Lawn Tractor Tire Problem

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sun. Apr. 13, 2014 6:56 am

Must have been the same roofer as my one customer used,we pulled cap nails from his tires & plugged them while the tractor was in to be serviced. Just this past week I had to work on 2 tires with slime in them,what a mess,sloppy,rusty rim,so much time to clean up the mess :mad3: plugs ,if done right are easy,quick & will last .

 
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LsFarm
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Post by LsFarm » Sun. Apr. 13, 2014 9:21 am

Leaking Tires ! :mad: :mad: What a pain they can be.

While I have sworn a lot at the 'slime' when I have to clean it up, I do use it. And, it does dry out, and the stuff I used to use would be rejuvenated by an ounce or two of antifreeze [ethylene glycol] added to the tire.
The off road dune buggy crowd swears by the stuff, and I have to agree, it does work. I had several sets of very expensive and THIN paddle tires on my sand rigs.. they leak, a fact of life, and a tube is counter productive, because it just makes them heavy. So everyone uses a sealant. It's a mess when a tire gets shredded and you have to do a clean up.

I have kept a tire alive for years with all kinds of bandaids.. like the front tire on a 30hp Diesel 4x4 JD, with loader.. LOL..
The front tires take a beating on a tractor with a loader...what carries the weight when the loader is in use? yep, the front tires..
I bought this used tractor with abused front tires.. they must be kept inflated.. one tire had a bad pinch on the sidewall, and the cords were cut, I could see the inner layer of rubber.
I just did NOT want to pay for tires at that time.. and I have tire repair materials.. I put a double layer of heavy tire patches on the inside of the side wall, then put in a tube.. it lasted for 4 years.. !! Until I over loaded the loader, :shock: and drove over something that pinched the same spot, and ripped the hole larger.. the double layer of patches started to 'oozze' out of the growing hole...
I finally broke down and bought two tires off the 'net. had them in 3 days, and I was able to replace them quickly with the usual hand bead breaker, this thing is invaluable, it looks like a giant nut cracker. Look it up on Harbor Freight. I use it several times a year.

Anyway, valve stems, shrader valves and rims are the most common leak points with tubeless tires. I often am able to get another few years from a leaker by breaking the bead, cutting the valve stem off from inside, installing a new one, cleaning the bead and reinflating..

OH,, the ether / fire/ explosion thing... well, that scares the crap out of me.. but I have used it a few times..

I'm sure glad I did NOT know about it when I was 20 yrs old.. I was out on the dunes.. very drunk, and blew a sand tire off the 16 inch WIDE rim. and it was tubeless.. and then staggering drunk, tried with the help of my [also drunk] buddies to get the tire to seat on the rim with a hand pump..
So, picture this: three guys trying to pull on the tire to get the bead agains the rim, one idiot [ ME ] on the hand tire pump, pumping like crazy, all standing on soft sand, and falling over, sand flying everywhere.. LOL.. we gave up until the next morning..
If we'd known about using ether, I'm sure that tire would have been destroyed that night.. :o or someone injured.

It would have been hilarious to have a video of that episode.. but that was in the days of 8mm film cameras..

Greg L

 
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MarkV
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Post by MarkV » Wed. Apr. 16, 2014 10:59 pm

And here's the final chapter in this saga...

Went out Sunday afternoon to pull out the staple and put plugs in the new flat. The tire, as expected, was completely flat. However, I also saw that the bead was broken. I drove the tractor into the garage Saturday when I first noticed it was flat--don't know if it happened then, or when the tire went completely flat overnight.

Either way, I just didn't feel like messing with remounting two tires (the other is still leaking slightly). I remembered a guy I worked with had just given me the business card of a local small engine repair place I hadn't heard of, and I gave them a call. Dropped the tires off Monday afternoon and should be done tomorrow (Thursday). Good thing...my yard will definitely need mowing again before the weekend.

Thanks, everyone for the advice and tips. I will file away for next time!


 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Thu. Apr. 17, 2014 4:55 am

Using ether...starting fluid.... to set a bead... I have one story. Perhaps the first "monster truck" I ever saw was in town. I happened to stop at a local car dealer to see it. Just as I got there they were finishing up putting on a new tire. It had "split rings", two, half moons of steel that are additions to the wheel. They take up space as the tire seats. The workers slide on the new tire, they insert the two split rings. I'll guess each split ring was 10 or 20 pounds. Picture a band of steel, a half circle about 2 feet across and about an inch and a half thick. I was just watching perhaps 35 feet away. I had never seen this done. The slip rings go in, they spray starter fluid around the split ring, stand back 5 or 6 feet & toss lit wooden matches. The first two missed, the third one, BOOM! One of the split rings flew off the wheel, ACROSS the street before it hit the ground, then bounced & rolled a 100 feet before bouncing off a car and coming to a stop. Scared the heck out of me! Do I need to mention they every person there knew that any one of us could have been dead?

And that folks, along with similar stories using just compressed air... is why split rings are no longer used.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Apr. 18, 2014 3:17 am

Freddy wrote:And that folks, along with similar stories using just compressed air... is why split rings are no longer used.
They might not be used on truck tires, but they are still used on heavy equipment. I have changed a few, including one large tire off a front-end loader. The one that I worked on had a solid ring that slid over the wheel and against the bead, and then there was an o-ring and a small locking ring (looked like a big snap ring) that held it all together. I was a nervous wreck while it was inflating.

Two piece wheels that bolt together are fun too... :roll:

 
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Post by SMITTY » Fri. Apr. 18, 2014 10:39 pm

I just mounted an old tire to a new eBay rim I got for cheap - like $46 shipped ... and it's a 15" 6-lug ... :lol:

When I started getting close to the 70 psi I run in these load range E tires, the rim started making some strange, metallic expansion sounds. Wasn't very confidence inspiring having the wheel 3" from my face ... :shock:

Almost had to use ether on the set of new tires I got for the rest of the rims. These were so skinny that my ratchet strap did the job.

I just emptied a can of ether last month - been using it alot for tire mounting the past year. :D Mounted these tires on these fancy rims for a neighbor. Tire beads were almost touching after mounting - no way in hell that was going to hold any air. Ether to the rescue!


 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Sat. Apr. 19, 2014 2:01 am

How about those bead setting air tanks? I've been thinking of building one.... I have an air pig.... all I'd have to do is weld a 1 1/2" ball valve on.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/250948098870?lpid=82

 
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Apr. 19, 2014 4:42 am

Freddy wrote:How about those bead setting air tanks? I've been thinking of building one.... I have an air pig.... all I'd have to do is weld a 1 1/2" ball valve on.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/250948098870?lpid=82
I have one, it works excellent.

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