Slow tire leak - BX25D suggestions

[dragoneggs]

Got a very slow front tire leak after 70 hours. I don't see anything wrong on inspection. Suggestions? Filled twice with air during 1.5 months use. What are my options?

 

[radioman]

Unfortunately it seems to be a common issue with the BX's front tires. However I would have thought it would have been fixed by now. You have several options, all have their own pros and cons. If I were you, I'd use the FEL to get tire off the ground, take tire off, fill it with 10 lbs more then normal. dunk it in a tub, swimming pool, stream, what have you and look for leaks. If it just a hole in tread area, I'd plug it and move on. If it from the bead area, you might as well sit down and think hard about your options. Reason I say that is because majority of us have issues with same thing. Your options is to :1, install a tube 2. slime it 3. foam both front tires 4. buy new tire. Before you go ahead with any of these options, I'd check to see if you have ktac insurance and give them a call and see what they have to say based on what you found.

 

[oldballs]

Pretty much what radioman said. After dunking in water and finding no leak, I finally figured out that it must be the bead. I already had some bead sealer; so I took the wheel off, broke the bead and sealed up both sides. No problems after that.

 

[LD1]

You first need to know where its leaking.

Instead of dunking in water, I like windex. Sprat it around the bead. If in 5 minutes you have a bunch of foam, its the rib leaking.

Your options are pretty much as radioman said. Tube, Slime, or foam. But you MUST know where its leaking first. I have had good luck with slime sealing beads, but not so much for punctures. And if it is indeed punctured, once you slime it, a plug/patch dont hold well.

My front ags on my L3400 leaked slowly around the bead. I slimmed them. And it worked for a few years before needing it again. And again, wit worked for a few years. This last time, I broke down and installed tubes:thumbsup:

 

[DieselMonk]

Since it is a small tractor and depending where your leak is, put some tire Slime into it, re inflate it and drive around. Google "Slime tire sealant"

 

[dragoneggs]

Unfortunately it seems to be a common issue with the BX's front tires. However I would have thought it would have been fixed by now. You have several options, all have their own pros and cons. If I were you, I'd use the FEL to get tire off the ground, take tire off, fill it with 10 lbs more then normal. dunk it in a tub, swimming pool, stream, what have you and look for leaks. If it just a hole in tread area, I'd plug it and move on. If it from the bead area, you might as well sit down and think hard about your options. Reason I say that is because majority of us have issues with same thing. Your options is to :1, install a tube 2. slime it 3. foam both front tires 4. buy new tire. Before you go ahead with any of these options, I'd check to see if you have ktac insurance and give them a call and see what they have to say based on what you found.

Thanks Radioman... for breaking it down as you did. I will do a leak check but the leak is so slow I wonder if I will catch it in water or windex.

 

[dragoneggs]

Since it is a small tractor and depending where your leak is, put some tire Slime into it, re inflate it and drive around. Google "Slime tire sealant"

Slime is what I was thinking but have never used it before. What are the cons?

 

[dragoneggs]

You first need to know where its leaking.

Instead of dunking in water, I like windex. Sprat it around the bead. If in 5 minutes you have a bunch of foam, its the rib leaking.

Your options are pretty much as radioman said. Tube, Slime, or foam. But you MUST know where its leaking first. I have had good luck with slime sealing beads, but not so much for punctures. And if it is indeed punctured, once you slime it, a plug/patch dont hold well.

My front ags on my L3400 leaked slowly around the bead. I slimmed them. And it worked for a few years before needing it again. And again, wit worked for a few years. This last time, I broke down and installed tubes:thumbsup:

LD, Oops... I should have read your post closer. Good advise on the slime. My guess is it is a bead issue. I have been doing alot of hard turning in 4WD on loose soil. It seems to loose more air faster as time goes.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

If punctured you cannot always see it but the leak test mentioned work even for small leaks. I take mine out to Les Schwab, minor they fix no charge. I just had a tube installed in one front tire as it could not be fixed otherwise. $28 I think. Same day service, most while you wait if you want. Those front tires take a lot of abuse due to their size. My LS dealer says they have them in there all the time and tubes let you get a lot more life out of one that is more than a puncture. They stock tubes for most everything. I am not a fan of putting goop in a tire except in an emergency. They are a b**++ to clean up if you replace the tire.

Ron

 

[radioman]

I have used soapy stuff like ld1 suggested to look for leaks, but on the BX front tire, I really dont think it will show up as I did the same thing on my BX front tire. It leaks so slowly- you couldnt find the leak even in pool, but its enough to drive you batty. I tried the bead spray sealer, it works for a short time but then came back. I ended up using slime. There is a caveat with slime - the shelf life of that stuff is 5 years if my memory is right. I was told its a messy job to clean it out to reuse the tire when slime fails and I knew this but I am willing to put up with it. I hope. time will tell. If worse comes to worse and slime fails 3 years or so from now (going 2 years) then I will tube it if tire is still in good shape. Should I have tubed it? yeah. I even had to replace the valve stems on all 4 of my rims on BX as they literally fell apart. The cost of tubes for front compared to new stems and slime came and downtime twice came close .