I wouldn't expect standard tires to have an issue with the 1" rocks. You=20 don't give manufacturer's name/model/size info. Since these tires were=20 bought in a foreign country (not USA), did they have a DOT (USA Dept. of=20 Transportation) number on them? That would identify the plant where they=20 were made. It probably is illegal to use tires that are missing the DOT=20 number. Could these tires been retreaded? Why did you buy two tires in a=20 foreign country, and not at home before departing. In particular, I=20 wouldn't put questionable tires on the front of a vehicle. Stubborn lug nuts (bolts) can frequently dealt with by pushing down on=20 the wrench with a foot, and pulling up with hands grasping the auto body=20 at the wheel opening area. That way, both your weight and lifting force=20 of arms/back are additive. Standard practice should be, every time the=20 bolts are tightened, to take a hand wrench and assure they are movable.=20 Also the bolts should be lubricated with a few drops of oil on both the=20 threads and the conical surfaces occasionally. To find help, I probably would have asked at gasoline service station,=20 or local police, even call 911, or other businesses. Locals at those=20 places probably have friends that could help. On 9/6/2011 4:54 PM, YES NOPE9 wrote: > I have asked a question at the end of the note. > > I have two used tires ( obtained at Mexican tire shop ) on the front of m= y Explorer. > 1/4 inch of tread is left. I was driving on a dirt road that had rocks o= n it from time to time. The rocks were as large as 1 inch. > > First I got a slow leak on the passenger side front tire. I fixed that w= ith a plug of tar? impregnated string. Father down the road there was a so= ft !bang! and the driver side tire was leaking from a hole about 5 mm wide.= I put some impregnated string in this hole and slowed the leak such that = the tire would hold air about two hours ( I am waving my hand in the air ). > > Since it was *labor day holiday Monday* no tire shop was open where I was= .. > I elected to drive back to Denver with two cans of tire inflator at the r= eady. > I was stopping every 10 minutes to look at both tires. > 15 minutes out of Fairplay , I ran into a massive traffic stoppage. The = traffic was NOT moving at all as far as the eye could see ( which was about= a kilometer ). I did a U-turn and pulled off on a side road. > > Now I decided to extract the spare tire and replace the driver's front ti= re. I had two lug wrenches and an ABS cheater pipe. I weigh 111 kilograms= and have medium large muscles. After straining , standing on the wrench ,= etc...... ( since the lug wrenches extend away parallel to the centerline = of the lug , it is hard to get super good torque ) ..... I was unable to re= move any ( that is zero ) of the lugs. > > I drove back to Fairplay. ( I am omitting a lot of swear words in this d= escription ). After trying to find an impact wrench ( none ) , finding a h= uge crescent wrench ( did not work ) ..... I called a tow truck. Just then= a large teenager happened by and he and I applied the T-lug wrench to the = lugs. He was utterly amazed at how tight they were. We got 4 of the 5 lug= s off and then ( as I feared ) , the lug wrenched snapped ( previously cou= ld see that it was winding up ). With even more difficulty we removed the = last lug with the one-side wrench ( which flexed quite a bit ). As each lu= g released , it made a cracking noise. > > I oiled the lugs , put on the spare , cancelled the tow truck , and went = back to Denver using an alternative route. > > Could these have been counterfeit tires ? It appears they can be easily = hole punched by a rock. They say they are steel-belted radials. Looking c= losely , the sidewalls seem to be wobbly with a sine curve of period 30 to = 40 cms and an amplitude of 5 mm. Normally I do not drive on rocky roads. > > 99guspuppet > > > =20 --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .