Rusted Wheel

[BB_TX]

The hole around the valve stem on the front wheel of my JD 950 is rusted out quite a bit. I have heard that the fix is to weld some metal backing to the inside of the wheel. Anyone ever done this? Do you just form a piece of sheet metal to the inside and weld around the edges and drill out a new hole?
I would like to replace it . But I have tried to find a used parts source for a replacement with no success.

 

[RoyJackson]

The 950 isn't that old a vehicle. Have you priced the wheel at the dealer?

I'd be mighty leary of welding a wheel for repair. Although balance probably isn't an issue (because of the low speeds involved in tractor use), the possibilty of a catasrophic failure (of the wheel) is, especially if you run your tractor on side slopes.

 

[MJB]

Are the wheels loaded with calcium chloride? A rusted out valve stem hole on a tractor wheel, especially a relatively new wheel, is usually the first sign that the inner tube has sprung a leak and the calcium has begun to "digest" the wheel. If this is the case, you should really replace the wheel for safety sake since the rest of the rim will also be badly corroded on the inside. It is amazing how fast calcium will rust through a wheel rim. Good luck.

 

[TonyC]

If the rust is truly limited to a small area around the stem and the surrounding metal is still strong, welding should work fine. I assume you're talking about a small area. The welding rod itself will provide the metal to fill in with. If the area is so large that it requires sheet metal then maybe a new wheel is in order. In my opinion, unless you really get into extremely precarious situations, a future failure of the stem shouldn't be dangerous or traumatic. Basically, you'll just get a flat!

 

[BB_TX]

The tires are not filled. I had a flat repaired recently and when the tire was off, you could see a lot of rust around the immediate area of the stem hole. Not wide spread enough to be a structural problem but the hole was a little oversize because of it. The guy put a rubber boot(??) around the stem before he put it back on. Seem to be common practice in talking with him.
I have not priced a new wheel. I had a couple holes in my muffler and checked the price of a new one. They wanted in the range of $175 for it. I welded the holes. I just assumed the price of a new wheel would also be outrageous.

 

[poorboy]

BB TX, Last year I replaced the front rim and tire on my little 2000 ford. Rim price was around $45 from the dealer. This was due to cal. caused rust around the stem area like these guys mentioned. What we did to the old rim was patch the old stem hole up and drill out another hole on the other side for a new stem. I don't know about failures but having a spare for the front ready to go is pretty nice insurance. I hope the tire dry rots off before I need it though./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Patrick

 

[cedarranch]

If the rest of the rim is solid then you can 'form' a steel washer around the stem area of the rim and weld it. Works great. Done this to many of boat trailer rims.

 

[JCooper]

I'm with some of the other guys on this one. I'd repair it. You'd have to find a piece of metal that is strong and probably put a curve to it. I've never fixed one but witnessed my uncle fix one some years back.

 

[BB_TX]

I checked with Deere. They want $127 for a wheel. I think I will attempt a repair the next time I have it off.

 

[jinman]

BB-TX, I had a rim split and blow out on me several years ago. I bought an old Ford Jubilee and the tires were filled with CaCl and the valve stem holes were rusted really badly. I didn't have a problem with the whole "mess" until I took my tractor to my father's place in Denton, TX to mow his pasture. He had several mesquite trees and I managed to get a thorn in every tire at one time or another. The CaCl leaked out inside the wheel and the rust must have accelerated the deterioration because one day as I was mowing, I suddenly became very wet and the left side of my tractor dropped a few inches. I immediately knew what had happened and stopped cutting, walked about 200 yards to the house, and took a shower to get that noxious CaCl off me. Afterwards, I checked the rim and it had a 8" split in it with the tube sticking out. I bought a new outer tire ring/rim and tube and had the tire removed and put on the new rim. The hardest part was I had to grind the heads off the old bolts that hold the center of the wheel to the outer rim. The outer rim was $98 and the tube was $25. The tire dealer charged me $10 for changing the tire, but I would have paid more. That is a tough job that they did using only hand tools. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif From your description, you don't have a bad rust problem and your wheel can probably be fixed if you don't wait too long.

BTW- My mother was born in Fannin County near Leonard, so I am pretty familiar with that area. It's a lot wetter and greener there than here in Wise, Co. where I live.