Sponsored

Plug patch on tire shoulder

Kit2523

Active Member
First Name
Kit
Joined
Oct 9, 2023
Threads
10
Messages
39
Reaction score
20
Location
Phuket,Thailand
Vehicle(s)
2023 Ford Ranger Raptor V6 Ecoboost
Occupation
Engineer
Tires are 2 weeks old. Had to emergency plug patched it. Should I replace this tire while the rest are still new or go with it?

Kit

Ford Ranger Plug patch on tire shoulder IMG_9179
Sponsored

 

MasterCylinder

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jay
Joined
Aug 2, 2025
Threads
20
Messages
294
Reaction score
453
Location
Texas
Vehicle(s)
2025 XLT FX4, 1991 1st Gen Ranger
Occupation
Retired, FF, CET, Mechanic
Tires are 2 weeks old. Had to emergency plug patched it. Should I replace this tire while the rest are still new or go with it?

Kit

IMG_9179.webp
Do you not have any road hazard warranty?? Most tire shops will not patch that area of a tire for liability reasons. Tire manufactures have different "patch areas" in which they claim it's safe to patch. It ranges from, 1/4 of an inch from the sidewall to inch from the sidewall, your in that zone. You can contact the tire manufacturer an ask about it. Myself, if no tire hazard warranty, it would be a spare and I get another one but I'm on the highway a lot! Your choice in the matter really.
 

Dre' Dawg

Well-Known Member
First Name
Andre'
Joined
Dec 31, 2024
Threads
9
Messages
162
Reaction score
143
Location
Magnolia, Texas
Vehicle(s)
2013 Shelby GT500; 2025 Oxford White RR & 2025 Shelter Green RR
Occupation
Retired
I googled it and it summed up what I would do with the exception of the plug. If you can take it to a tire shop and have them put a patch from the inside is best in my opinion.

" Tire plugs are good for temporary emergency fixes on small (under 1/4 inch) punctures in the tread area only, allowing you to get to a shop, but they are generally not considered a safe, permanent repair by industry standards. The safest and most recommended method is a plug-patch combo, done from the inside, as plugs alone can loosen or fail over time, especially at high speeds, potentially leading to another flat or blowout, and should never be used on sidewalls.
 

Sponsored

crawford

Active Member
First Name
craw
Joined
Aug 7, 2025
Threads
0
Messages
32
Reaction score
31
Location
Ontario, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2020 Ford Ranger
Unfortunate. I had this happen in the same spot with the Hankooks my 2020 Ranger and I used it as an excuse to get some nicer tires (i did like the OEM Hankooks though).

I am sure you had all the usual lectures but i would not feel safe with my tire plugged like this. If it was farther from the edge and patched from the inside out manufacturers consider the tire as good as new. It is not possible to patch from the inside out where your damage is and i wasn't able to find any garage that would fix mine properly. I found a diagram from Hankook for my 2020 ranger that showed the safe area, i am sure you could find the same for you current tire and see that your tire is not officially repairable.

you are in some luck though, if your tire is only 2 weeks old and not a lot of miles on them you could at least get away with replacing just one tire. I could not and had to buy 4 as my ranger was about a year old when it happened to me. I think other more knowledgeable people or google might be able to chime in and say how new the tires have to be to not cause damage by replacing just one but i think that you are at least lucky that that is your case and you just need 1 tire. if i remember in my situation i could have replaced 2 tires but then i would always be a state where i had 2 new tires and 2 older tires and i did not want that.

this really sucks and i had it happen to me with my last 2 vehicles and i just ended up buying 4 new tires each time. i really can't drive around knowing my tire might blow out or at the very least end up needing to be changed on the side of the highway.
 

crawford

Active Member
First Name
craw
Joined
Aug 7, 2025
Threads
0
Messages
32
Reaction score
31
Location
Ontario, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2020 Ford Ranger
I googled it and it summed up what I would do with the exception of the plug. If you can take it to a tire shop and have them put a patch from the inside is best in my opinion.

" Tire plugs are good for temporary emergency fixes on small (under 1/4 inch) punctures in the tread area only, allowing you to get to a shop, but they are generally not considered a safe, permanent repair by industry standards. The safest and most recommended method is a plug-patch combo, done from the inside, as plugs alone can loosen or fail over time, especially at high speeds, potentially leading to another flat or blowout, and should never be used on sidewalls.
you are right that a tire fixed with a plug-patch combo is considered safe, but no one will do the plug patch combo this close to the tire edge. you say never to be used on sidewalls but that extends a bit up into the side of the tire tread too. some tire companies publish diagrams of where the safe spot is...i found one for my hankooks. it is usually only the middle part where the patch can be flat and also no chance of a steel belt being broken (i think anyway, my only knowledge on this comes from having had similar damage on 2 different vehicles). i had a similar argument with folks at my work who insisted that the plain old plug is safe but the guy who argued with me went and got his patched from the inside out about a month later because he kept having slow leaks. he hasn't had a problem since but he was lucky that his damage was in the middle of his tire.
 

John E Davies

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
May 26, 2024
Threads
63
Messages
773
Reaction score
1,075
Location
Spokane WA USA
Vehicle(s)
2024 Ranger Raptor Velocity Blue (fastest color)
Occupation
Retired aircraft tech
Even plugs in “safe” areas of the tread can eventually start leaking again, the steel cords chafe against the rubber and then you get leakage, but a patch inside will prevent this. Long ago I had a plug (no patch) end up as a very slow leak after about a year. You canNOT re-plug an existing plugged repair!

Water entering will cause the steel to rust, making a catastrophic tread separation or blowout more possible. In areas where winter deicers - salt or magnesium chloride - are used, this invisible corrosion will happen dramatically faster.
https://www.carabinshaw.com/amp/uns...ds-persist-despite-strong-evidence-of-da.html

BTW part of my emergency kit is an air compressor and patch and plug kit - it is intended to get me back out of a remote area to where I can get the tire replaced in the event that my spare tire also goes flat..

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
 
Last edited:

superj

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Feb 8, 2025
Threads
40
Messages
3,485
Reaction score
3,204
Location
Corpus christi texas
Vehicle(s)
2004 ford ranger, 2024 ford ranger
Occupation
Aircraft examiner
I have never had a plug leak or come loose. I would be fine eith a plug where you have it in that pic.

I have had to plug all kinds of tires on all kinds of vehicles. I have never actually taken a tire to get a patch though. I guess since the plugs held.
 

Reddog99

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2024
Threads
0
Messages
66
Reaction score
76
Location
So. Cal.
Vehicle(s)
2024 XLT Ranger FX4 2.7
Is your spare tire the same as the other four? If, so, you could swap the spare tire onto the alum rim.

My experience with plug-patches is that they're pretty reliable if properly installed.
 

Sponsored

ATestBishop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Alex
Joined
Apr 14, 2025
Threads
21
Messages
410
Reaction score
486
Location
Walnut Creek, CA
Vehicle(s)
2024 Ford Ranger XL
I've used the worm type plugs with the reamer and install tool many times on a passenger car tire within tread area and I'm surprised how well they hold up and function. I think many tire shops will only dismount and do the involved inner tire patch process but with your TPMS functioning and a good spare your repair could be reliable long term. It's rough to pick up a thorn on a new tire and throw it away...
 
OP
OP
Kit2523

Kit2523

Active Member
First Name
Kit
Joined
Oct 9, 2023
Threads
10
Messages
39
Reaction score
20
Location
Phuket,Thailand
Vehicle(s)
2023 Ford Ranger Raptor V6 Ecoboost
Occupation
Engineer
Thanks for all the inputs guys 🙏

Question… so far I have done about 1,250 miles on these tires. I measured the tread depth with my manual gauge to be just above 12/32nd. Brand new tire, from the spec sheet, is 13/32nd. So the difference will be little less than 1/32nd (0.6mm) across the rear axle. Would this cause any drivetrain issues in the long run if I changed only one tire? I plan on putting the plugged tire in the spare well.

Thanks in advance.
 

John E Davies

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
May 26, 2024
Threads
63
Messages
773
Reaction score
1,075
Location
Spokane WA USA
Vehicle(s)
2024 Ranger Raptor Velocity Blue (fastest color)
Occupation
Retired aircraft tech
Thanks for all the inputs guys 🙏

Question… so far I have done about 1,250 miles on these tires. I measured the tread depth with my manual gauge to be just above 12/32nd. Brand new tire, from the spec sheet, is 13/32nd. So the difference will be little less than 1/32nd (0.6mm) across the rear axle. Would this cause any drivetrain issues in the long run if I changed only one tire? I plan on putting the plugged tire in the spare well.

Thanks in advance.
No problems whatsoever to the drivetrain, however the spare might deflate over time without your knowing about it. You can add a tire valve extension hose to the spare and let it hang down enough to reach with a gauge, check it every few months, at least. If it appears to be leak free, you can check less often. No need to drop it down except for cleaning and checking the winch for proper operation.
https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/thre...check-the-pressure-without-lowering-it.11101/

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Kit2523

Kit2523

Active Member
First Name
Kit
Joined
Oct 9, 2023
Threads
10
Messages
39
Reaction score
20
Location
Phuket,Thailand
Vehicle(s)
2023 Ford Ranger Raptor V6 Ecoboost
Occupation
Engineer
Unfortunate. I had this happen in the same spot with the Hankooks my 2020 Ranger and I used it as an excuse to get some nicer tires (i did like the OEM Hankooks though).

I am sure you had all the usual lectures but i would not feel safe with my tire plugged like this. If it was farther from the edge and patched from the inside out manufacturers consider the tire as good as new. It is not possible to patch from the inside out where your damage is and i wasn't able to find any garage that would fix mine properly. I found a diagram from Hankook for my 2020 ranger that showed the safe area, i am sure you could find the same for you current tire and see that your tire is not officially repairable.

you are in some luck though, if your tire is only 2 weeks old and not a lot of miles on them you could at least get away with replacing just one tire. I could not and had to buy 4 as my ranger was about a year old when it happened to me. I think other more knowledgeable people or google might be able to chime in and say how new the tires have to be to not cause damage by replacing just one but i think that you are at least lucky that that is your case and you just need 1 tire. if i remember in my situation i could have replaced 2 tires but then i would always be a state where i had 2 new tires and 2 older tires and i did not want that.

this really sucks and i had it happen to me with my last 2 vehicles and i just ended up buying 4 new tires each time. i really can't drive around knowing my tire might blow out or at the very least end up needing to be changed on the side of the highway.
Thanks for your reply.
I have clocked about 1,250 miles during the 2 weeks. Lost about 1/32nd of tread depth. I am considering getting one new tire and put this plugged on for the spare.
 

Flak

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2025
Threads
8
Messages
215
Reaction score
310
Location
US
Vehicle(s)
25 Ranger Raptor
Thanks for your reply.
I have clocked about 1,250 miles during the 2 weeks. Lost about 1/32nd of tread depth. I am considering getting one new tire and put this plugged on for the spare.
I'm confused does the truck not come with a spare or is it a donut? I admit in my haste to purchase my go kart I haven't checked yet, I just assumed since all the wheels came in packs of 5 from ford it's like most trucks and comes with 5x the same t/w package.
Sponsored

 
 







Top