HELP! Tire puncture

[b737drvr]

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]

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.

 

[kiotiken]

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]

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]

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

 

[k0ua]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[kiotiken]

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....

The plug tool is to small or the reamer is to small? It would have to be a pretty small hole for the reamer not to go in. As for re-seating the tire, block the other 3 tires, put the parking break on and lower the FEL. Jack up the tractor so the flat is in the air. Put a ratchet strap around the tire and start ratcheting. As soon as any air starts to fill the tire, get the strap off or you never will. I did the front of my CK30 that way, it was a PITA, but it worked. Not sure about the tire of a DK, that might be a lot harder.

 

[k0ua]

The plug tool is to small or the reamer is to small? It would have to be a pretty small hole for the reamer not to go in. As for re-seating the tire, block the other 3 tires, put the parking break on and lower the FEL. Jack up the tractor so the flat is in the air. Put a ratchet strap around the tire and start ratcheting. As soon as any air starts to fill the tire, get the strap off or you never will. I did the front of my CK30 that way, it was a PITA, but it worked. Not sure about the tire of a DK, that might be a lot harder.

Ken on the bigger ones you may have to use a Come-along in the same manner as the ratchet strap to get enough "oomph" to get the great big tire to "squish in" Also you need to take the valve stem out and use a blowgun on your air supply to get enough volume/rate of air going in to start the inflation process.. Screw the stem in after the bead seats.

 

[Jose G]

when a tire is unseated, I just pour brake cleaner between the tire and the rim and I use a MAPP torch to light it, be prepare to inflate the tire because the consumption of the oxygen will start to vaccum/collapse the tire.
work for tractors, cars, etc...

just stay away from the tire when you light the brake cleaner... I'm sure you can understand why

for the plug repair kit... just push and pull on the reamer tool several time, you'll end up into the tire and ready to put the glue/plug.

 

[k0ua]

There's some crazy youtube vids of people filling tires like that. I've also heard of people being killed that way.

Yeah I have seen that method too, I just didn't have guts enough to mention that on a forum

 

[grm61]

I would say in your situation you'd be better off calling the tire guy this time... watch him, maybe learn something.

 

[Coyote machine]

I would say in your situation you'd be better off calling the tire guy this time... watch him, maybe learn something.

2nd this approach. Do NOT do the fire trick- that's just plain STUPID!

 

[mj007]

Yeah I have seen that method too, I just didn't have guts enough to mention that on a forum

Me too! We used diesel starting fluid on 'big-truck' tires - kitchen matches work good for lighting from a 'safe' distance - still 'gets your attention'!

 

[GMtb42]

On the old Kubota L2800 when I put water and antifreeze in them, I had to use a large ratcheting tie down strap (3") in the center of tire and worked just fine, it seems that new tires take a while to grip the bead and stay attached.
I also rotated the rear tires or changed width by switching them, just rolled them upright and did like other person said jacked the tractor up to match lug nut holes and pushed them on, wasn't hard at all. Just be smart and move slowly and carefully.

 

[b737drvr]

Well here's the update on the DK40 tire. Went over to the neighbor who hooked me up w/ some of his friends who had been in the tire business for a long time. The guys said they'd charge me $100 to come take care of it. What a goatrope it was! The got here around 9:00 this morning, and tried the come along w/ chain process, and they had this air blast thing they called the Cheetah. None of that stuff would get the tire to re-seat. They didn't try the fire trick (thankfully!) After working on this thing for about 3 hours, they finally removed the tire and took it into town to a pro tire shop who charged them $25 to re-seat the bead. They should have done that to begin with. They finally left around 1:00, but stuck to their word and only charged me $100. I figured they would charge me a lot more since they were there for such a long time, and had to end up removing the tire anyway. I am a pretty small guy, and if this issue happens again, I'll have to call the neighbor to help me get the tire on and off. They were big guys that came over, and the tire was a handful for them. Thanks again guys for all of your hints, tricks, and moral support. Hopefully I won't have any flats for a while now. (By the way, they did just use one of those sticky wick plugs - that was the easy part.) It was the Darwin tractor driver who noticed his tire getting low, and continued to drive it that cause the bead to unseat and ensuing problems!:confused3: