How to fix leaking sidewalls in mower tires? - Page 1

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How to fix leaking sidewalls in mower tires? (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:13:05 AM EDT

I've had enough of leaking mower tires. Sidewalls are cracked and it looks like a foamy donut when I spray 'em down with soapy water.

I don't want to put a tube in because it's a PITA to fix punctures later on.
Slime and related products aren't known to be effective on sidewalls.
A new round of tires just isn't in the cards right now $$$.

I'm thinking of breaking them down, cleaning them up inside, and brushing on some sealant around the offending area.
There's about 87 different kinds of caulking tubes on the shelf, and I have no idea which formulation to use.

Any ideas on a product that might fit the bill?

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:13:59 AM EDT

[#1]

New tires?

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:16:04 AM EDT

[#2]

JB Weld? I don't know. When sidewalls go, usually the tires do to.

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:16:42 AM EDT

[#3]

take it off the rim and apply a bicycle patch on the inside?

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:18:19 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
New tires?

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:18:47 AM EDT

[#5]

Jack wheel off ground, drill a couple holes in the sidewall, fill the tire with expanding foam.
Never go flat again.

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:21:01 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
New tires?

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:27:21 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

Quoted:
New tires?

http://bp0.blogger.com/_ckBlasgNSzg/SE2s6hoD_bI/AAAAAAAAGBw/_tBN15pkpQc/s400/In+Your+Face.jpg

LOL

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:34:14 AM EDT

[#8]

green slime

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:36:16 AM EDT

[#9]

Use tubes with slime in them. How often are you getting punctures? Is it safe to walk across your grass in bare feet?

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:37:46 AM EDT

[#10]

Slime worked for me. Mine were dry rotted to the point I had to fill them before I finished cutting grass. So last summer I put Slime in them and after a little mowing I needed to add some air but after that they never leaked again. Finished up last season and most of this season with those tires before I finally retired the mower. It's sitting in the shed waiting for me to decide what to do with it but the tires are still holding air. I'd try out the worst thing that can happen is you'll be out $10 if it doesn't work.

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:41:27 AM EDT

[#11]

That green slime shit will do it.

I've got a wheelbarrow with a tubed tire. Fucking thing looks like a prop from Fallout New Vegas. The tube is rotted out, the tire is rotted out, the valve is in a sharp-ass mess of rust. The overall condition is such that the demise of the tire would mean I toss it. It started really losing air bad, couldn't keep pressure for more than a day. Slimed it. Haven't needed to pump it up since, and that was two years ago. The stuff really works.

Thing is it never hardens, it always stays the same consistency more or less. It puts a layer down all over inside as the tire turns, but if it just sits for a few months, it'll all run to the bottom and let the top leak. I've got it in all my small tools with pneumatic tires now.

Posted: 9/26/2012 9:41:43 AM EDT

[#12]

Just did this with my lawn tractor tires, a brand new one was +$120 or so from the local lawn tractor places or worse from JD.

I put in a "goodly" amount of slime (or it's equivalent) then pumped the tire up to a good 40 psi or so, then set the tire down so that the slime would settle right over the leaking cut on the side. Still holding air as we speak.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:00:52 AM EDT

[#13]

Craigslist?

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:04:22 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Craigslist?

Why, so you can meet a methhead in a dimly lit parking lot somewhere to buy slime?

They sell that shit at Walmart. It aint pricy. You find slime on Craigslist, it's probably hot slime. Some druggie probably sucked it out of some old lady's walker tires with a straw.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:23:30 AM EDT

[#15]

Tubes. Do it once, do it right.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:28:45 AM EDT

[#16]

NoFnNamesLeft, what part of Florida are you in? I have some rear tires from mowers I have scraped.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:31:49 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
take it off the rim and apply a bicycle patch on the inside?

this

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:32:25 AM EDT

[#18]

I've had pretty good luck putting some latex paint inside a leaky lawnmower/generator/compressor tire before.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:34:23 AM EDT

[#19]

Whittle a new set out of some wheat.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:34:44 AM EDT

[#20]

You have to be kidding me. New tires to do it right or tubes until the tire falls apart.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:34:45 AM EDT

[#21]

the slime ftw

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:38:07 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
I've had enough of leaking mower tires. Sidewalls are cracked and it looks like a foamy donut when I spray 'em down with soapy water.

I don't want to put a tube in because it's a PITA to fix punctures later on.
Slime and related products aren't known to be effective on sidewalls.
A new round of tires just isn't in the cards right now $$$.

I'm thinking of breaking them down, cleaning them up inside, and brushing on some sealant around the offending area.
There's about 87 different kinds of caulking tubes on the shelf, and I have no idea which formulation to use.

Any ideas on a product that might fit the bill?

I got the slime to work on the John Deere 110 I'm restoring that belonged to my Dad. I jacked the front off the ground, put in the slime per the instructions, aired them up and then did slalom 4th gear figure 8's in the back yard to use the centrifigual force to distribute the slime up the sidewall.

I had to do it more than once on subsequent days and I figured if it didn't work I at least had fun running a tractor that hadn't run in 15 or so years.

It worked.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:41:14 AM EDT

[#23]

Sounds like dry rot.

If it is bad enough even tubes will not help.

Likely time for new tires.

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:42:32 AM EDT

[#24]

Buy a plug kit. I plugged the sidewall on my F-150 and drove on a tire for 3 years

Posted: 9/26/2012 10:54:35 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
Buy a plug kit. I plugged the sidewall on my F-150 and drove on a tire for 3 years

........(walks away shaking head)

Posted: 9/26/2012 11:52:13 AM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Buy a plug kit. I plugged the sidewall on my F-150 and drove on a tire for 3 years

........(walks away shaking head)

It worked.

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:12:45 PM EDT

[#27]

Northern Tool has replacement tire and rim for about $50.

If I recall they have stores all over FL. I know there is one in JAX.

http://www.northerntool.com/stores/florida.htm

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:17:54 PM EDT

[#28]

Have them foam filled.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:44:57 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Have them foam filled.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:46:49 PM EDT

[#30]

wal mart sells replacement lawn tractor tires for $25 bucks or so. It's sort of a pain getting them on the rim, but can be done without using tire spoons.

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:51:38 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Buy a plug kit. I plugged the sidewall on my F-150 and drove on a tire for 3 years

........(walks away shaking head)

It worked.

I plugged the inside sidewall 2 months ago, still good, plugged my mower tires twice...still good.
I worked at a "Service Station" if you can remember those, in the late 70's, their was a van that belonged to a local parts house that delivered to the station that had at least 50 plugs in the side wall of the front tire, just to show that they do work.

Might not be DOT approved, but it works. But what do I know, I still work on my car with out "gloves"

Nancy boys..

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:54:37 PM EDT

[#32]

In some cases a fair amount of slime is NOT CHEAP. at this point just go and buy new tires. Unless you are driving a tractor, tires for your riding lawn mower can be had anywhere for cheap. Or tube them. Nothing wrong with tubes.

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:57:20 PM EDT

[#33]

http://www.cedarrapidstire.com/home.php

Posted: 9/26/2012 12:59:39 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:
It's sort of a pain getting them on the rim, but can be done without using tire spoons.

Soap is your friend.

Posted: 9/26/2012 1:01:38 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Have them foam filled.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

thanks...I was out there all alone....
Newbies.

Posted: 9/26/2012 1:07:23 PM EDT

[#36]

make your own slime, 4oz of cheap tube caulk, 1/4 cup sifted saw dust, 12 oz water or windsheild fluid if it freezes in you ao.

eta: I did this last spring and it is still working, $1.59 vs $20.00 and I have enough caulk to do 12 more tires.

Posted: 9/26/2012 1:11:33 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

That green slime shit will do it.

I've got a wheelbarrow with a tubed tire. Fucking thing looks like a prop from Fallout New Vegas. The tube is rotted out, the tire is rotted out, the valve is in a sharp-ass mess of rust. The overall condition is such that the demise of the tire would mean I toss it. It started really losing air bad, couldn't keep pressure for more than a day. Slimed it. Haven't needed to pump it up since, and that was two years ago. The stuff really works.

Thing is it never hardens, it always stays the same consistency more or less. It puts a layer down all over inside as the tire turns, but if it just sits for a few months, it'll all run to the bottom and let the top leak. I've got it in all my small tools with pneumatic tires now.

I picked up one of those yard trailers that you hook to the mower off the side of the road once (the old, put it by the road for free and someone will take it away trick). Tires were rotten, it was otherwise fine, put some slime in it and pulled it around the yard a few minutes and good as new

Been using it for about 5 years now.

Posted: 9/26/2012 1:29:15 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:
Jack wheel off ground, drill a couple holes in the sidewall, fill the tire with expanding foam.
Never go flat again.

This tried and tested.....

Posted: 9/26/2012 1:37:15 PM EDT

[#39]

FlexSeal

Posted: 9/26/2012 1:40:13 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Jack wheel off ground, drill a couple holes in the sidewall, fill the tire with expanding foam.
Never go flat again.

This tried and tested.....

Just the "good stuff" in the can?

Won't it get all crunchy over time?

Posted: 9/26/2012 1:50:10 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Have them foam filled.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

thanks...I was out there all alone....

Newbies.

Where do you get them foam filled?

Posted: 9/26/2012 2:03:07 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Buy a plug kit. I plugged the sidewall on my F-150 and drove on a tire for 3 years

........(walks away shaking head)

It worked.

I plugged the inside sidewall 2 months ago, still good, plugged my mower tires twice...still good.
I worked at a "Service Station" if you can remember those, in the late 70's, their was a van that belonged to a local parts house that delivered to the station that had at least 50 plugs in the side wall of the front tire, just to show that they do work.

Might not be DOT approved, but it works. But what do I know, I still work on my car with out "gloves"

Nancy boys..

I will plug the side walls of a mower tire.

But, there is a reason why no good tire store will plug the sidewall of a auto tire.

Huge risk for blowout. I have seen it work and I have seen it blowout the sidewall.

No gloves here......my hands feel like sandpaper like a mans hands should

Posted: 9/26/2012 2:17:43 PM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:

Jack wheel off ground, drill a couple holes in the sidewall, fill the tire with expanding foam.

Never go flat again.

Foam is probably the best option.

Posted: 9/26/2012 2:22:08 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Jack wheel off ground, drill a couple holes in the sidewall, fill the tire with expanding foam.

Never go flat again.

This tried and tested.....

Just the "good stuff" in the can?

Won't it get all crunchy over time?

Probably not, if you get it packed in there dense enough. I wouldn't worry about it.

Posted: 9/26/2012 3:03:11 PM EDT

[#45]

I've dealt with this on so many mower tires over the years.

You have two options that will actually work.

Get new tires.

Put in tubes.

Posted: 9/26/2012 3:05:02 PM EDT

[#46]

tubes or tires.

be VERY careful getting the rims off especially if it's an MTD build. excess force will rip the axel out of the transmission requiring a PIA repair.