annoyances of car maintanence, part n to the m power

[chhotii]

One of the tires on the VW leaks. I just re-filled it about 2.5 weeks ago, and it's back down to 10 PSI. (Or whatever the unit is.) Today is Sunday, so places such as Town Faire Tire are closed. I can drive to the gas station to wrangle with the air compressor there, but:

1) How hazardous is it to drive the car before replacing the tire, given that there must be a weak spot?
2) Does re-filling the leaky tire make it more or less likely to blow out? Yes I'm concerned about fuel efficiency-- I'm more concerned about surviving the drive to Tewksbury on Monday.
3) Is it plausible that someplace like Town Faire Tire (which sells tires, obviously) will be willing to repair the tire, at mucho cost saving to me?

-- Automotive Ignoramus

Comments

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

NTB is open from 9 - 6 today. http://www.ntb.com/tires/store/storedetails.jsp?storeId=200213 I've been there before, and they were really nice at telling me I had a tiny puncture, and they fixed it for really little money.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Thanks!

[frotz.livejournal.com]

There's compressed air here as well if you need it.

With no obvious bulges or gougues on the outside of the tire I wouldn't sweat the leakage. You likely picked up a nail or something and ten minutes and ten bucks will get it done.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

Maynard & Lesieur http://www.tiresupermarket.com/ in Nashua will typically fix what can be fixed, just walk in, no appointment, and shouldn't charge more than $30. might even be $20-30

now, do you know that the tire has a leak? or is the valve loose? you can obtain a valve tool many places (like walmart of all things for $3-4), with spare valves if needed. worth a shot. MOST cars with slow leaks i've noticed, just had old/loose valves.

some have bad stems though - M&L swapped one of mine for $15 in 10 minutes.

#

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

How did it go? Did you get the tire fixed?

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Got a new tire. They said that the screw the tire picked up was too close to the sidewall, so it had to go. Not cheap, but oh well, problem solved.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

My understanding, for what it's worth, is that leaks can come from really small punctures, leaky valves, the valve not being screwed in tightly, etc. The safety problem is that the tire might not have full stopping power, not that it will pop suddenly. Also, running it with too low pressure will flex it more than normal, so it will age faster than normal. You can always take it to an ordinary mechanic to see if they think it can be patched. Sometimes they find a straightforward puncture that can be patched.