Tire bead has wood in it

[foggy1111]

I evidently drove over a stump.....and in the process drove a section of wood into the bead of my rear tire. The wood is about 3" wide and about 1/2" thick. Looks like I drove it nearly an inch into the bead.....but came up just short of breaking the bead. The wood is sheared off right at the rim, and the (tubeless) tires are filled with rimguard. Its hard to grasp the wood fibers with anything.....and they are really "snug" in the bead.

Should I try to dig the wood out?......or leave it alone? I have put a few hours on the tractor since doing this.....and no ill-effects so far. But...I'd hate to lose my fluid or go through a rear flat in the field. Not sure what to do about this tire. (I wish I had a pic to show)

 

[gwdixon]

Should I try to dig the wood out?......or leave it alone?

It is tempting not to mess with it if it is holding pressure. Sometimes those things work themselves out after driving around a while. Nothing will be destroyed.

Alternatively, you could dismount the tire and lay it down with the wood piece facing up. Let the air out first with the outlet at the top of the tire so as not to lose fluid.

Then you can break the bead by the wood, remove the wood, and refill the tire with air. No fluid should be lost.

To re-inflate you may need a snugged up strap or cable around the tire.

It is no fun wrestling with a loaded tire so you'll really have to be motivated. Having a second tractor or forklift helps.

A second thought is to let the air out of the tire, rotate the piece of wood to the top, and use a screwdriver to dig it out. Without pressure the bead should bend easily. Never have done it that way - but it might work.

 

[radioman]

If it was mine, I'd be laying the tire on ground wood side up. just follow gwdixon instructions. however, I'd put the tire in front of FEL and use bucket to break bead or push tire down enough to wiggle wood out after removing valve core.

I had to replace my tire stem on loaded rears with rimguard, but I had the Backhoe on at the time so my tractor was already stable with stablizers down so there was no danger of tractor falling off the jackstand.

 

[dmay]

I'd be worried the rear tire would blow out whilst operating and tip you sideways or maybe even cause a rollover. For safety sake I would take care of this immediately.

 

[foggy1111]

I am not too worried about a flat tire causing the tractor to roll-over.....but I do not want a flat out in the field. Thanks for the advice above. I have this feeling that I best get this fixed....or it's gonna come back to bite me. (murphy's law)

My tractor is located in a fairly remote area.....and its a long way around to get to town. But.....I was looking at a map of the land and our roads.....and figured out a way to drive my tractor cross-country over my neighbors land and then over an air-strip to get to a road that would get me to a good tire shop. Saves me allot of miles. :thumbsup: Gets the trip down to about 8 miles - one-way.

I believe I am going to schedule a trip into the tire store and play it safe......but I may wait for a warm day. No fun to drive an open-station tractor in this cold weather.

I am not sure I could lay the tires down or stand them up again safely by myself. My back isn't what it used to be.

 

[wedge40]

I'm sure you know this, most tire shops that handle tractor tires will come to you.. Yes there is a delivery fee, but they would have the equipment to pull the rimguard from the tire, break the bead and remove the wood, re-bead the tire and put the rimguard back. You dont even have to be there.

Wedge

 

[whiskywizard]

I'm sure you know this, most tire shops that handle tractor tires will come to you.. Yes there is a delivery fee, but they would have the equipment to pull the rimguard from the tire, break the bead and remove the wood, re-bead the tire and put the rimguard back. You dont even have to be there.

Wedge

That sure sounds more appealing than the 8 mile cross-country trek on an open tractor! I especially like the "You dont even have to be there" part.

 

[wedge40]

When I was putting rimguard in my tires I broke one the valve stems at the rim. They came out, drained the rimguard, pulled out the old tube, but a new tube in and refilled the tire with the rimguard. $180.00. And I was at work when they did it.

Wedge

 

[DT86]

I vote for leaving it. A turn over is unlikely due to a flat. But I also doubt it ever will leak at all.

 

[HCJtractor]

I have that happen frequently and it has never caused problems. I don't know if it is worth the trouble to remove it unless you are having a slow leak.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I had the same thing happen but on the front. I let the air out and then dug out the piece of wood. Thought I had it but always had a slow leak. One day I bent the valve stem out in the woods and the tire went flat. When I fixed it I found a 3" long sliver of the wood laying in the bead that I could not see before. Slow leak gone after that.

 

[woodchuckie]

I had a stick wedged into my hydraulic line at the coupling and it eventually wore a hole in the hose so I should have taken that one out. I would let a little air out and try pulling it out with needle nose or channel locks. It could wear a hole.

 

[Car Doc]

If it was mine I would bring it in the shop jack that side up so the valve is up and let most of the air out.

Then turn it so the wood is up and let it down just enough to keep the tire from turning and I would use soapy water and a screwdriver or dull pry bar to push the tire away from the bead and dig the wood out w/o pulling the fluid out but I cant see it from here.

I know I wouldn't leave it in thats for sure whether I fixed it or had it done by a tire truck. my .02

 

[foggy1111]

Lots of good advice from some veteran operators......albeit a bit conflicting. :laughing:

I will hardly use my tractor over the winter......and may just put the repair off until spring. I'm not very well equipped to deal with tire problems. It may be a good time to get to know the mobile tire repair guys. What may be a routine repair for them could turn into a fiasco for me if I lose the rimguard or break the bead.

I don't think anyone in the area sells or installs the rimguard. (I had my tires filled before transporting it up to my land.)

 

[Jay4200]

Should I try to dig the wood out?......or leave it alone? I have put a few hours on the tractor since doing this.....and no ill-effects so far. But...I'd hate to lose my fluid or go through a rear flat in the field. Not sure what to do about this tire. (I wish I had a pic to show)

I'd jack up the tractor so the tire is in the air with stem at 12 o' clock. Then let out all of the air pressure, then rotate until the stick is at 12 o'clock. Use a crowbar to push the bead back just enough to pull out the stick, then air it back up again. You shouldn't lose any fluid.

JayC

Edit - just read CarDoc's post, which says the same thing as mine. He's obviously brilliant.

 

[Car Doc]

I'd jack up the tractor so the tire is in the air with stem at 12 o' clock. Then let out all of the air pressure, then rotate until the stick is at 12 o'clock. Use a crowbar to push the bead back just enough to pull out the stick, then air it back up again. You shouldn't lose any fluid.

JayC

Edit - just read CarDoc's post, which says the same thing as mine. He's obviously brilliant.

They say great minds think alike so now we know what you and me would do in his situation so I bet it would work! :laughing:

 

[gwdixon]

They say great minds think alike so now we know what you and me would do in his situation so I bet it would work! :laughing:

Wait a minute!! Car Doc stole the idea from me! Look at post #2 on this thread.

I just want to be included in the "great minds" designation.:thumbsup:

 

[Car Doc]

OK I see now you were the original of us great minds on that problem! :laughing: I never saw 3 guys give the exact same down to what next suggestions like that before!


Guess that proves there are a lot of common sense guys on here to get advice from that give good advice! :thumbsup:

 

[Short Game]

I'd probably go along with all the brilliant guys. Just be careful you don't put any nasty scratches where the bead seals when you're digging out the wood. I have jammed big chunks of wood into the beads of the fronts on my 27 HP Cub Cadet several times. But on that, I have foamed tires and a sense of invincibility. I never did anything about it. Any wood that showed eventually wore off.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I'd probably go along with all the brilliant guys. Just be careful you don't put any nasty scratches where the bead seals when you're digging out the wood. I have jammed big chunks of wood into the beads of the fronts on my 27 HP Cub Cadet several times. But on that, I have foamed tires and a sense of invincibility. I never did anything about it. Any wood that showed eventually wore off.

:thumbsup: I use a set of prybars with the sharp edges polished off the tips. Drive em in oriented back to back and pull the handles together to spread the tips. I havnt ever had to debead - no leakage. Once you get the bead to move back some in an area you can usually flow the wood out with water pressure. Leaving the wood in is minor bad cuz it distorts the bead and also holds water against the rim.
larry