Tire driving me crazy!

[kenojoe]

The front tire on my tractor goes flat every 2 weeks. We got rid of the inner tube 2 months ago and started using Slime (honey locust thorns). Yesterday I took it off of the tractor and put 45 psi in it and stuck it in the water tank. I forced it under water and held it there for 20 minutes, the water was dead calm and no bubbles. We could not see any sign of even the smallest bubble. 2 weeks ago I put 45 psi in it and mixed up some soap solution and went all around it while it was on the tractor, no luck. Has anybody had one like this before and if so how did you find the leak? My wife won't let me carry my pistol out to the barn anymore. She is afraid I will put a whole in my head or in the tire. She says either way is going to cost her money! Thanks Joe

 

[dieselbeef]

put a can of slime in it...

 

[1982vett]

Had a leak in a car tire once. Took it in twice for repairs and they couln't find anything. Next time it was flat I pumped it up and got the soap and water out, found the leak, makred it on the tire, and took it back to have it fixed. Sure enough without it being on the car it didn't leak but they dug a piece of glass out of the spot I marked. It was all about how the car sat on the tire as to how fast it would leak down.

Might try the soap and water when you find it low.

 

[dun]

60 lbs isn;t going to schow you squat. In the desert (cactus spines) we would use 100 lbs and submerge it in water.
Another way that less bright people use is to dismount the tire and rub their bare hand all over the inside of the tire. The spots that make you bleed are the ones with the spines in them.

 

[kenojoe]

I have 32oz. of Slime in the tire. The tire is on a MF 235 and says 35PSI max., that is why I only put 45 psi in. I was not sure of how much over max. I could put in before it comes apart. As I wrote earlier I did soap the tire on the tractor and moved the tractor several times and re-soaped it. Sure is aggrevating!!

 

[pinzgauer1]

I had one like that and come to find out i had a hairline crack in the inside of my rim.

mike

 

[novaman]

I had one like that and come to find out i had a hairline crack in the inside of my rim.

mike

Cracked rim sounds like a strong possibility to me, especially if this is a loader tractor. The other thing you should check is the valve stem. I've had several instances where the valve core was either loose or bad and would slowly leak down.

 

[jkwilson]

Damaged rim is a good guess, or even the bead on the tire itself. Don't overlook the valve stem and core. They are out to drive me crazy. :frowns: My truck would leak down to 28 psi on the left front and hold there. Changed the core and it has been fine for months.

 

[KenB]

The front tire on my tractor goes flat every 2 weeks. We got rid of the inner tube 2 months ago and started using Slime (honey locust thorns). Yesterday I took it off of the tractor and put 45 psi in it and stuck it in the water tank. I forced it under water and held it there for 20 minutes, the water was dead calm and no bubbles. We could not see any sign of even the smallest bubble. 2 weeks ago I put 45 psi in it and mixed up some soap solution and went all around it while it was on the tractor, no luck. Has anybody had one like this before and if so how did you find the leak? My wife won't let me carry my pistol out to the barn anymore. She is afraid I will put a whole in my head or in the tire. She says either way is going to cost her money! Thanks Joe

Why did you get rid of the tube? You should have put the Slime in the tube. :tiphat:

 

[cfpinz]

Why did you get rid of the tube? You should have put the Slime in the tube. :tiphat:

My thoughts exactly. Might not fix the problem but it'll mask the symptoms. I'd bet it's either the valve stem or the wheel, as stated above.

 

[Brute 23]

We foam fill them, adds weight to the front end also. Has sure made life easy. :cowboy:

 

[kenojoe]

We got rid of the tube because it had more holes than you could patch. None of my neighbors use tubes because of the honey locust around this part of Kentucky. I asked the "old timers" a long time ago about tubes, after replacing 2 in one year. They all told me to get rid of them and just use Slime, I followed their advice and have had no problems until now. I did at one time have Slime in an inner tube and it just leaked out around the tube/stem. I put a brand new valve stem in this rim when I pulled the tube out. My only guess is that we may not of cleaned the rim good enough when we put the tire back on. The neighbor wiped regular grease on the rim we we re-mounted, what do you guys use? Joe

 

[TXBobcat]

I would go with a solid foam filled front tire. Find someone in your area that does this, take them your tires, and have them filled. The tires will be heavy but you can run over thorns all day long with no problem. It is pricey, but if you're fixing a bunch of flats like we were, then it's worth it.

We have lot's of mesquite and a few locust trees too, in this part of the country.

 

[dun]

I use some pink stuff that's like slime. I can see holes (even though they aren;t leaking) by looking for little pink spots on the tire, rim, etc.

 

[JHH]

It is probably the rim or the bead on the rim may need cleaned with a grinder to get the rust off of it.

 

[chetski]

Clean the inside and ouside of the rim with a scrub brush, soap, and water. Leave the wheel on the tractor. Deflate the tire to just before you break the bead. Fill the tire with water spiked with a cup of orange food coloring. Fill it up with #45 of air and let it sit over night. If you do not see an orange spot, roll the wheel 180 degrees and let it set over night again. I HATE STICKERS!!! This will find it. PS....
The thinner colored Slime can be too thin to seep out of a smal hole or crack in the rim. This worked for me twice after I threatened to sell the tractor.