Are All Kubota Front Wheels/Tires Garbage, Or Is It Me?

[savaytse66]

I apologize in advance for the negative thread subject, but I seem to have bad luck with Kubota's front tires. When I had my little G series garden tractor, the front tires would always go flat. When I got my BX25 about 6 years ago, they had to replace the stems of the turfs because the fronts were going flat. Last year, I picked up some AGs, and these fronts are now going flat. In fact, a couple weeks ago (albeit after several weeks of non-use and sitting int he cold), I went out to a totally deflated tire that unmounted itself from the rim.

I almost always have the compressor nearby, so it's not the end of the world, but it IS awfully annoying. Should I invest in different tires, or is there something I can do to keep them better maintained? Should I go get some Slime and use as a preventative measure?

On a separate note, I have had several instances where the lug bolts on the front wheels have rattled themselves loose, and twice I have looked down to see a hole where the lug should be. Lost and gone forever, until I run it over with the mower. I have temporarily fixed the problem with blue Loktite, but I don't love the idea of using thread locker on the lugs. But it seems to be working so far.

So does anyone else have problems with their front wheels? My rears have been good, but not the fronts.

 

[Citydude]

Sorry to ask a question to your question however, why are they going flat and what has been done besides adding air to them?

 

[sea2summit]

The FEL over dang near overloads the tires I've seen and if you are driving and maneuvering I'm sure you are well over the intended uses specifications on turfs. R4s are a must if you plan to do a lot of loader work with a BX.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
So does anyone else have problems with their front wheels? My rears have been good, but not the fronts.

2 Kubotas. Nope.

 

[davesl708]

Very annoying problem.

My tires are 13 years old now. No issues. Front tires are foam filled for the FEL.

Inspect the bead on the rim. Could be paint runs or welds are causing the tires to not seat. The hole for the valve stems could have drilling burrs preventing the valve stem sealing.

 

[oldballs]

There are some threads about BX front tires with slow leaks, dating back to about 2009. In my case, a 2009 model BX2660...(.turf tires), I solved the slow leak issue by remounting the tires to the rim with a rim sealing product. They did not leak after that. Now, on a 2012 model B2620, I've never had an issue with the R4 (industrial) tires in a slow leak. Hope this helps.

 

[big bubba]

is there possibly a lot of tire puncturing hardware on the working ground of your tractor, given the flats? good luck on it, sounds very frustrating

 

[savaytse66]

Sorry to ask a question to your question however, why are they going flat and what has been done besides adding air to them?

I've done nothing but add air to this point.

The FEL over dang near overloads the tires I've seen and if you are driving and maneuvering I'm sure you are well over the intended uses specifications on turfs. R4s are a must if you plan to do a lot of loader work with a BX.

Right now, I have my Ag tires on. They've been on for about a year and a half now. It's definitely not overloading the tires; my last two flats came after sitting in the garage.

There are some threads about BX front tires with slow leaks, dating back to about 2009. In my case, a 2009 model BX2660...(.turf tires), I solved the slow leak issue by remounting the tires to the rim with a rim sealing product. They did not leak after that. Now, on a 2012 model B2620, I've never had an issue with the R4 (industrial) tires in a slow leak. Hope this helps.

I'll have to try this. My leaks have all been slow ones. And like I said, it's happened now on two different tractors and three different sets of tires.

 

[TripleR]

No Kubota does not have problems with their tires. Titan made the tires on all five of our Kubotas and Titan is a major manufacturer and owns the farm tire business of Goodyear. There however, as noted by Mike (oldballs) a significant history of those on the front of BXs in several years. My BX2200 bought in 2003 has never had a leak and has the original tires in good condition, but the BX2660 bought in 2008 has had several replacements, I keep a spare in the barn.

It's not unique to Kubota as both our JD 2305 and 1025R have had flats though it does not seem as prevalent as a whole.

 

[gwdixon]

My BX2200 seemed to have one of the fronts go flat, then the other would go. Dismounted them from the tractor and ran the old soapy water test. Turns out they were leaking through minute cracks in the sidewalls. The entire side of the tire would bubble.

Then I installed tubes a couple of years ago and they have never gone flat since. Moral: Install tubes.