Can a drawing pin puncture a car tyre?

[blearyeyedboy]

I almost feel stupid for asking this, but...

I've found a drawing pin in the tread of a rear tyre with (loads of decent tread), can I just pull it out, or am I asking for trouble? It is long enough to do any meaningful damage?

[redstu]

I found a small nail in a good tyre a while ago , pulled it out no harm done, as I'm still using the tyre.

[*Al*]

Pull it out and find out, dab your finger over the hole with a bit of water(spit) and look for bubbles.I very much doubt it's punctured.

[Pulse]

In the tread of the tyre, and it has decent tread? It'll be fine. As Al says, the easiest test would be to put water on it and see if it bubbles.

[HiRich]

Presuming you mean a normal drawing pin (with a nail about 5mm long) and you mean in a tread block (generally 10-20mm of rubber back to something more critical), there's your answer.

In a groove or the sidewall, I would be worried. You can try the water/spit, but I wouldn't be too worried., you're highly unlikely to have got near the carcass.

[Monkeylegend]

blearyeyedboy said:

I almost feel stupid for asking this, but...

I've found a drawing pin in the tread of a rear tyre with (loads of decent tread), can I just pull it out, or am I asking for trouble? It is long enough to do any meaningful damage?

Just be careful not to bend it when you pull it out,you should be able to use it again

[Happy Eater]

Pull it out, the same goes for nails screws or anything.
Do it where you can get a new tyre or repair without much effort.

The reason being if you dont the head of the nail will wear off and the shaft will move further into the tyre as the tread gets worn down - leading it to puncture.

Most of the time a drawing pin will not cause a puncture

[Ozzie Osmond]

"NO"

[Accelebrate]

Remove it, if it's punctured then repair it using something bigger like a screw.

Not that I ever tried that on a hire car that revealed itself to be ready punctured after a few racing starts dislodged the original puncturing implement.

[blearyeyedboy]

Cheers all.

And for my next "fail" at manly pistonhead-ness, watch this space...

[jon-]

[blearyeyedboy]

S**t!!!

I've had a go at pulling it out this morning... to find it's NOT a drawing pin! The head looks like one but it's a flipping great big nail, going down through the tread. I left it be for now- it was hissing badly enough when I pulled a little, and though it's going down through the tread, the sharp end is angled towards the sidewall...

Not sure how long it is because I haven't pulled it out, but it's got a big enough circumference that I reckon it's at least 2 inches. That's a whole different problem to a drawing pin.

I'm going to let it deflate a little more before I end up popping something, take the wheel off and put the spare on for the commute to work tomorrow. Bugger.

Edited by blearyeyedboy on Monday 5th April 11:34

[jon-]

blearyeyedboy said:

S**t!!!

I've had a go at pulling it out this morning... to find it's NOT a drawing pin! The head looks like one but it's a flipping great big nail, going down through the tread. I left it be for now- it was hissing badly enough when I pulled a little, and though it's going down through the tread, the sharp end is angled towards the sidewall...

Not sure how long it is because I haven't pulled it out, but it's got a big enough circumference that I reckon it's at least 2 inches. That's a whole different problem to a drawing pin.

I'm going to let it deflate a little more before I end up popping something, take the wheel off and put the spare on for the commute to work tomorrow. Bugger.

Edited by blearyeyedboy on Monday 5th April 11:34

Certainly deflate from the valve before pulling it out. It was only last week someone was killed by a tyre exploding while they were working on it.

[blearyeyedboy]

jon- said:

blearyeyedboy said:

S**t!!!

I've had a go at pulling it out this morning... to find it's NOT a drawing pin! The head looks like one but it's a flipping great big nail, going down through the tread. I left it be for now- it was hissing badly enough when I pulled a little, and though it's going down through the tread, the sharp end is angled towards the sidewall...

Not sure how long it is because I haven't pulled it out, but it's got a big enough circumference that I reckon it's at least 2 inches. That's a whole different problem to a drawing pin.

I'm going to let it deflate a little more before I end up popping something, take the wheel off and put the spare on for the commute to work tomorrow. Bugger.

Edited by blearyeyedboy on Monday 5th April 11:34

Certainly deflate from the valve before pulling it out. It was only last week someone was killed by a tyre exploding while they were working on it.

Precisely what was going through my head when I realised it wasn't a drawing pin. Wasn't going to mess about with it until the pressure was lower.

Fortunately I work a few yards from a tyre place, so with some luck they can sort it for me while I'm at work.

Edited by blearyeyedboy on Monday 5th April 21:03

[Holst]

If its in the tread then it should be easy to repair so it wont be a big problem

[blearyeyedboy]

That's the thing Holst. It is in the tread, but nearly by the sidewall, and when I started pulling it out the nail seemed to be angled towards the sidewall. I know some people would repair it but I'm going to replace both rears. It's just not worth the risk.