Front tire flats

[rdsaustintx]

As Bird suggested, foam is the final, one time, guaranteed fix.

I was told, and assume that it may be true, that there are different densities of foam. My dealer referred me to a tire shop that put foam in with a little flex, rather than a very sold foam that might be more like concrete. I do have some bounce to my tires if I kick them or stand on them.

Yeah it's true. The different densities correspond to the normal inflation pressure of the particular tire being filled. I researched but haven't done it yet - can patch a LOT of flats @ $100 wheel.

(and I wonder if Bird ever gets tired of always being right?)

RDnT

 

[rgsmitty]

Purchase 6 ply tire, put inner tube in it. Haven't had leak in since.

 

[RichNJKubota]

That slime stuff does work BUT eventually you get a leak that the slime does not work on. Then you must fix it the right way. On several occasions I've had to clean out the slime when repairing a tire. For that reason I won't use slime again. Too much work cleaning everything up. I'd rather just fix it right to begin with.

 

[rdsaustintx]

Purchase 6 ply tire, put inner tube in it. Haven't had leak in since.

Drive it around after demolishing a building or doing roofing work. Nails go through my 10ply truck tires

Bet ya $100 in diesel you can't find a 6ply front tire for a BX23

RDnT

 

[alchemysa]

I've never used the slime but the fastest and easiest puncture repairer for tubeless tyres is the sticky rubber 'cords' that you push into the hole with a thing that looks like a big sewing needle. I've used them on the tractor, the ride-on mower, and the 4WD. They havent failed me yet. You just push them in, remove the 'needle' and reinflate the tyre. Takes less than 5 minutes. They work best in nail punctures but I did use them once to plug a half inch gash. It took 3 to seal the tyre on that ocassion but it still worked. They work best if the tyre is dry inside but they would probably work fine in conjunction with slime. They are cheap too. A kit with the tool and 5 cords is about $10 Australian ($7 US) and refill packs of cords are about $4 for 5 or 6. I get them from Auto parts supermarkets. They are brilliant. Regards David

 

[Bird]

David, my dad owned a service station and I was doing flat repairs when the first tubeless tires came on the market on new cars. We actually had people bring brand new cars to us to put tubes in all the tires because they didn't trust those newfangled tubeless tires. It wasn't long before the first "plugs" were invented for repairing punctures. The first ones looked like little black mushrooms with a hollow stem. You inserted the tool in the stem, applied some adhesive/lubricant, pushed the head of the mushroom through the puncture and it expanded inside as you pulled the tool out. Instant puncture repair. Of course if you ever got the car up to very much speed, it would sling that plug out and you had a blowout. Over the years, many different designs were marketed, and I, personally, would not allow any repair on one of my tires except to remove the tire from the rim and patch the inside, until the design you mentioned had been on the market long enough to be tried and proven. My brother owned a tire dealership, used those "cords" all the time and never had one fail, so I finally started using them after 1991. The slime can prevent some leaks while those cords are the best thing I know of to repair punctures.

 

[alchemysa]

Bird. I worked in a garage as a kid and I remember those mushroom plugs. The ones we used were ejected from the insertion tool using compressed air. I don't know if they are still available or legal. But the cord things are fantastic. I'm 52 now and only found out about them myself a couple of years ago. They must be the best kept secret in auto repair. I've never used them in a high speed road tyre but I think they'd do the job even in one of those. David

 

[Bird]

I've never used them in a high speed road tyre but I think they'd do the job even in one of those.

David, many tire men I know now use them exclusively in all car and pickup tires unless the customer just specifically requests something else. My personal use has been on the front tires of a riding mower and a Kubota tractor, and the rear tire on the 3/4 ton pickup I used to have.

 

[NoviceguyInCT]

I have been plagued by "slow" leaking front tires on my BX24. It is difficult to detect because of the low profile and without any front end load shows a very small amount of deformation. With only 65 hrs and light duty yard work, I did not expect a flat on "both" front tires. The back ones are fine and have never added air. After removing the front tires and filling them with the specified 22 psi I laid them flat and poured a soapy-water solution around the bead, surface of the tread, and valve stem. Both tires experienced an amount of 1-2 bubbles every 10 seconds from the base of the valve stem. I did not see any bubbles anywhere else on the tire. It appears that these are bad valve stems, paint build-up, or something wedged between the hole in the rim and the valve stem. I squeezed a bit of liquid sealant around the stem-rim interface and stopped the leak on one tire, but the other one has re-appeared after about 2 weeks.

When time permits I should put in new valve stems, but that requires the removal of the tire from the rim. I'll push my dealer to repair them for free or under warranty with the seat recall and service next week.

Let me know if the dealer fixes those front tires? I have the same problem on my BX24.

 

[DieselPower]

Bet ya $100 in diesel you can't find a 6ply front tire for a BX23

RDnT

There 18 x 8.50 - 8's correct? If so here's some in 6 ply rating. Duro Gulf cart tires or try these more aggresive ones.

 

[rgsmitty]

Drive it around after demolishing a building or doing roofing work. Nails go through my 10ply truck tires

Bet ya $100 in diesel you can't find a 6ply front tire for a BX23

RDnT

So what do you do to prevent the problem?

 

[JEW]

Let me know if the dealer fixes those front tires? I have the same problem on my BX24.

The dealer agreed to look at them when my new fender arrives in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I squeezed a bit of liquid Permaseal (the blue stuff) around the valve stem at the interface of the rim. With the air released, the valve stem freely rotates, so it spreads pretty easy. It seems to hold for the week, but I notice it drops about 2-3 psi per week. I am not counting on it holding through the winter. That's the worst thing, changing a tire in the dead of winter without a heated shop (working on that too).

 

[rdsaustintx]

So what do you do to prevent the problem?

Walked around for months with a BIG magnet...

 

[fishpick]

Regarding the foam - wouldn't that (like sugar or CaCl) be something to be cautious in if you have high loads on your tires - like BH work or the such? I ask because when I was in the "getting" stage, I assumed I would add something to the tires for weight. After I was in the "got" stage, the manual tells you to not have anything but air in the rears when using the BH.
Does the same hold true for the front and heavy FEL loads?
I admititly know little about tire loading - other than the old Ford 4000 and 8N's that were in my past life - they had CaCL in the rears...

 

[JEW]

Let me know if the dealer fixes those front tires? I have the same problem on my BX24.

My dealer would not put tubes in under warranty, only replacement of original parts. He did replace the valve stems and checked all the surfaces of the rim and tire bead. We'll see how she holds over the next few weeks.

 

[JBX]

HI JEW,
My experience is that a good "tire sealant" stops all the air leak problems, especially in the front tires. The tire valves may be leaking and if you replaced them the next leak will be from a poor "bead seal" or a nail or thorn or whatever. My tires stopped leaking after I installed a sealant.
Good luck.

 

[JBX]

Hi radman1,
What my Kubota parts guy told me was that the difference with most sealants is how big a "hole" they say they can plug up. Some are "milspec" and can seal holes up to 1" or more! (As in bullet holes).
FYI.
Happy Tractoring!

 

[JBX]

Hi fishpick,
Having the "foam" treatment done for my small hand truck size tires increased their weight 10 times! These are 4:10 X 3:50 X 4 tires that now weigh about 15 lbs each! If this is the same process for bigger tractor tires, how much would those suckers weigh? If one fell over on you, that would hurt!
Happy tractoring!

 

[Muleskinner]

I slimed the front tires on all of my tractors. Since then I have had zero leaks.

 

[fishpick]

Hi fishpick,
Having the "foam" treatment done for my small hand truck size tires increased their weight 10 times! These are 4:10 X 3:50 X 4 tires that now weigh about 15 lbs each! If this is the same process for bigger tractor tires, how much would those suckers weigh? If one fell over on you, that would hurt!
Happy tractoring!

I know it adds weight... what I was getting at is the manuals for tractors with a BH mounted all seem to be pretty forward in telling you not to load your rear tires - they need the air space to compress under the very high loads placed on them... What I was getting at is - I would think the same goes for foam in the tires... not enough give and risk with a BH mounted. (this is all rear tire talk - even though the thread is about a leaky front tire - sorry)