tire repair

AlanB · Nov 14, 2006

We plug, I like the brown, master brand dog turd looking plugs.

Shove a reamer through the hole, clean it well, lube the plug with adhesive if it is a thick tire, shove it almost all the way through, twist and remove.

Reinflate tire and go back to work.

We have a small lawncare / landscape business and I would hate to think I had to pull the tire and patch it every time I had flats.

Early spring time, we will sometimes have a flat tire a day....

So far this year I think I have went through one box of dog turds, I think they are 50 plugs per box.

Some leak, some have to be replaced, and sometimes, it just is not going to be fixed with plugs, but on the whole, that is where we start.

And yes, there is one cut in the side of the Exmark tire that has either 2 or 3 plugs in the same cut side by side. Makes me nervous as heck, but at $125 per tire, if it is working, it is just going to keep going.....

We have several plugs in the tractor tires. I have one slow leak in my right rear tire that I absolutely cannot find and it is half driving me mad. But at this point, it is in the air it up and go again mode.

For the bead leaks, I have a buddy that powdercoats, he does my wheels as I take them off and so far (touch wood) that has fixed those problems. It used to drive me bonkers on the trailer tires. Bob the Bobcat is getting this treatment next.

roermo · Nov 14, 2006

Well got the tire fixed. It had a small roofing nail in it. I think I picked it up at my bother in-laws house while donating tractor time around a new garage.
The tire did not have a tube or fluid for weight. That made the tire guy happy. $25.00 but that was a fair price I thought.

I got it home and went to put it back on and noticed that the jack was not high enough to get the tire to match up with the wholes on the tractor. Had to let air out of the tire or block the jack up on 2x6. I opted for letting air out. It worked out fine and I am off and running.

Here is a new question. How do you know what torque you have on the bolts if you do not have a torque wrench? My book says 190 foot-pounds. The bolts have a white line on them from left to right all facing the same way. This was like that when I bought the tractor. I grunted until they all lined back up and I could not tighten them any more by hand. I used a large 4 way to do this and stepped on it. (is that foot pound or what) smile

Thanks for all the input.

Roger