How *Not 2 Fix a Tire*

   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire* #1  

crash325

Elite Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2011
Messages
3,374
Location
Tucson AZ
Tractor
New Holland TC-45
Had a little project that required me driving through a nail patch in the yard.
Tire by the way is a 10X16.5 8 or 10 ply and weight is about 80 pounds.
Sure enough I got a flat on the left front tire.
No big deal, just plug the sucker & move on. OPPPSSS It's go a tube in it. But valve stem is bent into an oval. Fight with that for a while. Heck with the tube, just shove it into the tire, put in a metal valve stem. Use monster "C" clamp to hold bead away from rim. That goes pretty well. Lets air this guy up and get on with job at hand. Bead does not want to seat. Try all the tricks, nothing works.

Pull it off and take to tire store and get new tube. Store only has an 8X16,5 tube. Fine with me use it. Nope can't do that. A tire guy does get the bead to seat, dunks tire & marks a leak. Tire store will not plug a tire. I've got a plug kit in the truck so not a problem.

Get home (35 miles) and tire is flat, but bead is still sealed. Air it up and find 2 more leaks. Good to go me a happy camper. Next morning Flat again. Try to air it up, very soon the compressor is just grunting. Cord is warm, put on larger cord, let motor cool. No luck just more grunting.

Have a big OLD (1973) 3 horse compressor that I have been tinkering with. Make up a heavy cord that will fit my welder plug. Wire motor direct just to see if it runs or blows fuses. Motor run and it starts making air. Drain valve is stuck wide open. No problem, I have an extra. Well its pretty much shot, but does slow down the leak. Try airing up tire again. No luck. Put in a can of Flat Fix for large tires. Looks like milk coming out around the bead and a new hole shows up. Lets zap it withi some more air, maybe it will seal.

Notice air hose is just barely flowing any air. Fitting must be bad, has been giving me trouble for a long time. Try to take fitting off, brass end on hose breaks off. Just cut hose off, new quick connect, barbed fitting & clamp. Still no air flow, hold thumb over end of hose, pressure builds up, but takes time. Unplug hose from compressor, remove quick connect. Tank outlet is almost fully plugged.

Now is the time to wire up the pressure cut off. Took a while but got it done and surprise it worked.

Had fixed drain leak, 1 pressure release was leaking a little. Few taps with a wrench and it was cured.

When I quit yesterday, tire was holding air as was compressor. Been raining this AM so have not looked yet. WISH ME LUCK. :cool2::dance1:
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire* #2  
That sounds about like life around here. By the time I get everything ready to work I've forgotten what the original project was. Thanks for the post.
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire* #3  
My count may be off, but I think I read that you had to fix 9 things to fix the original problem?? :eek: Having said that, are we somehow related because your "adventures" sound like mine?? :confused2:

LUCK!!
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire* #4  
Why wouldnt the 8x16.5 tube work??
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire*
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Why wouldnt the 8x16.5 tube work??

I have always used under size tubes in tires, going back to the early 60's. Tire store people would not put it in. OSHA???
Think the tube in there is a 16" passenger car tube.
I would have bought the tube and put it in myself except getting the tire over the rim without power equipment is near impossible. Have done it a time or 2 in the past and just just did not want that fight again as I had no help.

Yep pretty much a normal day around here. The FUN never stop's. :thumbsup: :D


Forgot to mention the dead battery problem that went along with the tire problem. More FUN. :dance1:
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire* #6  
Thats odd about the tube that they wouldnt put it in a stinking tractor tire:confused2:

And most tubes that I have seen are listed as a "range" of sizes.

I just had tubes put in the fronts on my 7x16 tirs. They were listed as a 6.00-9.00x16 IIRC
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire*
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thats odd about the tube that they wouldnt put it in a stinking tractor tire:confused2:

And most tubes that I have seen are listed as a "range" of sizes.

I just had tubes put in the fronts on my 7x16 tirs. They were listed as a 6.00-9.00x16 IIRC

You too are remembering the good old days. Undersize tube is fine. just not oversize as it will fold and the fold will split.
That was back in the days when 4, 6, or 8 ply actually meant you had that many ply's in the tire.
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire* #8  
You too are remembering the good old days. Undersize tube is fine. just not oversize as it will fold and the fold will split.
That was back in the days when 4, 6, or 8 ply actually meant you had that many ply's in the tire.

Jim Looks like What ever you plan on doing something else has to be done first.
Had the front tire on tractor that would not stay up loosing pressure daily. 20 bucks to have flat fixed becomes expensive if still is leaking. Took a tube of silicone sealant and lined the rim of wheel and let sit maybe and hour then pressured up the tire. So far it had held as it should.
Looks like travel is out this year. Wife eye problems are still not solved but getting better.

ken
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire* #9  
I just noticed that one of my trailer tires is flat again. I just had it fixed a week or so ago and put the tire on, trailer hasnt been moved so now I need to remove it again and see if there is another nail or the plug didnt hold.
Your day reminds me of my shop bathroom paint job. Tried a roller but it didnt work well for me, so decided to use the airless sprayer. A few months ago, I tore it down, cleaned it up and everything was working except the gun and had to buy a new gun. Now same thing happened, it wouldnt prime, torn down, cleaned everything up, got rust out(why would it rust), oiled it up, still wouldnt prime. Finally turned the suction hose upside down, filled it with water, still no go. Decided to put a little air pressure on the suction tube and it started to work. Elapsed time about 3 hours from start. 10 minutes of spaying and 30 minutes of cleaning up of equipment, and then move all the junk back to the room. White paint sure brightened up the room though.
Now tomorrow I hope to get that tire off and figure out what happened to it. Hope my compressor is working right. It has had sporadic episodes of air leaking from the pressure cutoff switch for a while after it cuts off. At first I thought that was the relief valve, but NOT. I doesnt appear to be a way to open it up, so I may have to do a parts order for it.
 
   / How *Not 2 Fix a Tire*
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Hi Gary & Ken,
Nothing ever goes as it should or as expected.

Went through the trailer tire thing about 3 years ago. Valve stems had rotted.

Along with the tire (Fun"). I got to have fun with truck battery as well.
Truck would not start, jump it with a battery that had been on trickle for a long time. Nothing.
Use charger with a high amp starting circuit. slight grunt.
Move tractor with flat tire so it can be used to jump truck. Slight grunt.
Take battery out of truck and put in tractor batter. Fired right up. Now is it going to last, does truck have big time short?? Alternator??
Battery less than 1 year old. Is it bad???
Bough truck brand new in 1997 and if I knew this I had forgotten it. Little push button by light switch. Turns on a very bright dome light and not using truck for 3 or so days it took battery to zero. Bulb now unplugged.

Put truck battery on slow charge. Next day set in tractor, fired right up.
 

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