Foam tires or replace?

Phredee · Feb 17, 2013

I'm sure the dealer does sell a replacement tire for it, for a premium price. They charge twice the price for everything else I have ever had to purchase from them.

I appreciate everyone's advice. I have decided to add an appropriate amount of Slime before the next time I am going to use it.

ultrarunner · Feb 17, 2013

BX23 tire mounted on rim was less expensive then the tire alone from Kubota through whole goods.

Phredee · Feb 17, 2013

ultrarunner said:
BX23 tire mounted on rim was less expensive then the tire alone from Kubota through whole goods.

What is whole goods?

ametcalf · Feb 17, 2013

Phredee said:
One of the front tires (Ag tires) on my BX23 got a thorn thru the sidewall for a slow leak.
Help please.

I had a cut nail (the type for nailing into concrete) stuck in an Allis front tire for about a year before I got around to fixing it. I keep plenty of slime in the tires due to thorns. Everything would work great as long as I remembered to park the tractor with the nail down. If I didn't remember, after a couple of weeks of setting in the barn the tire would go flat and I would have to pump it up. All that to say, I had to park the tractor so there was slime around the hole or air would eventually leak out. If the hole is too far up on the side wall you may have to park the tractor like I show on the attached photo once in a while in order to get the slime to keep the hole sealed.

Good Luck

Phredee · Feb 17, 2013

ametcalf said:
I had a cut nail (the type for nailing into concrete) stuck in an Allis front tire for about a year before I got around to fixing it. I keep plenty of slime in the tires due to thorns. Everything would work great as long as I remembered to park the tractor with the nail down. If I didn't remember, after a couple of weeks of setting in the barn the tire would go flat and I would have to pump it up. All that to say, I had to park the tractor so there was slime around the hole or air would eventually leak out. If the hole is too far up on the side wall you may have to park the tractor like I show on the attached photo once in a while in order to get the slime to keep the hole sealed.
View attachment 303917 Good Luck

I get an invalid attachment error, but I think I get the idea. Slime never solidifies and will flow away from the hole. I can say that if my results are the same I will have to do something else. I know I will just not always park with the hole downhill.

crazyal · Feb 18, 2013

If it was me I would do just like Randall suggested. Plug it with a boot type plug. What do you have to loose, a few bucks? You could check a few tire shops and ask if they do heat cure vulcanized patching with a boot style plug. You can still put slime in it afterwards.

robbyr · Feb 18, 2013

Several years ago my dad put dry wall screws in small holes in fronts. They worked but something about that just seemed dangerous to me. I also run slime and have had the tires leak down but I must not have put enough in them cuz upon adding more slime have had no more problem. At the tire shop in town the stuff they use is kinda pink in color and they say its better than slime. Also I think here on TBN a while back there was a thread in which guy was saying they took an old tire and put it over the tire on the rim. But how do you know what size will fit on existing rim and tire?

stuckmotor · Feb 18, 2013

I don't know about an old tire going over a new one but, I've had the retread shop make a liner by buffing the tread off of an old carcass and cutting away most of the sidewall.

QUOTE=robbyr;3196768]Several years ago my dad put dry wall screws in small holes in fronts. They worked but something about that just seemed dangerous to me. I also run slime and have had the tires leak down but I must not have put enough in them cuz upon adding more slime have had no more problem. At the tire shop in town the stuff they use is kinda pink in color and they say its better than slime. Also I think here on TBN a while back there was a thread in which guy was saying they took an old tire and put it over the tire on the rim. But how do you know what size will fit on existing rim and tire?[/QUOTE]

ultrarunner · Feb 18, 2013

Phredee said:
What is whole goods?

It's ordered through the system the Dealer uses to order Tractors which is different than service parts...

It was the Tractor Sales manager that placed my order... he didn't know the tire/wheel assembly was available mounted...

Here is just one TBN thread

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/160686-bx23-tires.html

powerstroke444e · Feb 18, 2013

Foam them and never worry again. I foamed all the tires on my B26 and the steer tires on m5400 and old l3300 never a flat or issue with any parts.

PILOON · Feb 18, 2013

Now I don't know if all 'slimes' are equal but I had bad experience.
I had a small cart with tubeless tires that were always flat whenever I went to use it.
Installed a slime product (think it was Colman) and still had flats.
When I dismantled the tire I discovered that the product was water based and frozen so it did not work.
In desperation I simply smeared axle grease around the rim and that cured the problem, not clean but did the job.
I had previously even installed inner tubes but the also leaked.
My take is that the Chi-com tires and tubes are actually porous.

stuckmotor · Feb 18, 2013

PILOON said:
Now I don't know if all 'slimes' are equal but I had bad experience.
I had a small cart with tubeless tires that were always flat whenever I went to use it.
Installed a slime product (think it was Colman) and still had flats.
When I dismantled the tire I discovered that the product was water based and frozen so it did not work.
In desperation I simply smeared axle grease around the rim and that cured the problem, not clean but did the job.
I had previously even installed inner tubes but the also leaked.
My take is that the Chi-com tires and tubes are actually porous.

Do you think the grease allowed a seal between the tubes and rims or did it some how fill the pores in the tires?

PILOON · Feb 19, 2013

stuckmotor said:
Do you think the grease allowed a seal between the tubes and rims or did it some how fill the pores in the tires?

Definitely did a rim seal as I had then removed the tubes. The rims were like new (all painted surface, no rust) so the tire was the culprit.
The frustrating thing is that every tire was subjected to a tub water test. Was just like the air had evaporated.
A friend has 2 or 3 hand carts plus a compressor mounted on those Chicom tires and he is constantly also needing to inflate.
Maybe we need Chicom air?

PILOON · Feb 19, 2013

stuckmotor said:
Do you think the grease allowed a seal between the tubes and rims or did it some how fill the pores in the tires?

Definitely did a rim seal as I had then removed the tubes. The rims were like new (all painted surface, no rust) so the tire was the culprit.
The frustrating thing is that every tire was subjected to a tub water test. Was just like the air had evaporated.
A friend has 2 or 3 hand carts plus a compressor mounted on those Chicom tires and he is constantly also needing to inflate.
Maybe we need Chicom air?

EddieWalker · Feb 19, 2013

For years I was playing the slime game and then having holes patched on tubes for both my little 35 HP 4wheel drive tractor with R1 tires and my full sized 2 wheel drive backhoe with 18 ply front tires. Foam is fine for small puntures, but not very effective over time. If you rely on foam, then you are not in an area with locust trees or timber with roots and branches sticking up.

I foamed the front tires on both tractors and have never had a problem since. One of the smartest and best things that I've done. The weight is there, but since you never have to take off the tires again, it's not a big deal. The added weight on the 4wheel drive tractor seems to give it more traction. On the backhoe, it doesn't seem to make any difference.

Remember that the tractor is sitting "ON" the tires, and the added weight of the tires does not put any additional strain on anything.

Eddie

Kent B · Jul 14, 2013

Where do you take your tires to get filled with foam? Is that a typical tractor service or a specialty?

Do you think the local John Deere shop would do the work?

Thanks,

Kent B.

Kent B · Jul 14, 2013

Holy Crap!!
I just visited a website "OTR Engineering" where one of there tires (11.2 x 24) weight is 288 pounds.
Good grief !! That can't be foam. That must be solid rubber.

Kent B said:
Where do you take your tires to get filled with foam? Is that a typical tractor service or a specialty?

Do you think the local John Deere shop would do the work?

Thanks,

Kent B.

art · Jul 15, 2013

EddieWalker said:
Remember that the tractor is sitting "ON" the tires, and the added weight of the tires does not put any additional strain on anything.

Eddie

It does on the clutch getting started with direction changes.

EddieWalker · Jul 15, 2013

Really? So should you not have anything behind your tractor like an implement because of the added strain it causes by rolling forward?

I just noticed a good sized hole in one of my foam filled front tires yesterday before going out to mow. It looks like a pencil will fit into it, but since they are foam filled, they can't go flat on me, and I was able to spend a few enjoyable hours out mowing without having to fix anything.

Eddie