Leaky Tire

[Maine_Polack]

I had noticed that both rear tires had wood/bark in between the edge of the rim and the tire itself. Picture doesn't show this very good.

Never gave it much thought until I went on a "rescue" mission. The path I took was a X-country ski/wheeler trail, and the tractor was hard pressed to fit. Had to squueeeze between, and rub against, trees, logs. etc.

When I was all done I noticed that my rt. rear was leaking. It was seeping out in 3 -4 places, all within a foot or so. I put it in the shed and jacked it up. Put the leaks to the top and let some pressure out. This stopped it fine. Now I have to remedy the situation.

As I see it there are two choices: Take tire off and have tire shop reset the bead. Or...let some more pressure out and try to dig some of the crap out and hope that it seats itself again.
The second choice is much more appealing, since obviously the tire is loaded, and weighs about 1000 lbs. Mobil tire service is non-exsitant.

Has someone else experienced this??
Any suggestions for a fix??
Can I let too much air pressure and cause myself further problems?

Thanks,
Al

As an aside, it was interesting that the half gal. of rimguard I drained into a container while reducing air pressure, and the stuff all over the tire, evaporated quite quickly, even in the cold temps. After a day, one could hardly tell it was ever on the tire or rim.

 

[Highbeam]

1000 lbs eh? Do you have another piece of equipment that is capable of lifting that weight into the transport device? Maybe an overhead crane in the shop? I wouldn't even unbolt that tire unless you have the right equipment to handle it. I also would be a bit leary about letting out too much pressure for fear you would lose your bead and then not be able to reseat it at all.

I suppose worst case is you dump the rimguard and load the empty tire into your pickup for transport.

Don't get squished.

 

[Maine_Polack]

Yeah, I can handle the tire ok. I just don't want to take it off if I can fix leak another way. I think that I will try to dig the crap out, and see what happens.

Maybe next summer I will tend to both tires, and try to get the wood/bark out.

 

[kenmac]

If this is something that may happen again in the future , you may want to look into installing tubes in the tires.Ihave this happen to me from time to time ,but I have tubes in my tires so, that sort of thing don't affect my tires.My tubes are loaded with water & antifreeze.

 

[Bully]

If you do loose the bead around the rim, you can hook up a come-along around the circumfrence of the tire. This will in turn force the bead if the tire back on to the sealing portion of the rim. you can give it a shot of air 2-3 psi. just to hold the tire on, then remove the come-along.

 

[Maine_Polack]

Thanks for the tips. They are filed in a deep in one of the many empty holes in my brain.

I guess I was lucky...so far. I managed to use a screwdriver - sometimes two - to roll the rubber away from the rim. I rounded the drivers edges, and used a hammer to get them in enough to move the rubber.

Then I used a very high tech tool. It is called an "icepick". Darn thing must be at least 75 years old. I already had it bent some, and I flattened the point. I worked to pull the wood out, like a dentist does with a tooth. It took probably two hours of picking.

While it was still up in the air I put 30psi into it and left it for an hour. It is now on the ground with a lot less air in it. No leaks. I will look again tomorrow.

If I can swing them I want to get chains. This should also help with this problem, as the chain would keep the rim away from the logs etc.