Front tires not holding air

[joshuabardwell]

My front tires are not holding air. I have to fill them up every time I go to use the tractor. I have replaced the valve cores, but that didn't do it. I have inspected them carefully and don't see any punctures. What's the next step? It must be the bead, right?

Thanks.

 

[Don87]

Could be the bead, but also could be thorns. Mix dish detergent with water, and using a paintbrush or rag, wet the entire tire and look for bubbles. Do the rim also, in case the welds are cracking.

 

[lutt]

You may not want to, but my zero turn got this way, put slime in them and solved the problem. I will do this on my tractor if it starts that also. LUTT

 

[Gary Fowler]

Most likely thorns that arent visible from outside. Slime might fix the problem if is it small thorns . As suggested, mix up a dishwashing soap solution and spray it down all over including the bead seat and rim. I would start with the tire as you are sure to find a bubble or two or three.

 

[creekbend]

I agree with the other members in regards to the possibility of thorns. Our son takes his dog for her run twice a day on our trails with his golf cart. During the last year, I have patched the ATV aggressive styled tires on his cart at least 6-8 times. Black locust thorns will break off and you won't even see a small piece of the thorn. BTW, all the tires on his cart are tubed. Best wishes.

 

[joshuabardwell]

If I have invisible thorns, can I patch the hole with a plug? Not sure how I can do that if I can't even see the hole.

 

[Willl]

Mix up a 25/75 solution of liquid dish soap and water and spray the suspected area heavily.

 

[Don87]

If I have invisible thorns, can I patch the hole with a plug? Not sure how I can do that if I can't even see the hole.

Have you used the soap? And did you find anything?

And no, you can't plug invisible thorns..........unless you use invisiible leak-seeking plugs. That technology is normally reserved for the military, but my local Walmart had them on aisle 4, near the end, second to the bottom shelf last week. Yours may differ.


EDIT: If you can't find leaks with the soap I suggested earlier, you can try the slime, like Gary Fowler suggested.

 

[Ken]

Have you used the soap? And did you find anything?

And no, you can't plug invisible thorns..........unless you use invisiible leak-seeking plugs. That technology is normally reserved for the military, but my local Walmart had them on aisle 4, near the end, second to the bottom shelf last week. Yours may differ.


EDIT: If you can't find leaks with the soap I suggested earlier, you can try the slime, like Gary Fowler suggested.

I use a 15 gal. plastic barrow cut in 1/2 and so can lift the front end and slide barrow under the tire . then lower and fill with water to over the rim level and slowly spin the tire. some times the bubbles are small and slow in riseing this will locate inside and outside of tire at same time.

ken

 

[Don87]

I use a 15 gal. plactic barrow cut in 1/2 and so can lift the front end and slide barrow under the tire . then lower and fill with water to over the rim level and slowly spin the tire. some times the bubbles are small and slow in riseing this will locate inside and outside of tire at same time.

ken

Anytime you can get the tire under water, that is the best way to find a leak.

 

[lutt]

Mine was those darned prickly pears, one side of my place has them on the hillside, by the way I suggested the green slime in post # 3:thumbsup: LUTT

 

[Ken]

Mine was those darned prickly pears, one side of my place has them on the hillside, by the way I suggested the green slime in post # 3:thumbsup: LUTT

I had a tire that on going flat and backing and turning before noticing it had jumped off rim and warped the bead. would not seal enough to build up pressure.
took to tire shop they charged 20 bucks to put back on and then it still leaked along the bead. so used silicone sealer for seams put a bead around rim waited for few minutes to get a film on silicone .added slime to tire and filled with air about 10 pounds above normal pressure. spun tire to get slime all arouind inside then set to correct pressure . has held for several months at 40 pounds.
Repair shop wanted to replace the tire I wanted to keep using until some wear had taken place.
Lutt ever go to the Black River lodge close to Datto ,Ark. ?
ken

 

[JDgreen227]

IMO the very best way to find a leak is to immerse the wheel and tire in water, one of those plastic concrete mixing tubs sold at home center stores works perfectly. Still, some leaks are so slow they will be impossible to find. My wife's '04 Saturn with the OEM 60,000 mile tires had a leak in one tire, it was so tiny I was never able to find it using the immersion method and because the tire was nearing the end of it's life I just gave up and replaced it. My Deere 4210 has one front tire (turf type) that looks like new tread wise but the sidewalls are so flimsy it leaks air something like 5 psi a day.

 

[lutt]

I had a tire that on going flat and backing and turning before noticing it had jumped off rim and warped the bead. would not seal enough to build up pressure.
took to tire shop they charged 20 bucks to put back on and then it still leaked along the bead. so used silicone sealer for seams put a bead around rim waited for few minutes to get a film on silicone .added slime to tire and filled with air about 10 pounds above normal pressure. spun tire to get slime all arouind inside then set to correct pressure . has held for several months at 40 pounds.
Repair shop wanted to replace the tire I wanted to keep using until some wear had taken place.
Lutt ever go to the Black River lodge close to Datto ,Ark. ?
ken

Ken, a good friend of mine that farms has bought most of the land the lodge owned,but yes I have spent some time there,know the owners,or what is left of them now. But it is a really nice place,I do most of my deer hunting and duck hunting around that place on my friends land and have for 20 years. LUTT

 

[kf4uda]

I will cast another vote for Slime. I have started using it a few months back on some of those annoying leaks like you have with 100% success so far. You could also take them to a tire shop. The TN Farmers Co-Op in your area may have a tire shop that works on tractor tires.

Good Luck

 

[jejeosborne]

Every year I would get a couple of flats on my front r4's. my tires had been removed so many times the bead was shot. I tried the tire shops industrial grade "slime" and it even had Kevlar in it. It would seal the hole but when using the loader with heavy turning, the holes would be little wet from the tire flex and stretching. I ended up filling them with the high density foam which added a lot of weight as well.

 

[Soundguy]

pull em and dunk them in a tub.. look for air bubble trails...


post back

 

[Ken]

Ken, a good friend of mine that farms has bought most of the land the lodge owned,but yes I have spent some time there,know the owners,or what is left of them now. But it is a really nice place,I do most of my deer hunting and duck hunting around that place on my friends land and have for 20 years. LUTT

John and Ann and family good friends
They have had there problems the last few years. Think john and Ann are at the Lofge this week.
Small world we live in.
Plumb Bob was a different sort of person also.
ken

 

[joshuabardwell]

Well, I took one of the suggestions from this thread and I saved myself the trouble of taking the wheel off the tractor. I just grabbed a big Rubbermaid tote that I have laying around and raised up the tractor's front end with the loader, then put the tote underneath the wheel and lowered the tractor's wheel down into it. I filled the tote with water until it covered the bead and then turned the wheel by hand until I found the leak. Sure enough, it was tiny and invisible, but I found it and patched it. Ultimately, given the location of the hole, I could have just poured water gently into the tread and it would have held enough water to find the leak. This is something that folks might consider as a first step, before they start pulling tires off the tractor or going to greater lengths. Yeah, I know the "paint soapy water onto it" trick is supposed to work, but I have often had it fail to find a leak that submersion later found. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

 

[Don87]

Well, I took one of the suggestions from this thread and I saved myself the trouble of taking the wheel off the tractor. I just grabbed a big Rubbermaid tote that I have laying around and raised up the tractor's front end with the loader, then put the tote underneath the wheel and lowered the tractor's wheel down into it. I filled the tote with water until it covered the bead and then turned the wheel by hand until I found the leak. Sure enough, it was tiny and invisible, but I found it and patched it. Ultimately, given the location of the hole, I could have just poured water gently into the tread and it would have held enough water to find the leak. This is something that folks might consider as a first step, before they start pulling tires off the tractor or going to greater lengths. Yeah, I know the "paint soapy water onto it" trick is supposed to work, but I have often had it fail to find a leak that submersion later found. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

No, you ain't doin it wrong............most times it shows.........sometimes it don't.

Just glad to hear you got the leak fixed.:thumbsup:


I just hope you didn't take offense at my 'leak seeking plug' comment. It was meant in jest.