Flat Front Tire on DK45

ritcheyvs · Oct 18, 2014

When I pulled the tractor out of the shed just now, it felt like I was driving with the brake on. Turns out the left front tire was flat and the valve stem (rubber thing) was completely gone. The old valve stem was just rubber, like on a car, and the hole is about 16mm in diameter.

Does anyone know if this is a standard US size valve stem or is it something special? I assume I can just pull a new rubber stem into the hole and reinflate the tire after swabbing the bead area with soapy water (front jacked up, of course).

Can anyone advise if this will work or if I need any special techniques? Thanks.

DK35vince · Oct 18, 2014

Nothing special that I am aware of.

5030 · Oct 18, 2014

It's only flat on the bottom...............lol

Is it a tube or tubeless?

ritcheyvs · Oct 18, 2014

Tubeless. That tire seemed a bit low yesterday but I chalked it up to the mud where I was parked. So I was losing air and the valve stem was totally gone today so I'll (for now) assume the tire is OK and the stem was the problem. There are two sizes of valve stems (in several lengths) and I need the bigger size for a 5/8 inch hole, which I assume is standard for tractors. I'll leave the tractor jacked overnight so the tire can relax and get a new valve tomorrow. I think the "fish" type valve installer tool will work best. The tire is very stiff so it may be hard to get the valve started otherwise.

k0ua · Oct 18, 2014

ritcheyvs said:
Tubeless. That tire seemed a bit low yesterday but I chalked it up to the mud where I was parked. So I was losing air and the valve stem was totally gone today so I'll (for now) assume the tire is OK and the stem was the problem. There are two sizes of valve stems (in several lengths) and I need the bigger size for a 5/8 inch hole, which I assume is standard for tractors. I'll leave the tractor jacked overnight so the tire can relax and get a new valve tomorrow. I think the "fish" type valve installer tool will work best. The tire is very stiff so it may be hard to get the valve started otherwise.

Please report back how you fared with it. I am interested.

murphy1244 · Oct 18, 2014

Isn't there a guard to protect that valve? There is on my DK.

ritcheyvs · Oct 18, 2014

murphy1244 said:
Isn't there a guard to protect that valve? There is on my DK.

There is a guard but I don't recall doing anything or going anywhere that should have damaged the valve. But the tire and valve are original (2006) and could have been damaged in the past. In any case, I plan to buy spare valve stems to have on hand and check tire pressure more often.

ritcheyvs · Oct 18, 2014

murphy1244 said:
Isn't there a guard to protect that valve? There is on my DK.

There is a guard but I don't recall doing anything or going anywhere that should have damaged the valve. But the tire and valve are original (2006) and could have been damaged in the past. In any case, I plan to buy spare valve stems to have on hand and check tire pressure more often.

ritcheyvs · Oct 19, 2014

Update: Installing the new valve stem was easy. But I could not get the rim to re-seat even though I broke a cargo strap trying to spread the tire. So I removed the wheel so I can to take it to a tire shop where they have a bead seater. Having encountered the same problem on my riding mower, I'm thinking about getting an air-blast bead seater.

k0ua · Oct 19, 2014

ritcheyvs said:
Update: Installing the new valve stem was easy. But I could not get the rim to re-seat even though I broke a cargo strap trying to spread the tire. So I removed the wheel so I can to take it to a tire shop where they have a bead seater. Having encountered the same problem on my riding mower, I'm thinking about getting an air-blast bead seater.

I wonder if a come- along would have "fixed ya" . wrap the cable around and hook to the other end.