Leaking Tire
I would like to share a story about dodging a (flat tire) bullet. Tire technology seems to have advanced rapidly over the past few years and familiarity breeds contempt – as the saying goes. Therefore the last thing I expected was a leaking tire.
However – Even the most mundane of stories can have an important message
I’m probably one of the worlds worst when it comes to checking the tires on my vehicle.
I haven’t had a problem for years and my mindset is that tire technology is so good that there is virtually no chance of a problem.
So far so good……
And yes I know that I should check the tire pressures when I’m “filling up”.
But It’s always – I’ll do it “Next Time”
So I’m driving along a back street and negotiating one of the many small roundabouts which are springing up everywhere when BANG – being a lazy driver I didn’t quite turn the steering wheel enough and I managed to clip the kerb edge with the rear wheel.
Dash it all – I thought to myself.(or similar words to that effect)
Hoping that I have not dented the rim of the wheel and caused a slow leak.
About fifteen minutes later I’m parked in the driveway of my house and having a good look at the tires.
Visually, the tire that I clipped looks to be softer than the others. I needed to check the tire pressures – but its been so long since I used my tire pressure gauge that I’ve got no idea were it is. This would be the logical thing to do.
Anyway – The more I looked at the tire, the more convinced I was that it was softer than the others.
So, out with the spare and I changed the suspect tire.
Once the tire was off, I was able to give it a close inspection and was fully expecting to see a dent on the wheel rim which was causing a leak.
Surprise, Surprise – the rim looked good but as I rolled the tire around I saw a metal hex head embedded in the surface of the tire. Sometimes stones and similar can get wedged between the tread and give the impression that something has driven into the tire when in fact that’s not the case and that is what I was expecting to see.
On closer examination I could see the shaft of the small bolt protruding into the tire – EUREKA
Almost certainly that was the cause of the leak
This was removed from the tire
I then made a trip to the tire service center to get the tire fixed and was very surprised to see the hex head bolt which was removed. A flat end – no sharp point.
Placed above the tire to give a perspective
To give some perspective – this is the removed bolt placed atop the tire
I can only guess that an awful lot of coincidences came together to drive this bolt into the tire.
And how long had it been embedded in the tire? Have I picked it up from standard highway and street use ? – It’s been a very long time since I was in a yard or a construction site.
For me – Murphy’s Law generally kicks in with the worst which can go wrong at the worst possible time.
So on this occasion I’m thanking my lucky stars that I clipped that kerb, otherwise I could have been experiencing a flat tire at the worst possible moment – not that there is ever a good time to get a flat.
I guess that the message I would like to share is – not to get complacent and that the simplest and most basic maintenance tasks still need to be done.
Not Only – But Also ……
When there is a need to take a deep breath and take a break
- Looking for “A Better Way” – Go to – Engineering the 3R Way for an overview of the 3R Philosophy Review – Refresh – Reset and link to the full list of topics
- Then Take A Break – With the List Of Pages – Engineering Nostalgia for pages of Old Engineer Memories from Engineering practice in the 1960’s/70’s/80’s – with a bit of armed forces and medieval trivia thrown in
- Or check out Engineering Odd Bits for more odd subject matter – including humor and comment
- Challenge yourself and your colleagues with an Engineering Quiz