still holds the next day so I reinstalled the tire and went for a test drive. The pressure readings are normal, increasing when warmed up together with the other tires and held it there. The current mileage is 90K and I'll see if the repair last.