I have a bad feeling about this

[deereman75]

I don't understand why everyone always talks like calcium is some evil thing from the past on this forum.... It is still by far the most widely used tire ballast, and for good reason. It's economical, heavy, every tire service truck has a tank/pump for it (and not the alternatives) and it doesn't freeze.
Washer fluid is substantially lighter than calcium. Rimguard is no good in colder climates, only being good to -35. And if you are in an area where calcium is the most common ballast, tire service outfits will most likely refuse to work on your tires with an alternative since it'd contaminated their pump system.

Yeah it will rust the rims eventually. But there are tens of thousands of tractors that have had calcium in the rears for 30+ years and the rims are still good. Most people on this forum are unlikely to ever have to replace a rim due to calcium. And new rims are cheaper than a set of tires anyhow....

 

[big bubba]

don't be too hard on yourself
the ol' timers here in the Ozarks did fill w/CaCL, etc, what they could in their time.
there are mobile ag tire services around, just check w/them. will save you a lot of headache.

gone are the days when i come along a loaded (but punctured) rear wheel over a branch, then haul it in. do yourself a favor & have it serviced on site, maybe don't wait too long otherwise you'd be replacing a wheel as well
good luck

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

From the picture posted it appears the rims are not showing that bad of damage ..so far... The leak seems slow enough to buy you enough time to find options.. Be that new, used rims.. Tubes, clean and bondo bad spots, what ever is available in your area to solve the issue... It appears you have time, use time quickly and wisely... Do they still use bondo in auto body repair work ??

I understand salt water was a cost of doing business in a time for agriculture people.. They use a lot of it here in high volume tires on logging equipment.. It does tick me off that no one distributes a better product for small tractors in this area, but likely don't because of low volume meaning low margin for the product..

Our tractor came with salt ballast that I wish it had not.. That kind of expense is not going to be easy to handle for retired people.. But hopefully I can have a solution in mind and on hand when necessary..

Good luck..

 

[nfisheremti]

usually when dealers put in calcium chloride, they pump it into tire tubes to avoid the corrosion issue. i've had it in my old B2400 for 26 years with no issues. putting it in tires without tubes is just irresponsible. the only way to know for sure, and to fix it, it to drain the tires, and dismount them. check the wheels for rust, and take it from there. there are tons of alternatives to calcium chloride now, but it's still the heaviest and cheapest. it's enough cheaper to afford tubes

 

[5030]

I'm not equiped for any of this :-( I guess I'll call the shop where I bought it tomorrow.

Call farm tire service and have them handle it. You don't want to fool with draining CACL anyway. I guarantee if you do, wherever you dump it, nothing will grow there for years. A farm tire service will have a vacuum pump to evacuate it and they will dispose of it properly plus, they have the proper tolls to do the dismount and will probably have access to replacement rims if the rims are shot and it looks to me like they most likely are.

I don't fill my tires, I run cast centers instead.

Also, keep in mind that once the CACL starts corroding the steel, it keeps on corroding it no matter what you do.

 

[SylvainG]

I've called a place and waiting a call back. It's a holiday here in Canada so I'm not expecting a call back until tomorrow.

I'm not equipped to handle 300lb loaded tires on a 4,000lb tractor so I'll live it to professionals.

 

[SylvainG]

I don't understand why everyone always talks like calcium is some evil thing from the past on this forum.... It is still by far the most widely used tire ballast, and for good reason. It's economical, heavy, every tire service truck has a tank/pump for it (and not the alternatives) and it doesn't freeze.
Washer fluid is substantially lighter than calcium. Rimguard is no good in colder climates, only being good to -35. And if you are in an area where calcium is the most common ballast, tire service outfits will most likely refuse to work on your tires with an alternative since it'd contaminated their pump system.

Yeah it will rust the rims eventually. But there are tens of thousands of tractors that have had calcium in the rears for 30+ years and the rims are still good. Most people on this forum are unlikely to ever have to replace a rim due to calcium. And new rims are cheaper than a set of tires anyhow....

Then why are mine leaking after just 11 years?

 

[newbury]

<snip>Most people on this forum are unlikely to ever have to replace a rim due to calcium. And new rims are cheaper than a set of tires anyhow....

Depends on your dealer.
I just bought a set of new rear Turfs for my B7610 and the Tires AND Rims were cheaper than the tires alone.

 

[CoyPatton]

Tractor is 11 years old and I believe they were filled (Calcium Chloride) by the original owner at purchase. How scr*wed am I? Both rear tires are like that. I doubt it's the valve because on the other side, the valve is not even at the bottom. It has a salty taste.

View attachment 716205

Deal with this sooner rather than later. If it has a salty taste, then you are likely correct in your assessment of fill material. It was one of the most popular until recent years.
The longer you wait to deal with it, the more damage to your rims. Calcium-chloride was death to rims frequently (rusted out to the point of unsafe). Call who you bought it from, you might get lucky and have sometime of warranty (although I doubt it as rusted out rims often require replacement).
as others have said, pump it out (ag tire shop is best bet) then get the tire and tube off, wash down the rim good. Let it all dry, then wire brush the rust, check the rim closely for damage. Assuming the rims are usable.
I now suggest good careful metal treatment. Start with a rust convertor. Many brands are available. Then a good primer, I like self etching. If you want paint feel free, this is a great time to redo the externals of the rims as well. If doing so paint it all.
Use new tubes and clean the tires up carefully as well.
Consider if you want filled tires, if yes use an environmentally friendly option.

 

[deereman75]

Depends on your dealer.
I just bought a set of new rear Turfs for my B7610 and the Tires AND Rims were cheaper than the tires alone.

I just had to do both on my payloader. The set of rims was nearly $2000 less than the set of tires