Ballast Can I do it Myself?

   / Can I do it Myself? #11  
The joys of liquid filled tires.

If you are tired of screwing around with tires just foam them. Never have to worry about sticks, branches, nails, etc.. again. Costs a little up front but it pays off when you dont' ever have to deal with the nightmare that liquid ballast can be at times. Getting flats in the woods, flats in the middle of winter, etc...

Both my JCB and little skidder have foamed tires. I have plenty of other things to worry about than flats on my equipment.
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #12  
i built a custom 30 gallon 12v electric sprayer, to pull behind tractor, riding lawn mower, and a couple times a vehicle.

i have used the sprayer to also suck out fluid from tires, and then put fluid back into the tires. 12v electrical sprayer (the pump) a cheap one can work. without a all the hoses and actual tank of a sprayer.

i do not remember the name. i want say grempco? spelling they sell a tire fluid kit, that connects to valve stem. one hose connection you pump in fluid, the other hose you use to exhaust air from tire.

the larger TLB i have, tires 4 feet plus tall. i had someone else do it. guy noted easier for tire to be left on tractor. when trying to break the bead / seal, assuming you have correct tire tools / breakers.

if you take tire off of tractor. having a second tractor with FEL helps a lot. due to just plain "WEIGHT" of tire and trying to man handle it. that is just tire itself and rim. a cherry picker / shop lift. around 150 to 300 bucks. can work as well. acts like a little mini crane that you can move around on concrete / asphalt or a sheet of plywood if it comes down to it. really helps with trying to get tire back onto tractor and aligning the bolts. takes a couple up and downs and adjust chain. but there is not a lot of grunting trying to get things aligned.

there some techniques, and using FEL of tractor, you just took tire off of. to break the bead. along with using the 3pt hitch to break tire bead.

having proper tire irons to actually get the bead of the tire over the rim, and then back on. is a huge plus. and less likely to mess something up.

dish soap (used for washing dishes) can be a nice slip n slide way of helping to lubricate bead of tire and rim edge. to get things to move.

i do not remember the name. harbor freight, grainger, maybe tractorsupply. it is a more costly setup. but geared for bead breaking of tires. bolt it to concrete if memory serves. a pipe goes up, then a disc / rim tire iron goes, and another pipe above it. so you can pry against with tire irons.

============
on the old allis chalmers CA tractor. i dismounted tire from tractor. then used shop lift / cherry picker to pick it up and toss into back of truck, and drove it some place else to get repaired. it was liquid filled.

another time. (other rear tire on the CA) pulled tire, emptied the liquid, and sent if off to get a new tire put on. (ripped out the side wall).

another time (original side of CA), dismantled and repaired it all. ya really need proper tools, and enough muscle power to get it done. it is not for the weak without proper tools.

i do not have a "bead set" tank. were once you get tire on to rim (without tube) you set the beads so you can get air into the tire and hold. as a result tend to get tubes. so i can just air the tire up and and let the beads pop into place.

====================
TIP: google search "tractor tire" and goto manufacture websites, and due a dealer lookup. and goto a 2 to 3 manufacture websites to find your local folks. call up places 2 hours a way. prices can very a lot. even with travel distance. make sure you double check on actual distance cost, labor cost, mounting / dismounting cost, filling tire cost, tubing cost. some just charge flat rate, while others nickle dime you every spot they can.

===================
warning to state it. be careful. tires can go KABOOM! and they can go SLICE when wires come out of them.
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #13  
To replace the valve stem all that is needed is the first minute of the video! Everything else isn't needed........
If you break the bead and the rim is rusted beyond repair that a different story. But to replace a valve stem is a simple task.

The OP wrote that his tire has tube.
<snip> I'm guessing that there is a puncture in the tube and it could possibly be near the valve stem. <snip>


How do you replace the valve stem with a tube? Do you cut the valve stem out and patch a new one in?
Or just put a whole new tube in?
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #14  
The OP wrote that his tire has tube.



How do you replace the valve stem with a tube? Do you cut the valve stem out and patch a new one in?
Or just put a whole new tube in?

Hmmm I assumed he used the wrong term- which I should have clarified. My apology. Most don't have tubes. Every once in a while someone will throw a tube in so they don't have to patch or can't patch or just like running tubes. Either way it's easy enough to look by breaking the bead. If it has a tube you will need to remove one bead, replace the tube, and replace the bead.
I'm not too worried about his fluid at this point. He is paying someone else to plow because of a tire.....he can worry about that once he has his machine back and is able to care for his property.

If it has a tube I haven't seen a process to replace a stem- you would need to replace the whole tube.

If OP can't figure out how to do this based on the video above and the descriptions in the posts then I'm with the post who said he shouldn't do this. It would be harder for me to remove the wheel and take it in to a shop than break one bead and fix the thing while still in the tractor.
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #15  
Just to add more thought to your idea, How long does it stay up when you air it up ?(thinking could you drive it to them) How far is it to the tire repair shop ? Would they come if it was at the bottom of the steep drive ( is the steep grade the reason the service call is a problem )?
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #16  
How do you replace the valve stem with a tube? Do you cut the valve stem out and patch a new one in?
Or just put a whole new tube in?

Here ya go! TR218A Air/Liquid Valve Stem | GEMPLER'S
I wouldn't recommend this way unless it was a really expensive tube. I would buy a new tube if it was less than $100 to save the headache of failure.
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #17  
I did one last week. Luckily it was just plain water in the tube, doesnt get so cold here and if it is cold then I stay in for a bit..
I just pumped it up, got the valve to the top and blocked it up. Removed the inner stem, the weight of the fluid broke the bead..
By the time it had deflated the tyre was loose on the rim, could shove the rest of the stem in and pull out the tube. Took a bit of work to wrestle it out but got there. Got impatient in the end and cut the whole valve out with a knife to speed up the draining process.
Found the rough spot in the carcass that had rubbed the hole in the tube, gave that a buff with the grinder until i was happy, blew the crud out with air and mopped out the moisture.
Heaps of baby powder.
Put in new tube. Levered the tyre back onto rim and set valve correctly by moving tyre around with a bar. Inflated it to about 25psi and gave it a bang where it didnt want to seat. Then deflated and put water back in.
Now that works well with water, didnt realise just how lucky we are to be able to get away with it down here.

How corrosive is calcium, never heard of anyone using it where we are?
Cheers
Pete
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #18  
How corrosive is calcium, never heard of anyone using it where we are?

Think saltwater. It rust's anything it touches. If you get it on your leather shoes, it dry's them out and curls them up. If you get it on your skin, it dry's your skin. I had a tubed rear tire get a big hole in it from a thorn, and each time it came around to the fender it sprayed this salt water on the painted fender. After the repair the fender rusted, and it took some time for me to get the rusting stopped.
 
   / Can I do it Myself? #19  
Think saltwater. It rust's anything it touches. If you get it on your leather shoes, it dry's them out and curls them up. If you get it on your skin, it dry's your skin. I had a tubed rear tire get a big hole in it from a thorn, and each time it came around to the fender it sprayed this salt water on the painted fender. After the repair the fender rusted, and it took some time for me to get the rusting stopped.
Oh wow. I'm pleased don't need it, we in ZL4 land only think it's cold
 

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