FIX-A-FLAT Yes or No.

My first time posting a poll but tell me what you think would be the best course of action. Between you and me, fix-a-flat has always worked for me and I always keep a can in the trunk along with a 12V air pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket.

Great for emergencies.. like trailers and such. but rusts the rim, but not enough to ruin it ... I think its a latex product.. I like to find the leaks.. usually something stuck in the tire.

Good luck.

It went down 4 lbs a week so not much of a leak. I'm with you and would like to have the leak fixed, I looked for a nail but not real good and the head might have worn off. There's so much construction going on around here it wouldn't surprise me if a nail was in it. Tomorrow I'll get it in the sun light and give it a good going over and put some dish soap on the valve to see if it bubbles, but I have a can of F-A-F and if I find nothing suspicious I'll squirt it in and see what happens. Used it a few times and always stopped the leak and I still have about 15K left on the tires so they'll be with us about two more years. Original 03 Taurus OEM Continental Touring tires that came on it still look good at 43.5K miles.

Thank you for the input Sir, and ya'll have a fine Sunday and great week ahead.

I have a friend that used it a few years back, 2 days later on a extremely hot summer day while sitting in his driveway the tire blew up!! Fortunately, no one was in the car or near it & there were no injuries. Talk about being scared straight.

It went down 4 lbs a week so not much of a leak. I'm with you and would like to have the leak fixed, I looked for a nail but not real good and the head might have worn off. There's so much construction going on around here it wouldn't surprise me if a nail was in it. Tomorrow I'll get it in the sun light and give it a good going over and put some dish soap on the valve to see if it bubbles, but I have a can of F-A-F and if I find nothing suspicious I'll squirt it in and see what happens. Used it a few times and always stopped the leak and I still have about 15K left on the tires so they'll be with us about two more years. Original 03 Taurus OEM Continental Touring tires that came on it still look good at 43.5K miles.

Thank you for the input Sir, and ya'll have a fine Sunday and great week ahead.

Fix a flat is basically only useable in emergencies. It is a mess for the tire shop to clean up, and at least years ago posed an explosion risk to a shop when changing a tire. If you use that type of product, please let a shop know it's been used if you are having tire service done.

As for the slow leak, the dish soap on the valve is a good suggestion. I've seen quite a few slow leaks that were due to a leaking shreader valve in the valve stem.

-Rod

"I have a friend that used it a few years back, 2 days later on a extremely hot summer day while sitting in his driveway the tire blew up!!" GREAT GOOG-A-BOOGA! That is wierd and very unsafe and I would have contacted the compnay and told them what happended. Maybe it put way to much air in the tire or it was very old and worn, or whatever caused it to blow, but I never heard of such except a blow out while driving.

I read the can and it says do not store in glove box or inside car or trunk where tempratures may exceed 120 degrees. Maybe the guys tire was in the hot sun and got to hot and BOOM!

Y'all keep talking about it making such a mess and the can says do not store in the passenger compartment of a SUV. HeHeHeHe . . . Can't you see a lady all dressed up riding in a nice, pretty new SUV and the old man has his emergency road kit box stashed behind the back seat and the temp goes over 120F and KABOOM! FAF all over that SUV? Yup, I bet the old man gets a zero for the day and cold fish dinner and sleeps outside that night.

I got down on my hands & knees and had the wife pull ahead slowly and I got lucky because it was buried up pretty good and barely visible but found the little bitty booger nail between the treads. 'Bout the size of the small end of a round toothpick so maybe I can buy one of those repair kits where you use a punch with rubber in it and fix it on the car. I checked the air and it lost 5 lbs overnight so I will get it fixed. Thanks for everyones kind input and have a nice evening.

Fix-A-Flat, yes or no? Yes. And no. :2cents: Fix-a-Flat is for putting in the tire and driving to the nearest tire place to have your tire repaired or replaced. As someone else mentioned, it rusts the rims and is hard to clean up; it's kinda icky all way 'round, but it's very functional and is a lot less work than changing a tire to a doughnut that may be half-inflated or flat, keeps you from driving at highway speeds, etc. It's decent to have around but it's nothing you should use as a permanent patch. Since you're getting the tire fixed anyway this is late, but just for future reference... :)

Fix-a-flat is really (at least to me) for correcting slight leaks when there is really not much wrong with the tire (maybe a nail, after pulling the nail), but really isn't good for much. If the leak is slight and a minor nuisance, then I'll use it--if the tire is in decent condition, but if there could be a noticeable problem with the tire, then it's off to the tire shop (and often letting them correct such a problem isn't expensive, I'd definately pay the $12 in that case). One time I got a sidewall nick, and while it wasn't much, I put the doughnut on and made a beeline for the Firestone dealer where I got a new $20 tire.

" . . . made a beeline for the Firestone dealer where I got a new $20 tire."
WHOA! Good deal there and I'll take four. I'll need tires next year so been looking around the web and the best price I can find is on these:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Touring+A%2FS+795

They're $50. each and shipping to SC is $44. so figure $244. for the tires and $15. each to mount and balance so for $304. bucks the Taurus gets new shoes.

That nail was very tiny and since I put the FAF in it hasn't leaked. Today I have to make a 40 mile round trip on the road so before I leave to come home I'm going to pull the nail out hoping the centrifugal force will sling the FAF around in the tire and seal the hole for good. If it continues to leak then I'll get it fixed and make certain I tell them there is FAF in it.

I got a tire repair kit at WalMart for $3.00 and put a plug in it and sealed it right up. I never used one before but I won't be without one again. Good thing I had it because when I pulled the nail it started letting air out big time. http://www.autobarn.net/vicv104.html

I'll take four. I'll need tires next year so been looking around the web and the best price I can find is on these:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Touring+A%2FS+795

Kumho makes pretty good stuff, especially for the price. I'm going to get a set of those for my Taurus as soon as I can afford it, hopefully before winter, becuase what I have doesn't like rain -- how will they handle ice? :eek:

My mother ran a quad of Kumho 716's over the past year -- she's put aout 40k on them and they're gone, but her car eats tires at a disgusting ratre. The grip and noise level (or lack thereof) were phenominal, though, while they lasted. And your tire place will greatly appreciate being told that you used FaF when they get at the tire. My mechanic always asks me if I ask him to mount some tires becuase he knows I've had to use it in the past, and he always gets this digusted look on his face when he does ask. :)

"My mechanic always asks me if I ask him to mount some tires becuase he knows I've had to use it in the past, and he always gets this digusted look on his face when he does ask." What's the big deal with FAF anyway? Is it like glue or something? When I get new tires I'll take a big rag with me so they can wipe it out and clean the rim. They can get a disgusted look if they want but I'll give them a few bucks tip and they can drown their sorrows in a cold brewski. :cheers:

The mess it makes in the wheel and tire is only part of the deal (or at least used to be). There was also an explosive risk due to the propellant. I'm not sure if modern FAF still poses the same explosive risk or not. The disgusted look could be due to previous warnings about the hazards, or just due to the lengthy cleaning process that the tech has ahead of him/her.

-Rod