How to Fix Cracked Tires: Step by Step Guide

Your car tires suffer many types of damages, from punctures, wear to cracks for instance. A cracked tire could affect your movement. In this article, you’ll learn how to fix cracked tires step by step.

Repair your cracked tires with a sealant

Bear in mind that this method is pretty much like when you’re sealing a hole. Therefore, it could be effective for minor cracks. The crucial part here is that this sealant fits the type of tire you’ve got.

What you need to have:

• Tire pressure gauge
• Tire pump
• Crack filler
• Jack stand

Step 1: Let your vehicle cool off 

To get things started, it’s necessary to inspect your vehicle by checking the cracks on the tires. Doing so helps you determine what cracks you’re going to handle. Next, leave your car cool off after friction on the road.

Step 2: Jack up the vehicle

It’s time to clean up your car, but before that, let’s lift it first. To do it with ease, place the car on a flat and hard surface to prevent it from rolling during the repair process. Then, put the jack stand in and begin lifting till the vehicle feels a bit taller than the jack stand. After that, slide the stand under and let the jack go gradually until the car touches down.

Step 3: Remove the car tires 

You should remove the tires after they have cooled off. It’s because you cannot do the work well when the tire gets sealed. Besides, you can spot the cracks inside and outside after removing the tire. Doing this can help you determine once more before starting to repair the tire.

Step 4: Wash the car tires 

All you prepare first is a bucket of lukewarm water. It’s alright to use the cold water right from the hose. However, doing so might cause the whole degreasing process to be a bit hard. Thus, we recommend you use warm water so that the oil can easily dissolve. 

Let’s clean up the tires that need repair by using some carburetor cleansers available at some car repair stores. Spray the exact tires and enable them to dry. If not, pick out water-based products to degrease all kinds of surfaces, especially the rubber surface. More importantly, get patient and do not rely on harsh brushes or towels too much.

Come to wash one tire at a time. Feel free to rinse and repeat doing so several times as you have to. This step plays an important role in getting rid of every fissure in the tires. Clean the tires until you feel no oil whenever you touch them. After the wash, wait for the tires to dry before using a protector.

Step 5: Apply the sealant

After you finish examining the tires, you need to prepare a sealant fitting the tire you’re availing. Get it in place, and then apply it to your tires as guided. Next, add the injector or nozzle into the stem of a valve. Let’s spray in a guided amount of sealant.

Be cautious since it could seal the nozzle into the valve. Don’t forget to remove any excess left on the surface of the tires.

Step 6: Reinflate as needed and reset your tires 

Get a pressure gauge to guarantee a suitable pressure degree. It’s essential since working with tires easily triggers air loss. Inflate it as needed, and don’t miss checking the PSI with a pressure gauge.

Shut down the stem valve with a cap. Last but not least, reset the tire, check it to see whether it gets sealed and then you can try driving around. Only get the car out for a ride so that the product can cover the entire inside of the tire. Doing this is not obligatory for some sealants.

Tips on extending the life of your car tires 

Prolonging the life of your tires is a smart decision in any case. There are certain things you can do to put off the tire replacement as much as possible. Below are the small tips on how to extend the lifespan of the rubber legs.

       1. Check the pressure daily

In the whole process, this step is essential to follow if you don’t want your ride to become a risky adventure. Do it once a month. Also, it’s better to examine the tire pressure every time you intend to take a longer trip.

As you know, even a new tire still deflates a bit each month. Thus, if you don’t react soon, it makes your vehicle harder to control. Worse than that, it affects the fuel economy without you knowing. Try to solve the issue no matter whether the tires get flat or inflated too much.

       2. Rotate your tires

The car you have will decide the traction, handling, and manner in various weather conditions, and other things. Since the tires do not have the same amount of stress when touching the ground, you need to rotate your tires every 8000 kilometers.

       3. Park your car in shady places

Direct sunlight causes some damage to the rubber tires, like premature deterioration. Those rays will go through the rubber, dry it out, and then destroy its compounds. As a result, your tires suffer cracks scattered on the sidewalls. This condition is related to decay due to aging.

The best way to prevent tires from rotting is to restrict direct heat and sunlight. Let’s park the car in a garage. If you don’t have that habit of doing that, go put it in shady spaces instead.

In summary

There’s no answer to how long your tires last because it depends on different factors. Your tires might wear out after a couple of years. But they still operate well for several years. And tires are necessary to your vehicle’s performance and your safety, so once they have cracks, bring it to a repair shop or fix it right away.

Learning how to fix cracked tires will allow you to know exact signs and symptoms you should watch for. Also, doing so helps you postpone costly replacements. Hope you find something useful in our article.