Leaking tire and tire pressure

[RTII]

So I've got the apparently not uncommon slow leak on a front tire on my BX. Been there quite a few months and I've just topped it up with air every couple of days. It's a leak at the bead / rim contact. Finally got around to my dealer yesterday and the dealer's service department manager is putting in a warranty claim but he's not optomistic they will honor it. Second solution would be to install a tube.

That's the background but the question of tire pressure came up while there and the service manager said I should be putting 35 psi in the fronts when using the FEL. To me the theory sounds fine but the tire sidewall clearly states 22psi max. In addition, when the tractor was bought last year, it was prepped/serviced by this same department and then delivered with 22psi in the fronts. Any one have opinions, thoughts, or experiences on going over the stated sidewall pressure. (more than 50% more?)

 

[TripleR]

Page 34 of my manual shows max 22 psi for bar and industrial. I have run less when mowing for a smoother ride, but now just leave it at 22 psi. No way am I going to exceed this as I have seen tires fail due to over inflation.

 

[texasjohn]

I'll assume that the tire has been dismounted, the bead had some goop/grease applied to it to assist in seating, and the tire remounted and that the rim leak persists. Me, I'd make sure this is done...if it can be made to seal, that would be good.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

My dealer, Barlows, fixed mine under warranty as some others have said their dealer did. Good and bad dealers, common BX one front tire problem and has been for years.
Got to Love dealers/service people that are so positive and encouraging that your problem will be fixed. Need to tell owner of your experience and how other dealers are fixing either under warranty or out of their own pocket.
I asked for mine to be tubed and that's what Barlows did at no cost to me.

 

[Gods Country]

I think it's just something goofy with the small tire size vs the weight they support. I don't have a bx but my tractor has the same size tires as the bx.

Last year the FL tire would slowly leak. Since about midway through the winter the FL tire has been fine and the FR now has a slow leak.

Seems like when I'm in 4wd (which is most of the time) doing lots of loader work and hard turns the side walls really get a workout. I can only assume something works its way into the bead. Maybe just dust and grime. The tires are so low they're always burried in something.

I removed the the FL tire last summer and submerged it and darned if i could find any leaks. It's just too slow.

I just deal with it. I may slime them some day.

 

[TripleR]

My dealer, Davis Farm Supply, gave me two new tire/wheel combos until we got one that didn't leak. I was not willing to accept a tube tire.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

I went through this with my brand-new BX24. I finally got the dealer to dismount the tire and inspect it. There was some cord exposed at the bead. Clearly the tire was defective - or sometime before it was delivered to me it had rolled off the rim and been driven on. I rather doubt the latter since there was no sign of scuffing, just the exposed cord.

At that point the dealer discovered they had no way to fully dismount the tire and required _me_ to take it to a local tire shop to have some kind of sealing muck put on the rim. The tire shop refused.

I went back to the dealer and raised *heck* as I should have done in the first place. They swapped the tire and rim combo.

Needless to say, that's the last time I let them touch my machine. I trailer it 100 miles for service I can trust instead of 20 miles to those clowns.

Z.

 

[RTII]

Page 34 of my manual shows max 22 psi for bar and industrial. I have run less when mowing for a smoother ride, but now just leave it at 22 psi. No way am I going to exceed this as I have seen tires fail due to over inflation.

This is the way I'll go as well.

I'll assume that the tire has been dismounted, the bead had some goop/grease applied to it to assist in seating, and the tire remounted and that the rim leak persists. Me, I'd make sure this is done...if it can be made to seal, that would be good.

All done, at the dealership. Checked it again this A.M. Pressures' down again and I didn't consider this a permanent fix anyway. Would have been good as temp fix until Kubota responds about the warranty claim anyway.

My dealer, Barlows, fixed mine under warranty as some others have said their dealer did. Good and bad dealers, common BX one front tire problem and has been for years.
Got to Love dealers/service people that are so positive and encouraging that your problem will be fixed. Need to tell owner of your experience and how other dealers are fixing either under warranty or out of their own pocket.
I asked for mine to be tubed and that's what Barlows did at no cost to me.

I did mention that the issue had been not uncommon on the forrum but the response from the service manager was that he had never seen it before. I'll give him the benifit of the doubt and believe that's not just a stock answer as he is dealing with it otherwise in a positive manner.

..........
I just deal with it. I may slime them some day.

I've been dealing with it as well but it's starting to irritate me hense the visit to the dealership. I know others have used slime with success but if I remember correctly, slime isn't for bead/rim leaks. Messy stuff anyway.

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm sure it'll be resolved although I'm off to work for 4 weeks on wednesday so it might have to wait until I return. I'm good with a tube as a second choice to rim replacement. Could be the tire itself though as nothing could be seen wrong with the rim. Still, the 35 psi suggestion sounds a little more than I would want to overinflate. I'll stick to 22 or maybe up to 25 unless i see something in writing suggesting it's safe.

 

[SPYDERLK]

but the question of tire pressure came up while there and the service manager said I should be putting 35 psi in the fronts when using the FEL. To me the theory sounds fine but the tire sidewall clearly states 22psi max. In addition, when the tractor was bought last year, it was prepped/serviced by this same department and then delivered with 22psi in the fronts. Any one have opinions, thoughts, or experiences on going over the stated sidewall pressure. (more than 50% more?)

If your tires are supporting the weight well its really a no brainer that you would follow the max pressure guideline. However, if they are deflecting a lot it will damage the tire sidewalls and would actually be safer to overpressure a bit. 35 is a real stretch tho. 30 max is what Id aim for if deflection was excessive at 22. As an indicator of margin, nearly all low pressure tires allow 35PSI for bead seating, and if the tire can stand that pressure with a distorted bead it only gets [much] better from there.
larry

 

[TripleR]

If your tires are supporting the weight well its really a no brainer that you would follow the max pressure guideline. However, if they are deflecting a lot it will damage the tire sidewalls and would actually be safer to overpressure a bit. 35 is a real stretch tho. 30 max is what Id aim for if deflection was excessive at 22. As an indicator of margin, nearly all low pressure tires allow 35PSI for bead seating, and if the tire can stand that pressure with a distorted bead it only gets [much] better from there.
larry

The newer BX's have lower profile front tires and much less sidewall deflection than a "normal" tractor tire if that is relevant.