Repairing sidewall rips?

[rScotty]

On a 15hp tractor I'm restoring there's a rip in the turf tire sidewall about a couple of inches long. The rip was put there by a backhoe when the tractor was plucked out of a flood. The tire is a Goodyear Terra Tire 29x12.00 - 15. Just a little thing, but wide. It's a tubeless and I don't know if there's a tube that would work. Or maybe I could boot it somehow to get it to hold air...but how? I'd like to fix it enough to be able to roll the tractor around and see if the machine is worth restoring. If so, it will eventually get new tires.....and maybe rims as well.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get it to hold 5 to 8 psi? That's all it ever held in the past. Some sort of internal boot? What would I ask for? The tire itself is surprisingly thin and flexible in spite being old.
thanks
rScotty

 

[gears351]

I'm in the same boat right now. I'm going to cut an old tire up and bolt a patch to the inside of the torn one with 1/4" carriage bolts (4) and then glue an old tube over that as a patch and put the new tube in there.

 

[HCJtractor]

Check out Gemplers. I think they sell some boots and tire repair adhesives

 

[buickanddeere]

Ssssssssss..........boom

 

[davesl708]

I am not aware of any sidewall tears that have been successfully repaired. Back when I worked for Goodyear Tire many attempts were made to repair sidewall punctures but due to the continuous flexing of the sidewall the repairs always failed.

Please let us all know if you are successful.

 

[Egon]

Temporary fix; lace it up with a leather shoelace and then glue in a boot. Boots should be available through auto parts store's.

Might be able to find a tube patch that's large enough.

 

[PILOON]

What I know will work is polyurathane caulking as I have done it !
A brand that I know is FLEXTRA which is close to the caulk they glue windshields on cars.
Clean the inner with a non greasy solvent glob the caulk and press a generous patch to cover the hole. Let dry/cure and you'll be surprised.

Windshield caulk in a tube is in the $10.00 range.

 

[rScotty]

What I know will work is polyurathane caulking as I have done it !
A brand that I know is FLEXTRA which is close to the caulk they glue windshields on cars.
Clean the inner with a non greasy solvent glob the caulk and press a generous patch to cover the hole. Let dry/cure and you'll be surprised.

Windshield caulk in a tube is in the $10.00 range.

I think that must have been what the tire shop did. They dismounted the tire, cleaned out the rocks, beat the rim back straight, and did some kind of glue/boot job inside so that the rip is hardly noticible. They figure if it holds air for a day it'll stand up to light weight turf-type tractor work indefinitely. Better than I could have hoped for. All at an old time independent tire store still run by the owner. Cost: $10.00.
rScotty

 

[texasjohn]

That's a good deal, rScotty, take all your tire work to that fellow. My local, home town tire man charges $15 to repair a car tire and I think that's a great deal.

 

[rScotty]

That's a good deal, rScotty, take all your tire work to that fellow. My local, home town tire man charges $15 to repair a car tire and I think that's a great deal.

Yes, he does all our cars and trucks and has for years. Nice guy. Frankly I wouldn't mind if he raised his prices. I like his business that much. He pays his employees well; they all work hard, and they seem to enjoy the job. They must, because it's the same group of people there year after year. Their turnover is about zero.
rScotty

 

[PILOON]

What I know will work is polyurathane caulking as I have done it !
A brand that I know is FLEXTRA which is close to the caulk they glue windshields on cars.
Clean the inner with a non greasy solvent glob the caulk and press a generous patch to cover the hole. Let dry/cure and you'll be surprised.

Windshield caulk in a tube is in the $10.00 range.

Well I had to practice what I preach.
Nice long rip, cords showing and I can`t find a replacement.
I used some nylon fabric that was about one eighth thick and generously smeared it with the Flextra caulking.
Re inserted the tube and inflated to about 25psi and sat it in sunlight to let the Caulking cure.
Today I moved crushed stone by the bucket full and no signs of the buck-she repair failing.

 

[drizler]

It's called windshield urethane. You can get it at most auto body repair places in the big gun tube. Remember it when you just gotta absolutely gotta keep something waterproof and glued together. The other go to stuff I use is 3M 5200. It's white and they seal holes in fiberglass boats with it. Same principal and Lowes usually has it but it's pricey. Consider both like a welding and waterproofing combined. You have to cut it to remove. The trouble with both is that what you don't use once the tube is opened WILL dry up no matter what you do after a couple weeks. Too bad they can't cure that issue but besides that they both are fantastic and not all that expensive. Both are great for gluing impossible things like stainless steel to plate glass and such.

 

[texasjohn]

good info...will file under....use when needed

 

[PILOON]

'nother use of urethane caulk.
Borrowed buddy's B21 as he has backhoe.
His seat had 3 tears in it and I got a wet butt, no fun.

Cut some patches and glued them in place with urethane caulk. (Flextra).
Sure is better than duct tape.

 

[gary49]

You can delay curing of open 5200 caulk tube by covering tip with plastic bag or Saran Wrap and storing in a freezer, but only for a month or so.

 

[CDennyRun]

I'd replace the tire. It's a tractor... It'll need good rubber. You'll only make more work for yourself. I wouldn't put my name on something questionable.

Regards,

Chris

 

[Cord]

I was at my local tire dealer the other day and saw he had a heat blanket wrapped around a tractor tire. Turns out he was vulcanizing a relatively new tire that got cut on the sidewall. Certainly would never try this on a road vehicle, but it's something to consider if you are off road.

 

[drizler]

I'd replace the tire. It's a tractor... It'll need good rubber. You'll only make more work for yourself. I wouldn't put my name on something questionable.

Regards,

Chris

With anything of such low speed why not? There is no such thing as a low speed blow out rollover unless you are doing something incredibly stupid. I can see it if you are some bigwheel farmer who has the massive operation going that just can't wait for some breakdown but not so with the majority of us. As long as you can live with the possibility of an inopportune break down fixing something like this can give someone with a spot of bad luck much of the useful service life he deserves (and paid for). Over the years I found that many of these types of fixes work out far better than hoped and I go through about 1 set of toothpaste sized JB Weld tubes / year in the process. For most of us our labor is free as well so the prospect of it failing down the road doesn't cost anything in labor either. It's all about your tolerance for risk / reward.

 

[PILOON]

I'd replace the tire. It's a tractor... It'll need good rubber. You'll only make more work for yourself. I wouldn't put my name on something questionable.

Love to do that but cannot find a replacement locally, hence the 'jerry rig'.
For now it works and allows me to do the right thing. Just buying me some time.

 

[CDennyRun]

With anything of such low speed why not? There is no such thing as a low speed blow out rollover unless you are doing something incredibly stupid. I can see it if you are some bigwheel farmer who has the massive operation going that just can't wait for some breakdown but not so with the majority of us. As long as you can live with the possibility of an inopportune break down fixing something like this can give someone with a spot of bad luck much of the useful service life he deserves (and paid for). Over the years I found that many of these types of fixes work out far better than hoped and I go through about 1 set of toothpaste sized JB Weld tubes / year in the process. For most of us our labor is free as well so the prospect of it failing down the road doesn't cost anything in labor either. It's all about your tolerance for risk / reward.

I totally understand what you're saying. Trust me, I've had to get by with rigging things up many of times. I know you can't always just throw money at something when it breaks. I know a guy that had a fully loaded FEL that tipped over from having low pressure in a front tire, while landscaping on a 2-3 percent grade. Should he have aired it up beforehand? yes! Could he have been more careful? you bet. Sometimes we make mistakes, and the results are very bad!

Regards,

Chris