Fixed a flat

Jay4200 · Sep 17, 2010

Earlier this summer, I picked up a nail in one of my L4200's rear tires at my vacation place. I caught it before it went totally flat, then jacked up the rear end using my backhoe stabilizers. I have a bead breaker from HF, so I had my son get it the next morning from home. I've changed a hundred motorcycle tires, and put tubes in my tractor's front tires a couple of years ago, but was fairly intimidated by the size of the rears, although my experience had been that the bigger the tire, the easier it is. Sure enough, as it turned out it was the easiest fix I've ever done. The tire luckily had a tube in it (the other side doesn't), and isn't loaded. Heck, I didn't even need the bead breaker. I jumped up on the side of the tire and *pop* the bead slid right down into the rim. I popped the bead out above the rim (again super easy since the diameter is so big and there is so much extra room in the rim) and propped the tire above the rim using a few rocks. I then pulled out the section of tube with the hole, and ran down to the corner Ace hardware for a bicycle tube patch kit then patched it up. Put the thing back together and in 10 minutes I was back up and running. Piece of cake.

JayC

hawkeye08 · Sep 17, 2010

Jay4200 said:
Earlier this summer, . Put the thing back together and in 10 minutes I was back up and running. Piece of cake.

JayC

Great job! It would have taken me more than 10 minutes to pump it back up after patching it...

Iplayfarmer · Sep 17, 2010

It does seem that the little tires are the hardest to change. Old is the other problem. It seems that sometimes the bead needs some kind of lubricant and then some time for it to soak in.

I had one tire that I couldn't get off the rim. I put slime in the tire to fix the flat. That didn't work. After a week with slime in the tire, the bead slipped of easily. It was almost worth the cost of the slime just to get the tire off.