Got a flat tire on the way to work. Bummer. So I start to use the IMS but when I get to the part to deflate my tire..it won't deflate fully. Strange. So I botch the whole IMS goopy part (worried since it won't deflate properly) and just fill it with more air. Seems to work ok, I can see it rising..altho very slowly. Gimp to work (4 miles). After work, I put more air in, gimp home.

Going to throw a friends donut on and just gimp to the shop tmrw am. What I'm wondering is whether or not that goopy stuff is still any good or is it trash now? I did break the seal.

Another question is am I missing a part for removing the valve? I have a small mini bat shaped deal and a very small metallic piece that spins and is locked together by a spring. There's no way for me to connect these pieces together without them just falling apart completely. I'm thinking it's easier to use a bike tool or something similar at the auto-shop. It looked like the IMS had never been used before (bought the car with under 50k mi.), but feels like I'm missing a piece.

 

This is the valve removal tool. You place it into the valve stem on the affected tire and turn it counter-clockwise to remove the valve.

This is a spare valve. It is in the kit to replace a valve that may be damaged during normal tire usage or valve removal.

The tire will not defalate fully until the valve stem is removed, and you cant put the sealant into the tire with the valve still installed. You deflate the tire as much as possible, remove the valve, inject the sealant, reinstall the valve, reinflate the tire, drive off. Also, after you repair the tire with the sealant, you then replace the tire. You are better off using a tire sealant, such as "slime" that can be washed off, so that the tire can be repaired (if possible).