How do i get a 3.50-4.00 x 9 caster tire on the wheel?

[sixdogs]

I needed a front caster tire on my F510 mower so I ordered one. No big deal.
Getting the old one off was difficult, but not impossible but getting the new one on beats me. It's the exact same size so no problem there but it's so awkward to handle and so slippery to mount that I need some sort of machine to mount the tire or I need to know the secret. Anyone ever mount a small and stiff caster tire to the wheel? How on earth do you so it?

 

[Tommyadvanced]

Re: How the &%&#! do i get a 3.50-4.00 x 9 caster tire on the wheel?

I had to remove a tire on my MC519 cart. I put the bolt throught the center of the wheel then mounted the bolt in a vise.

 

[KennedyDiesel]

Re: How the &%&#! do i get a 3.50-4.00 x 9 caster tire on the wheel?

I find it much simpler to let the tire shop do these.

 

[sixdogs]

Re: How the &%&#! do i get a 3.50-4.00 x 9 caster tire on the wheel?

I had to remove a tire on my MC519 cart. I put the bolt throught the center of the wheel then mounted the bolt in a vise.

My hat is off to you for however you did it. I spent two sweaty hours at 94 degrees and am totally whipped. Used every tool I could think of and it was not going on. It hurt but I just got back from Deere and had it mounted. They used a small tire machine and it took two of them plus me to get it on. I need a nap.

 

[aczlan]

Re: How the &%&#! do i get a 3.50-4.00 x 9 caster tire on the wheel?

I had to remove a tire on my MC519 cart. I put the bolt throught the center of the wheel then mounted the bolt in a vise.

Only way to do it, been there, done that and LOVE solid front tires on Zero Turns

Aaron Z

 

[jenkinsph]

For the difference in money I would change the whole assembly.

 

[Dapolksjj]

Little tires are a pain because there is so little "give" in them for lack of a better word. There isn't much room to stretch the bead. You also have to observe which is the better side to start the mounting.

Is this tire solid rubber? Or is it tubed/tubeless? If it was solid rubber it could be boiled in water to soften it to stretch it on. We used to do this trick at a lawn mower shop years ago. Worked every time.

 

[sixdogs]

Tire is tubeless. What a great idea to let it heat up in the sun or put it in hot water. I'll bet that would have done it.

 

[zzvyb6]

The 'secrets' are to use the axle bolt in the vice (as mentioned already, use dish soap to lube the bead area, two large dull flathead screw drivers for the bead lifting levers, and two vice grips to keep the bead in place at the wheel locations you just pulled it over. Those are drop center wheels, so you need to keep the opposite side bead area in the drop center well.

My 'favorite' part of this is when there is a tube in there and you accidently puncture the tube with the edge of the screw driver blade. Also, if adding a tube or replacing the tube, get on of those screw on valve stem holders so the stem can't disappear into the wheel when you are done.

I still recommend an all new wheel and tire. Those wheels are so thin that the mounting process can lead to bends, kinks, cracks and air leaks. Tires are punched on in a volume production plant. So what if most of them are white.

 

[Cyclone Jake]

I needed new front caster tires for my F525. I ended up buying a solid tire and wheel assembly for about $25 each. The cost of a tire and mounting really wasn't that much less.

Its not JD yellow, but I won't have to worry about it ever going flat.