What about "Fix a Flat" for a very slow leak?

[rScotty]

if you want to stop the leak and never worry about the rim .. use TRANNY fluid.. put it in the front tire of my kubota with a loader . has not went down yet . 3 months now . it would go down every day . leaked all around the side walls too . take a cap off a 80/90 bottle put on your transmission oil bottle go in the valve stem this way...you have to take out the core ... i tried slim junk.. PS let me know what you did and how it worked .

Well, so far I haven't done anything to fix the slow leak, but am determined to try something. From this thread I get the idea that "Fix a Flat" is more for emergency fixing completely flat tires than for slow bead leaks. So I'll not use that yet.
Thanks to all for making the point that fixing different types of leaks requires different techniques.

Findihg the leak has proved impossible. It is just too slow & the rear tire on a big tractor is just too massive to take off and submerge. It only loses about 5-7 lbs a month, but has done so for years. The other rear never changes.

TTHopskin, your heavy rear end lube or old time tranny oil idea is sure unique. Thanks for that. It sure got me thinking. Most tranny fluid these days is more like 20wt, but I get the point. An oily substance that would spread and then eventually become more solid is exactly what is needed for slow leaks.

So your success with a heavy oil makes me wonder about using tung oil instead of tranny fluid. I've used it before for other projects. Tung oil is a heavy, viscous, sticky, and very thick oil which when thinned is used for making high quality wood sealers. It is naturally compatible with nearly everything, and has one big advantage that tranny lube and most other oils do not - which is that tung oil is "self-polymerizing" in air - meaning that it eventually turns into a rubbery plastic semi-solid.
And that just may do the trick.

How does that sound? Any more ideas out there?
rScotty

 

[RayIN]

If you, like most of us have fluid-filled tires, none of these sealants will work.
I filled a wheelbarrow tire with a tire sealant/stop leak, had to replace rim and tire due to rust eating through the rim, and it never completely stopped leaking air.

 

[rScotty]

If you, like most of us have fluid-filled tires, none of these sealants will work.
I filled a wheelbarrow tire with a tire sealant/stop leak, had to replace rim and tire due to rust eating through the rim, and it never completely stopped leaking air.

Good point. Although I am not so sure that it is true that most tractor owners have fluid filled tires. Filling tires has become popular in some areas and applictions but still not common in others. I don't fill mine. It isn't common around here.

I agree, a sealant for a filled tire would be a whole different problem. I wouldn't even know where to start with that, so hope we can stick with a problem we can maybe solve - finding a better sealant for slow leaks in unfilled tires.

rscotty

 

[NUTTERDW]

I've recently had good, easy results with "TireJect Off-Road Tubeless Tire Sealant".

I have had excellent results with tire eject also even in tube type tires. I know they do not recommend it for tube type tire but it works great. Been using it for about ten years

 

[goat man]

Did you ever try Gup?

 

[LouNY]

Good point. Although I am not so sure that it is true that most tractor owners have fluid filled tires. Filling tires has become popular in some areas and applictions but still not common in others. I don't fill mine. It isn't common around here.

I agree, a sealant for a filled tire would be a whole different problem. I wouldn't even know where to start with that, so hope we can stick with a problem we can maybe solve - finding a better sealant for slow leaks in unfilled tires.

rscotty

For liquid filled tires;

 

[bbirder]

Go to Amazon and reearch a product called Flatout. The military uses it in most all vehicles including fighter aircraft. It contains Kevlar and if you have to dismount the tire it washes out with water. Tire people hat slime and it is corrosive.

 

[BobLewis]

The best I've found is a cup of conventional green antifreeze. It swells the rubber is not a nuisance to work with later and I always have it on the shelf. I just take out the valve core, put in a little funnel or syringe and add, put the core back in and inflate. Very seldom it doesn't work for me.

 

[RayIN]

Unlike auto tires/ OTR tires, tractor tires can be reenforced with a tire boot to repair sidewall damage.
Three years ago I had my MF 135 tires replaced, one front tire had been repaired with a boot about 20 years ago.
Now every time I have a tire worked on or replaced it gets a tube.

 

[Pecosbill7]

Break the bead, check for nails or other protrusions, install a tube, reinstall tire, don’t worry about it being flat next week.