Flat Tire Woes - Riding Mower

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  • greencat
    Established Member
    • Dec 2005
    • 261
    • Grand Haven Mi
    • 3100

    Flat Tire Woes - Riding Mower

    My riding mower has tubless tires (I think most do). The front right broke the seal when the air was low and the driver was too close to the retaining wall.

    I got the tire to refill but it seems to go flat every few weeks.

    Should I seal the tire with a liquid sealer or get a new tire or put a tube in the tire?

    Thanks
    Thanks again,
    Mike
  • paulstenlund
    Established Member
    • Feb 2004
    • 230
    • Puget Island, Wa.

    #2
    Flat fix

    I put a can of Flat Fix in my riding mower tubeless tire after fighting it for months and its be up for a 1 1/2 years. I think they wanted ~$20 for a tube

    Comment

    • Hellrazor
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2003
      • 2091
      • Abyss, PA
      • Ridgid R4512

      #3
      Fix a flat or get a bottle of slime.

      Comment

      • jAngiel
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2003
        • 561
        • Ryobi BT3100

        #4
        I had a tire on a hand cart do that to me for a while. It had tubeless tires and the seal was broke from trying to move something with low pressure. I kept trying different things to get the tire to re-seat the seal (wrong terminology I'm sure). What finally worked was jacking the pressure on the working end of the air compressor to 100 psi and allowing the tire to fill up really fast. I heard a familiar pop and I knew the seal was seated again. Haven't had a problem in months, still holding air.
        James

        Comment

        • WayneJ
          Senior Member
          • Jan 2004
          • 785
          • Elmwood Park, New Jersey, USA.

          #5
          Try spraying some silicone around the bead of the tire and over inflating it
          Wayne J

          Comment

          • rickd
            Established Member
            • Jan 2004
            • 422
            • Cowichan Bay, 30 mi. north of Victoria, B.C., Canada.
            • Ryobi BT3100

            #6
            i gave up with mine and just bought tubes for the 2 rear tires.
            rick doyle

            Rick's Woodworking Website

            Comment

            • Stick
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2003
              • 872
              • Grand Rapids, MB, Canada.
              • BT3100

              #7
              Bead sealer. Black tarry looking stuff. Rim has to be clean of rust and dirt as well. On most tires, there is a warning on the tire as to max pressure to seat the bead. Not a great idea to exceed that. Don't even try to plug little tires like that, they'll nearly always leak. Take them off the rim and put a boot inside. Slime or fix-a-flat will work, but you don't want to be the one that has to work with it when the tire needs changed. Nor does the guy at the tire shop. They will curse you. Been there done that, as a customer and as the guy doing the tire repair. YECHHH! Front (non-drive) tires are usually ok with tubes, but drive tires that small have so little pressure that they'll often shift on the rim and cut the valve off the tube. ATV/ATC's are the same.

              Comment

              • messmaker
                Veteran Member
                • May 2004
                • 1495
                • RICHMOND, KY, USA.
                • Ridgid 2424

                #8
                I put a plug in my front tire 3+ years ago and it seemed to work OK. I did put a small amout of slime in as well.
                spellling champion Lexington region 1982

                Comment

                • ssmith1627
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2005
                  • 704
                  • Corryton, TN, USA.
                  • Ryobi BT3100

                  #9
                  I tried the slime 2 or 3 times. I had one tire that just kept going down. Then the other rear tire stopped holding air as well and the front two seemed to leak slowly over time as well.

                  The whole thing was just too annoying for me. I had tubes put in all four tires and was done with it. Just want to be able to go out and crank up the mower and mow. My wife only works part time so half the time it's her doing the mowing and I didn't want her to have to worry about whether the tires were inflated or not.

                  Steve

                  Comment

                  • 25
                    Established Member
                    • Jan 2004
                    • 294
                    • League City, Tx, USA.
                    • BT3100

                    #10
                    Originally posted by jAngiel
                    I had a tire on a hand cart do that to me for a while. It had tubeless tires and the seal was broke from trying to move something with low pressure. I kept trying different things to get the tire to re-seat the seal (wrong terminology I'm sure). What finally worked was jacking the pressure on the working end of the air compressor to 100 psi and allowing the tire to fill up really fast. I heard a familiar pop and I knew the seal was seated again. Haven't had a problem in months, still holding air.
                    I have a friend who's uncle works for a car dealship as a mechanic. As of late lots of people have been wanting those really large, thin tires. They apparently are hard to get seated even with the proper rim and wheel sizes. His method for seating the tire on the rim is much more exciting/dangerous.

                    He sprays WD-40 into the tire and drops a match in.

                    Comment

                    • greencat
                      Established Member
                      • Dec 2005
                      • 261
                      • Grand Haven Mi
                      • 3100

                      #11
                      Thanks everyone for their suggestions (some were quite interesting - wd40 and a match). I think I will go with a tube if I can find one.
                      Thanks again,
                      Mike

                      Comment

                      • ssmith1627
                        Senior Member
                        • Dec 2005
                        • 704
                        • Corryton, TN, USA.
                        • Ryobi BT3100

                        #12
                        My brother-in-law does the same with truck tires and with the tire for the backhoe we were using. It gets the gas inside the tire to expand (QUICKLY) and so it seats it. He's been doing it for 20 years that way but it's still exciting to see.....haha.

                        Steve

                        Comment

                        • thiggy
                          Established Member
                          • Sep 2003
                          • 229
                          • Alabama.
                          • Craftsman Contractor

                          #13
                          A few years ago I used Fix-A-Flat to stop a slow leak on my lawn tractor. I recently went to replace the worn out tires and discovered that the stop leak glop had rusted the inside of the rim. After removing the rust and re-painting the rim I had a bit of difficulty in getting the new tire to properly seal on the bead until i overinflated it (ran it up to about 25#) I let it remain in my basement a couple of days, then I reduced the pressure to the recommended level and installed the wheel back on the lawn tractor. All is fine now, but I learned that I do not wish to ever use a tire sealer again, absent some serious emergency.
                          SOW YOUR WILD OATS ON SATURDAY NIGHT - - - THEN ON SUNDAY PRAY FOR CROP FAILURE!

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