Uploaded August 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
I had a super small leak from a nail, so I put in the recommended amount of green "Slime" tire sealant (similar to "fix-a-flat") for a car (16oz) into my tire which sealed the leak, but also caused a significant wheel-hop (imbalance) at 65mph. It even warns about possible tire imbalance on the bottle, so it's probably supposed to be a temporary fix. This video shows how I got the liquid tire sealant back out again.
Sure, I could have taken the tire to a garage to have them break the bead and remove the tire from the rim to get it out, but I didn't want any mess, and I wanted to do this on my terms, and on my time schedule, and at zero cost.
I went to a hobby store and got a pack of very small brass tubing. The size I ended up using was 3/32" tubing. Leaned the tire at an angle overnight to let the sealant accumulate in one place. I drilled a small hole in the valve cap, filled the tire with air, removed the valve from the valve stem, and quickly inserted the tube and cap. I got half of the bottle of slime back out again. Not sure where the rest went because the tube started sucking air.
Note: Don't try to vacuum the sealant out because it's hard to develop enough suction pressure. I know, I tried that first.
I had a super small leak from a nail, so I put in the recommended amount of green "Slime" tire sealant (similar to "fix-a-flat") for a car (16oz) into my tire which sealed the leak, but also caused a significant wheel-hop (imbalance) at 65mph. It even warns about possible tire imbalance on the bottle, so it's probably supposed to be a temporary fix. This video shows how I got the liquid tire sealant back out again.
Sure, I could have taken the tire to a garage to have them break the bead and remove the tire from the rim to get it out, but I didn't want any mess, and I wanted to do this on my terms, and on my time schedule, and at zero cost.
I went to a hobby store and got a pack of very small brass tubing. The size I ended up using was 3/32" tubing. Leaned the tire at an angle overnight to let the sealant accumulate in one place. I drilled a small hole in the valve cap, filled the tire with air, removed the valve from the valve stem, and quickly inserted the tube and cap. I got half of the bottle of slime back out again. Not sure where the rest went because the tube started sucking air.
Note: Don't try to vacuum the sealant out because it's hard to develop enough suction pressure. I know, I tried that first.
