J B Weld wheel repair

LD1 · Oct 25, 2013

Glad the repair is still holding.

I just had to do something very similar on the gas tank for the IH300 I was working on.

The bottom of the tank, where it sits on a "shelf" so to speak and a rubber pad under it corroded pretty bad. The previous owner, at some point, soldered it, and then put an epoxy like JB weld over it. Whatever it was was all cracked, I didnt know it was soldered, so I wire wheeled it all off, and when I started hitting metal, it was coming off really easy with the wire wheel. Thats when I realized it was soldered.

My intent was to get all the epoxy off, weld the hole, and then weld a patch. But welding over solder dont work at all. And neither does welding a patch over the solder cause the solder will melt out of the hole and then it will leak under the patch, and cause the inner layer of original tank to rust out under the patch. Didnt want that.

So I re-soldered, tested for leaks, all was good, then put a coat of epoxy over the solder, to help protect the soft solder. All of this sits on a rubber pad so sould last for years.

Kent B · Oct 25, 2013

Wow. There is a lot of daylight showing through that rim. That is a good bit more of a problem than what I had to deal with on my wheels.
I'm not saying it can't be done but that looks serious. Keep your options open and maybe shop for another rim.
I am still keeping my eyes peeled for spares even though mine are holding their own.

Kent B

CliffordK · Oct 25, 2013

acraiger said:

I've got a rim that is worse, just a little corrosion around the valve.. I'm thinking a little JB weld should do the trick

As far as the orange rim above, that looks like a pretty small wheel. Have you looked at trying to get the rim replaced? New, the rim may be less than $200 or so, and if you can find one at a local tractor recycler, perhaps you could get it even less. Then either replace, or move your mounts over as needed.

What is the rim size and tire size?

You should be able to cut and weld the rim for not much more effort than doing the JB repair, but work on making your patch before cutting.

You will have a weak spot, and a fair amount of lateral force on the wheel. The tractor tires are generally low pressure, but do take some bounces.

Here are some photos from my baler.

You can see an old weld that held.

But, the rim itself didn't take the stress of a fully inflated tire (the person I bought it from had overinflated the tire a bit). This rim will end up as scrap rather than attempting a second repair (I wasn't happy blowing a tire on the freeway).

Anyway, just keep in mind the risk of the lateral force on your wheel. The piece of angle iron or bent steel should take some lateral force, but you probably won't be wrapping your patch all the way up and around to the side of the bead where all the lateral force will be.

acraiger · Oct 28, 2013

It's a 24 inch rim. I just bought the tractor to use at home on 1.7 acres to do some landscaping, and plowing snow when needed. I'm gonna try the patch first, install a new inner tube with no liquid this time. I'll keep an eye on it, and if starts bending, will probably have to buy another rim.

acraiger · Nov 18, 2013

Thought I would post my handy work.
For the rust on the inside, I used a coat of Rust reformer that comes in a bottle that you brush on. Turned the rust to black.
Cut a few pieces of steel. Used JB weld to weld them on. Then added two coats of paint. Tried to silicon a piece of rubber inner tube from an old bicycle tube to be sure no rough edges would puncture the new inner tube. The silicon did not glue rubber to steel very well, but just needed it to hold until I got the inner tube in, and filled with air to hold it in place. Did a few loads of dirt with the loader, and so far so good.

acraiger · Jan 31, 2020

Just saw this again, and thought I would update after 6 years. Repair still seems to be fine. Though I don't use my tractor much, maybe a few times a year when I have to move dirt, and lift and move something really heavy.