tire question

Hey all,

98 civic LX (canadian) 225000kms. 5 spd

Last night driving home from Pizza Hut, noticed a humming and abnormal noise
from drivers rear tire. Pulled over and looked, lugs tight etc, it was dark
so I did a 'feel' test around the circumference of the tire, and found a
screw at an almost right angle, facing towards the inside of the tire about 1
inch from the outer wall. (it was in the tread).

I backed it out with my screwdriver, expecting a loud HISS when it came out.
It was about 1.75 inches long, probably a #8 screw or so. Well no hiss, and
the tire appears to be holding air no problem, no slow leak as of this
morning.

My question, did I dodge a bullet and don't have to worry about getting a
plug or anything? Would this have caused any damage that will become more
apparent on the highway when exposed to heat and normal driving conditions?

I know there will be no hard and fast ruling here, just looking for opinions.

Thanks
Terry in Winnipeg.

 

Sometimes when people get those minor holes like that, esspecially a
screw they sell at your local car store its a piece of rubber that you
slide right into the whole. This seals the problem, and it normally
lasts for the life of the tire.

My old job we had that problem, and always used it. It worked great for
a 2 ton truck. (4,000lbs)

 

Terry,
If I understand your description correctly, the miscreant screw was at
nearly a right angle to the tire (that is lying nearly flat across the tread
of the tire) with the head of the screw toward the inside, the screw did not
penetrate the casing of the tire but was simply lodged in the tread. Ergo,
no puncture, no air loss and if you find no physical damage to the tire, I
would say you dodged one this time. I would monitor the tire both inflation
and indication of tread separation for a couple of thousand miles just to be
on the safe side...

Dave D