Fixing Slow Leak in Tractor Tire

[ChazzC]

TPS tires?

Yes, thanks.

 

[YotaBota]

I'm in camp tube, no bead leak or old repairs to worry about. I tubed a lawn tractor tire last year that had bubbles coming from between the treads.

 

[Susquatch]

Did you check the valve? I had a slow leak and fixed it by replacing the Shrader valve insert.

Yes, no leak.

 

[Janger]

Hand Soap pumps, the kind that make a froth of bubbles, have helped me find leaks. Good on air tool fittings. easier to spot a small soap bubble inflating.

 

[DPittman]

I broke the bead on my sub-compact tractor tire by just cranking down the tongue jack of my enclosed trailer onto it.

The way all tire beads used to be broke on our farm was with a jack-all/farm jack under the hitch of a large tractor and then if needed (usually) a sledge hammer was used with great force (and precision) along the sidewall of the tire to help break the bead. Then came out the tire irons to remove the tire from the rim if need be. It was a horrible job in my opinion.

 

[DPittman]

Hand Soap pumps, the kind that make a froth of bubbles, have helped me find leaks. Good on air tool fittings. easier to spot a small soap bubble inflating.

A squirt bottle filled with watered down kids bubble making solution can't be beat.

 

[Bandit]

Check the rim itself, had few over the years that the rim had a poor weld and cracked or eat through, sometimes when the rim is in 2 half’s, it leaks between, and will come out though spindle hole.
Maybe something to do with the “air” around Victoria, though that may plug small holes.

 

[FatherWes]

You said there’s an old plug in the tire. Check there carefully. Not uncommon for those ‘worms’ to spring a leak.
Tubes work, but you lose the ability to just insert another plug if you get another puncture. You can still pull the tube & patch but that’s a bit more work.
I have a bunch of Hawthorne trees on my property. Those thorns puncture tires like they were made for that purpose. I’ve fixed way too many leaky tires.
I’ve got a sheet of 3/8” thick rubber between the tire & the tube. The thorns still get through.
I’ll be trying the slime next time.

 

[jcdammeyer]

You said there’s an old plug in the tire. Check there carefully. Not uncommon for those ‘worms’ to spring a leak.
Tubes work, but you lose the ability to just insert another plug if you get another puncture. You can still pull the tube & patch but that’s a bit more work.
I have a bunch of Hawthorne trees on my property. Those thorns puncture tires like they were made for that purpose. I’ve fixed way too many leaky tires.
I’ve got a sheet of 3/8” thick rubber between the tire & the tube. The thorns still get through.
I’ll be trying the slime next time.

Yeah we have Hawthornes too. And blackberries.

 

[jcdammeyer]

Check the rim itself, had few over the years that the rim had a poor weld and cracked or eat through, sometimes when the rim is in 2 half’s, it leaks between, and will come out though spindle hole.
Maybe something to do with the “air” around Victoria, though that may plug small holes.

Good point. I've used the bubbles too. So far no luck. I'm thinking the flex and load on the tire causes it to leak. I think I'll first try and fix the steering. Depending on the pitch of the ground I could be turning the steering wheel 180 degrees. It's very worn out.

Heh heh... I have the technology...

 

[CWret]

That green slime makes such a mess, i dont think it works for a damn, and expect to pay more when the tire guy pops that tire off full of it

Tire Slime:
Yep - it makes a mess.
Yep - tire repair shops hate it and may charge you extra due to the mess.
I’m not sure if it will damage a tire pressure monitor. Many cars now use the ABS system to indirectly monitor tire pressure. The ABS monitors changes in rotational speed due to a reduced tire diameter which is directly proportional to a change in tire pressure (therefore no tire pressure monitors).
But - Tire Slime DOES WORK to plug a slow leak!

As I said above - I used it in off road tires. Not automotive tires.
There is not much about a dirt bike that isn’t messy. So a bit of Tire Slime just adds to the fun.

- - - - - -

FYI - motorcycles wheels with spokes need a tube or the air leaks out at the spokes. BUT - the system I used had a small tube with 100psi air pressure that squeezed the tire bead against the rim and sealed it from leaks at the spokes. The system is called Nuetech Tubliss. So why would you want to spend $150 a wheel to do that instead of $15 for a regular tube?? Off road dirt biking on rocky trails can get a pinch flat unless they have at least 10psi tire pressure. A pinch flat happens when a rock squeezes the tube against the rim and cuts it. Pinch flats do not happen with the Tubliss system. To help reduce pinch flats, many off roaders use HD tubes. But HD tubes are heavy and substantially add to undesirable unsprung weight. Also, with the Tubliss system you can run 5psi and gain traction when it slippery conditions. I ran with the Tubliss system and Slime.

Nuetech Tubliss Gen 2

TRACTION IS THE KEY TO PERFORMANCE! Rip holeshots, double from the inside line, dominate slippery single track, smoke the competition & have more fun! TuBliss replaces conventional inner tubes with a small red 100 psi insert that creates two different pressure zones inside the tire itself. This...

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