Its always something......

N80 · Jun 18, 2007

I went to remove the box blade from my Kubota L4400 this weekend when I noticed that the bolt holding the left lower lift arm stabilizer link had fallen out where it hooks to the tractor. That left the stabilizer link flopping there up against the rear tire. It had obviously been that way for some time and I do not know why I didn't notice. I never heard anything. The BB was working properly. I'd checked back there several times when I was adjusting the top link.

In any case, the loose end beat the daylights out of the valve stem on the rear tire. It didn't bust it (no leaks) but it is ruined. Threads are mangled.

Now what?

Should I wait until it needs air before doing anything or should I be proactive and get it fixed now? Getting it fixed will be a bit of a pain. I'll have to let the fluid out (and I really don't know what is in it) and then take it to a tire place. My B-I-L has the (hand) tools to get the tire off the rim, but as you can imagine, it is a major pain. I'm more inclined to take it to a tire place and get them to put a new valve in and then I'll fill it with fluid myself. I wonder if the dealer could do it all? It seems like dealers tend to have tire work done elsewhere, but I can certainly give them a call. If they can fix it I'd let them put fluid back in it too.

mazurrj · Jun 18, 2007

Its inevidable, so i'd get it fixed now. tire pressures more important than i had thought. i put off replacing a bad stem and almost tipped over while on a slope because did not realize one tire was a little low . If the stem is bad then you probly cannot check it and add air, so best to fix now. Unless things are differnet since you have filled tires?
I cannot comment on best way to fix as i just took mine to tire repair and tires are not filled.

Bird · Jun 18, 2007

Yep, I'd get it fixed right away, because if you wait, it'll go flat at the most inconvenient time possible.

john_bud · Jun 18, 2007

Bird said:
Yep, I'd get it fixed right away, because if you wait, it'll go flat at the most inconvenient time possible.

Truer words were never spoken (or written)!

jb

hunterridgefarm · Jun 18, 2007

N80 said:
I went to remove the box blade from my Kubota L4400 this weekend when I noticed that the bolt holding the left lower lift arm stabilizer link had fallen out where it hooks to the tractor. That left the stabilizer link flopping there up against the rear tire. It had obviously been that way for some time and I do not know why I didn't notice. I never heard anything. The BB was working properly. I'd checked back there several times when I was adjusting the top link.

In any case, the loose end beat the daylights out of the valve stem on the rear tire. It didn't bust it (no leaks) but it is ruined. Threads are mangled.

Now what?

Should I wait until it needs air before doing anything or should I be proactive and get it fixed now? Getting it fixed will be a bit of a pain. I'll have to let the fluid out (and I really don't know what is in it) and then take it to a tire place. My B-I-L has the (hand) tools to get the tire off the rim, but as you can imagine, it is a major pain. I'm more inclined to take it to a tire place and get them to put a new valve in and then I'll fill it with fluid myself. I wonder if the dealer could do it all? It seems like dealers tend to have tire work done elsewhere, but I can certainly give them a call. If they can fix it I'd let them put fluid back in it too.

George,

Try calling Farm Bureau and see if they have a tire dealer in your county. In NC, Farm Bureau has tires offered at certain dealerships. In my county a lot of Ag work is done with the tractor tires and they have a set-up for changing and fixing tractor tires. I would think you being in a county with a Agri base FB may have this same set-up.

Also, check your stem, my 3130 has a two piece stem on the rear tire. I have rotated the tire where the stem is at the top, jacked the tractor up to take pressure off the tire and released the air pressure and replace the stem without loosing much fluid. My threads were banged up on the end preventing me from adding air too. If you only have a one piece stem you will have to take the tire off. Mine had a plastic or metal ring at the bottom of the stem and against the rim. I was able to unscrew the stem and screw another in.

If I had to take the tire off I would just take the whole tractor in. I took the rear tire off mine one time for a big nail and flat. Never again , I'll take the tractor in for a rear tire to be fixed if it happens again.

N80 · Jun 18, 2007

I think everyone is right, especially Bird. As far as the two piece valve, I think it is a two piece. Didn't have time to fool with it this weekend to see how damaged it was. But, I think the plastic ring you're talking about is cracked.

I don't have a trailer to hauling the tractor is a real hassle. But, its just a 4400 so the rears aren't very big. I'm guessing, but could be wrong, that with the ballast out, two men could get it into my pickup. If I have to take it to a tire place, I'll just have them put air in it and I'll fill it with fluid myself. Next time I'm at my place I'll see if I can just replace the outer part of the valve. That would sure be nice. Being the optimist that I am.......I'm don't have high hopes for that scenario.

RoyJackson · Jun 18, 2007

I don't think you'll have to drain the ballast.
Get that tractor up on jack stands (both sides!!!!) and rotate the tire so the valve is at 12:00 O'Clock, then replace the stem.
If this is a tubed tire...well, you may have to replace the tube (which means draining the ballast). If the stem is into the wheel, you may not lose too much liquid...maybe none at all.

I'd call for a tire service to do this job, BTW. Those filled rears are too heavy to mess around with. Either way, have help (especially if you don't call the tire service). If you plan to do this yourself to save money...well, by the time you calculate your time...your help's time and the work involved, you probably haven't saved a dime.

I wrote jacking up both sides of the rear. Some tractors (my 670 and 790, for example) rears are locked, you rotate one side, the other rotates too. It would be bad if a tire on the ground rotated whilst the other was jacked up.

N80 · Jun 22, 2007

Doesn't the valve stem have to be replaced from the inside out?

MOPAULY · Jun 22, 2007

N80 said:
Doesn't the valve stem have to be replaced from the inside out?

Yes, it does, unless the tractor world is magically different then the automotive world. You will have to break the bead in the least to get the tire out of the way enough to access the stem.

JerryG · Jun 22, 2007

N80 said:
Doesn't the valve stem have to be replaced from the inside out?

Just the short stub that is actually made to the tube. Even if it is damaged, If you have a good tire shop they will have a valve stem patch. They just cut the stem off at the tube and put a patch with the stem made on back. The best thing to do is to have tire service come out to fix it. I just had one fix by my local mobile Ag guy about two weeks ago.

N80 · Jun 23, 2007

This is a tubeless tire. I went to TSC last night and bought the smaller (air filler) part of the two piece stem. If it is the right size, I'll try to remove the damaged one and replace it with one of these new ones. But that will be a little tricky.

I'll have to rotate the stem to 12 o'clock. I'll jack the tractor up as mentioned. I'll try to let the air out by pressing on the damaged stem's air release. If it is too damaged to release the air normally, I'll just have to unscrew the top piece of the stem. Hopefully I can do this slowly enough to release the air without shooting a bunch of the ballast out. Then I'll just put the new stem piece on and refill air to the normal pressure. This would be the best possible scenario. Even then I would not be able to refill or top off any fluid because the threads on the bottom piece of the stem (which you use to put fluid in) are mangled.

If I loose a bunch of fluid, or if the new stem peice doesn't fit, I'll have to get a pro to do this. Getting a tire service out there would be tough because I don't live there. So I'll have to take it somewhere or me and my B-I-L will do it in his shop....by hand.

If I do have to carry it somewhere, I'll just get them to fill it with air and I'll put it back on the tractor and add fluid myself.

What a huge PITA!

N80 · Jun 23, 2007

Here are a couple of picks of the problem:

Looking at the picture I realised that the valve inserts I got at TSC are not what I needed. As you can see the top part of the valve stem screws down over the base part. The one's I bought screw into the base piece.

So, I'm back to square one. If I could find the top part to this valve I think I could fix it but I don't even know where to look. Does anyone know if the valve stem in the picture has a specific name or type? I'll call the dealer on Monday and see what they can tell me.

Edit: From the pics the valve stem doesn't look terribly damaged but the end of the stem is squashed into an oval and won't accept a chuck or tire gauge.

BTDT · Jun 24, 2007

Take a pair of channel lock pliers and see if you can squeeze it back into shape enough that it will take air. Then you might be able to chase the threads with a die and clean them up enough to get a metal cap on there. Good luck.

EddieWalker · Jun 24, 2007

I'm with BTDT. It's holding air, so it's working. I'd try to see if I could mess with it first so that it will take air and leav it alone. Maybe take the tire off so you can have lots of space to get to it, but before doing anything else, try and fix what you got first.

Eddie

JerryG · Jun 24, 2007

George,
The top part screws off from the base. Any shop that fixes tractor flats should have a new base ring as well as the top part of the valve. You may be able to chase the threads on the base. See if they have a brass nut instead of that plastic thing. The top screws apart here.

N80 · Jun 25, 2007

You guys are right. I was down at my place yesterday, mowing...yes on a Sunday (I did go to church by the way)...and I was able to loosen the top part a turn or two before any air started coming out. So the male threads on the base that mate with the female threads on the top piece are fine. So I should be able to go by a tire place and buy a new top part as suggested. I'll probably just buy the whole assembly (which is probably the only way they come) so I can replace the outer nut too.

My B-I-L suggested jacking it up, rotating the stem to 12 o'clock and removing the top vlave piece so I could take it with me to the tire store. I did not have time so if there are lots of different sizes I may have to buy a few of them to get the right one. But, even if there are different sizes, I'd think the top piece would be fairly uniform.

My B-I-L also suggested that I rotate my rear tires. Currently they are on the next to the widest configuration. Switching them would give me the widest, which would be nice on my hills and it would also put the valve stems on the outside rather than the inside. I think I'll do it.

N80 · Jun 30, 2007

I'm an idiot. You can always spot an idiot. They're the ones who make a hard problem out of an easy problem.

The TSC valve stems were the right kind. When I partially unscrewed the damaged one it looked like it had a female end. Well, of course it didn't. I even went to a tire place and they handed me ones just like the TSC ones. I told them mine were different. They looked at me like I was crazy.....which I'm not, just stupid. There's a difference...its better to be crazy.

In any case, I went down to my placed, jacked the tractor up planning to remove the stem end and take it somewhere to see if they had something like it. Of course, as soon as I got it off I realized it was just like the TSC ones I'd purchased. Screwed the new one in and pumped it back up. Good as new.

While I had it up on jackstands I thought about switching the wheels around to widen the stance. It would add nearly 8 inches which would be nice. But it also occured to me that it would be harder to get around in tight places and that when mowing roads I wouldn't be able to cut the edges because then my tire width would be wider than my mower. So I left them as they were, which is right at 6' total.