Silly question about a nail in a tyre (tire?)

[Mattel]

Hey, I got a 13" on the front right that has a nail embeded in it. it' only just legal tread wise anyway.

Will I have to replace or will it just slow leak?

Weird, this has never happened to me in 15 years of driving before?

The spare is actually one of the original Dunlop mud/snow's that came with the car.

I'm putting 14"s on it soon. Can any Aussies recomended some good local rubber? I was looking at those silica tyres. 195/70 series on 14" but I want a slightly more aggressive tyre for the odd sandy beach etc.

[Petros]

I once had a very slow leak with a tire that I would just add air to every 2-3 weeks, this I let go for about 3 months. Then I got a fast leak in another tire that I would have to fill every other day. I finally took the car in to have them fixed (a local tire store chain offers free flat fix for the life of the tires if you buy your tires there).

Well in the two tires they fixed 3 flats. The slow leaker had two nails in it, the fast leaker had one driven into the tread at an angle. So every time the nail hit the road surface it would let out a large spurt of air. If I parked the car right on the angled nail it would be flat in the morning.

So, yes you can drive a long way with a nail in the tire (tyre?), as long as it is will not cause a separation of the tread plys and presumably the leak is not too fast. You might consider shifting it to the back since the back tires do not have as much stress on the tread as the front (in FWD and when turning and braking). You could also add that flat-fix tire goop to seal around the nail if it starts to leak faster (which it will when driving on it slowly pushes the nail deeper into the tire).

It sounds like you should also replace the spare. I once had an old spare like that, when I needed it I was on a long trip. It lasted perhaps a 100 miles or so before the tread delaminated and I had to drive another 20 miles or so on the fabric cords, luckily it was still holding air. Even if you buy a good used tire (usually cheap), it will make a better spare that a 25 year old rotting antique.

[Mattel]

cheers Petros, I'm putting that nailed tyre on the back for now and keep an eye on it, I will get a new set of 14" tyres for my before I put my car on the ferry to Tasmania in January. I noticed that my Jack has no marks on it and has probably not hit the ground ever. there was also a little bottle of touch up paint. yep that spare needs to be swapped over for a second hand.

On another note. I noticed you have an all-trac.. I have been offered a free all-trac manual corolla (with Dif Lock) with a warped block and there is another an hour away for around $800 US but a is an SR5 with every option etc. But a blowen auto (only goes in reverse) In your opinion are these tranny's easy to change over as this could be a nice little car for a couple of thousand? They still go for big money when in good condition. Thanks mate.

[Petros]

I think the All-trac Corolla is one of the finest all wheel drive cars ever made in terms of size, comfort, ride, relaiablity, etc. I have had the trans out of ours to change the clutch and rear main seal. It is a big job, the manual says to pull the engine and trans together as a unit, that is an even bigger job. Though i found that it is possible to pull the trans without the engine, but it takes more than one person (a lot of wiggling and shifting of the trans to get it out), you also have to support the engine from the top (I made a wood frame to hang the engine so you can remove the mounts).

Usually converting a auto to a manual shift trans is strait forward, but it is a lot of work. It does involve a lot of detail parts changes, including the brake and clutch peddle assembly, and maybe even parts of the wire harness. I am not sure it would be worth the effort at that price. $800 seems a bit high for an older car with a junk trans (of course that depends on the the currency exchange rate). To rebuild an auto trans like that is about a $2500 job here. I might consider doing it if I could get the car for less money. A warped block sounds rare, a warped head is much more common, and a pretty easy fix, swap out the head. You might consider keeping and fixing the free one. These 4afe engines are lot less expensive and easier to find than the all-trac auto trans (or even the 5 speed). OTOH if the one with the blown trans is real clean and has all the nice options, it can be changed over with your free parts car, if you do not might all the work. I would guess you are looking at perhaps 30 to 40 hours of work in a well equipped shop with an experienced mechanic. Double that if neither of these qualifiers are true, and expect to learn a lot a long the way (and have to replace a few broken parts). A transmission jack is a must unless you are going to pull the engine and trans, then you need a hoist.

[Mattel]

thanks heaps for the reply Petros, I guess that the only way to tell how much work is needed will be to get both cars together.. kinda hard when both don't drive and I live in an appartment. hmmm. I really hate seeing good cars wrecked due to laziness though and love a challenge. I might need to look at my friends freebie all-trac (corolla awd over here) and talk to the seller of the other wagon about getting the price down I really don't want an auto - apparantly the SR5 has a little rust in the factory sunroof anyway I might have a good look at them on the weekend.. I was so busy thinking of the gearbox linkages and possible ECU changovers I had totally forgotten about the pedals! duh. Thanks again. BTW I'm still thinking of that euro-africa safari thing. My friend has to watch his second child grow another year before he can commit, I'm trying not to buy my first house in the meantime!