HELP! Tire puncture

b737drvr · Oct 8, 2013

I was out doing some hogging today and the DK40 started leaning to one side. I looked over and the right rear tire was running low. Took it back to the barn and saw that something had cut or punctured the tire

. (At least it was on the tread, and not the sidewall.) I think it can be repaired, but how? What do I do now? I tried to loosen a couple of the bolts holding the tire on w/ my half inch socket. Those dudes are on there tight...more than 200ft.lbs according to the manual. Should I just try to find a mobile tractor tire repair guy to come and fix it? Should I remove it and try to take it to a tire repair store? How heavy is that tire and will I be able to lift it into the back of my pickup? I will probably have to go get a longer breaker bar and/or and impact wrench to get those wheel bolts loose. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Coyote machine · Oct 8, 2013

NO, do NOT try to do this yourself. Without the right tools and experience, it is a dangerous task. Call a mobile tire repair truck and be safe. I had a leak in a front tire and got it off and to my dealer for a tube. A rear is very heavy and not safe to remove by yourself.

rmorey · Oct 8, 2013

You would be well advised to listen to CM. People have been severely hurt or even killed by the rear tire inadvertently rolling onto them...not nice. Depending on the tire size, there could be 500 lbs easy.

kiotiken · Oct 9, 2013

Depends on if the tire is loaded. If it's loaded, leave it alone. Repairing the tire is a very simple and inexpensive thing to do and can very likely be done without removing the tire. Move the tractor so the hole is pointed to the back of the tractor so you have clear access to it. Go to your local auto shop and buy a tire repair kit. It will come with a tire reamer, tool for inserting plugs, plugs and glue and should be around $10. Follow the directions on the kit. I've repaired a bunch of tires that way and they've all held up well.

b737drvr · Oct 9, 2013

Thanks for the input guys. I think I am going to try the cheap solution first w/ the tire repair kit. If that doesn't work, then any ideas how much I should expect to pay for a mobile tire repair service to come out and dismount the tire?

MotorSeven · Oct 9, 2013

Get a plug kit and plug it. My tires have several plugs in them with several hundred hours on them...no leaks.

k0ua · Oct 9, 2013

Well it IS dangerous, But I have taken large loaded tires off of tractors and loaded them into the pickup truck bed with what you have available to you now. It IS dangerous, but if you don't have much money you trade danger for money. If the tire is not loaded Kens idea of plugging is a good one, if the hole is not too large, and is a puncture not a tear. If it is a tear or too large, it will have to be booted from inside. I understand you don't have an air compressor and an impact? Do you have a breaker bar?

James K0UA

k0ua · Oct 9, 2013

I gather the tire is not loaded as you are going forward with the plug fix. Hopefully that will be the end of your problem .Since it is not loaded, your tire and wheel are probably about 300 to 400 lbs, still dangerous if it fell on you, but if you get to the point you have to take it off and take it in, I will tell you how to do it with what you have. The mobile tire guy will probably be about $175 to $200. Of course depends on where you are.

b737drvr · Oct 9, 2013

Well I attempted the plug route. (the tire is not loaded) And in the process I noticed that the tire was slightly unseated from the rim on the outside of the tire. How do I get the tire to reseat? I do have a nice shop airc ompressor that I was attempting to inflate the tire, but the air was escaping around the rim as quickly as I was putting the air in at 90psi. I have a 60 gal compressor, so I think that should be enough to fill the tire. I banged all around the tire w/ a 1lb hammer, and that only seemed to unseat the tire further. Back to the plug...I tried inserting the plug and couldn't even get the plug tool into the tire. Do I need to pound on the tool w/ a hammer? I don't currently have an impact wrench or decent breaker bar, but those have been on the shopping list, so it wouldn't be then end of the world to have to make a trip to Harbor Creight. Getting frustrated....

GMtb42 · Oct 9, 2013

b737drvr said:
Well I attempted the plug route. (the tire is not loaded) And in the process I noticed that the tire was slightly unseated from the rim on the outside of the tire. How do I get the tire to reseat? I do have a nice shop airc ompressor that I was attempting to inflate the tire, but the air was escaping around the rim as quickly as I was putting the air in at 90psi. I have a 60 gal compressor, so I think that should be enough to fill the tire. I banged all around the tire w/ a 1lb hammer, and that only seemed to unseat the tire further. Back to the plug...I tried inserting the plug and couldn't even get the plug tool into the tire. Do I need to pound on the tool w/ a hammer? I don't currently have an impact wrench or decent breaker bar, but those have been on the shopping list, so it wouldn't be then end of the world to have to make a trip to Harbor Creight. Getting frustrated....

If the hole is to small for the reamer tool I use a drill bit slightly smaller than the tool and drill first then use the reamer to ream the size of the plug.