Fixing a flat BX23s front tire

[Crash277]

So it only took me 105hrs to run over a nail and get a flat in my front tire. Figured some people may benefit from a basic “how to”

i decided to remove the wheel from the machine so I could clean the tire off. Lifted the front end with the loader and then put a jack stand under the axle. Used my electric impact gun to pull the wheel bolts.

After cleaning the tire I put about 35lbs of air into it and then slowly rotated it and listened for a leak. Normally I’d use a bottle of soapy water but everything outside is still frozen here.

Grabbed my trusty tire repair kit

There is a sharp punch tool that you insert into the hole. I usually push it in and leave It until I’m ready for the plug.

thenI prep the plug on the plug tool

After I have that prepped I pull out the spike and push the plug tool all the way into the tire. Then when you pull it out you should see this.

I used a pair of side cutters to remove the excess.

After setting the wheels back on the ground. I grabbed my torque wrench, set it for 110 ft lbs and torqued the wheel.

this could all be done with the wheel on the tractor but I had to remove mine to get it to where I could easily clean off the mud.

 

[85Hokie]

Crash,

good write up - well done.

I have had more problems with those front tires than I wish to admit!!! AND I aint running over nails!!!!

Those tires and rim combo is a royal pain the ass !!! Not sure where the exact problem lies, I think it is in rim design - but I'll bet most of us with BX's have come out and see a tire low for no real reason! I have placed tubes in them and even had a locus thorn puncture that! I bought another set of tires from summit - they are working better but I still have to place air in them every blue moon!

 

[Crash277]

Crash,

good write up - well done.

I have had more problems with those front tires than I wish to admit!!! AND I aint running over nails!!!!

Those tires and rim combo is a royal pain the ass !!! Not sure where the exact problem lies, I think it is in rim design - but I'll bet most of us with BX's have come out and see a tire low for no real reason! I have placed tubes in them and even had a locus thorn puncture that! I bought another set of tires from summit - they are working better but I still have to place air in them every blue moon!

Thanks! Lots of people seem to knock these R4s however running over the nail isn’t the tires fault. Last year I filled the machine so full of clay that I had to pull the wheels to clean it and I was still driving around with no problems. This was the first time I had to add air since. I put max pressure in them last summer.

 

[DustyRusty]

Max air pressure for the front bar and industrial tires is 22#, turfs are 17#. Strange thing is that I haven't had a flat on any of my BX since I bought it in 2004. Now that I have said that, I will probably run over something that will flatten the tire. I did have a problem with dry rot on the valve stems on my rear tires, and I replaced the valves with metal stems. Laid the tire down with the valve stem up, broke the bead with an old JC Whitney manual bead breaker, and pulled the old valve out, and inserted the new. Refilled the tire with air and put it back onto the tractor. Didn't loose any of my liquid ballast doing it this way.
Crash... Check that boot. It looks like it is torn in the picture, but it might just be dirt.

 

[Crash277]

Max air pressure for the front bar and industrial tires is 22#, turfs are 17#. Strange thing is that I haven't had a flat on any of my BX since I bought it in 2004. Now that I have said that, I will probably run over something that will flatten the tire. I did have a problem with dry rot on the valve stems on my rear tires, and I replaced the valves with metal stems. Laid the tire down with the valve stem up, broke the bead with an old JC Whitney manual bead breaker, and pulled the old valve out, and inserted the new. Refilled the tire with air and put it back onto the tractor. Didn't loose any of my liquid ballast doing it this way.
Crash... Check that boot. It looks like it is torn in the picture, but it might just be dirt.

Its just Dirt. Thanks though. That’s a new boot.Dealer replaced it when they set up my snow blower.

 

[leveraddict]

Crash I plugged my BX's left front last year when a piece of thin wire stuck me right between the lug same as yours. Within the next few days I checked the plug and noticed bubbles around the repair. The tire wall is sooo thin the plug kept leaking! Even used new glue for the plug! I wound up buying a Kubota tire sealent that you fill the tire with, IIRC it was a 32oz tube! Good luck with the repair!

 

[Henro]

Crash,

good write up - well done.

I have had more problems with those front tires than I wish to admit!!! AND I aint running over nails!!!!

Those tires and rim combo is a royal pain the ass !!! [snip]

Yes, good write up!

I took the easy way out on both my tractors and got the front tires foam filled almost immediately. Not THAT expensive and no more flat worries. Ended up foam filling the rears on the BX too.

 

[leveraddict]

Crash hopefully the repair will hold but I doubt it. Like plugging the side wall of a vehickle tire....its a nono it wont hold! Maybe if it was in the lug area it probably would as its much thicker. That part of the tire is so thin even the sealent I bought didnt work at first because I removed the plug when I used it. I had to put the plug back in and that in combination with sealent its been good for a year so far! It seems when you ream the hole bigger to get the plug in its too big for the sealent to work! Good luck!

 

[BigG]

I think the tires need a patch instead of a plug. As stated the tires are too thin to hold the plug. The tire man I use has been using this style of patch. They have held up well on my truck and gooseneck trailer.

Amazon.com

 

[PaulR]

I used to use rawhide plugs on my old offroad rig, I can attest they hold up really well under some extreme duress.

 

[Crash277]

If this doesn’t hold, I will pop the tire off the rim and do an inside patch

 

[GreensvilleJay]

It's too bad Amazon don't like me, cause one of their vendors sells these NICE 6 ply, 1150# tires that'd really be the cat's meow on my BX23S. There's no dealer in Canada. Sad thing is the MFR ( Ohio, I think) won't sell direct, have to go through Amazon vendor, and I can't buy ,even though I have a Michigan shipping adress'.
Both front blistered out < 12 months, so Kub gave me free replacements. 2nd set have been fine but I'd stil rather have tougher tires.

 

[awesome]

I ripped one of the front tires on my bx23s last summer. I called the dealer to get a new tire but they told me they dont sell tires, only the whole wheel. Crap. But then they told me it was 100$ (CAD). Haha.
I mean, sure, 100$ sucks, but I find it pretty cheap for a brand new wheel.

And then the very next day, I slashed the other one on a different rock . Another 100$ and 1h drive to the dealer ...

Moral of the story is if you canct fix it with a plug, just get a new wheel. They're cheap.

 

[DustyRusty]

The tires on my Vermeer chipper are the same size as the front tires on my BX22, and they are 8 ply, and DOT approved, and the rim is also DOT approved for over the road service. Unfortunately, the new BX23S uses a 10" rim, and those tires are not available in 10". There is a huge difference between a tractor tire construction and an over the road tire construction.

 

[armylifer]

I think the tires need a patch instead of a plug. As stated the tires are too thin to hold the plug. The tire man I use has been using this style of patch. They have held up well on my truck and gooseneck trailer.

Amazon.com

I have used those plugs and they are the best that I have found. One thing that I have done in the past that worked very well was to tear off a piece of cloth from a cotton flannel shirt and roll it up and threaded it through the plug tool. Then I dipped the home made plug in a can of Monkey Grip Rubber Cement and plugged the tire with that. It worked every time better than the tire plugs you buy in an auto parts store.

 

[leveraddict]

Nice thing about the Kubota branded sealer is once you put it in the tire any future punctures will fix themselves! Rips and tears are another story!
Before winter I moved a huge rock. I could only curl it a few inches off the ground and had to drag it to its finall resting place. On the way I looked down at the tire and I thought it was flat. It was just fine just well overloaded. That tire is still holding today!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

KENDA K514 series tires....took me all night to remember the name......
arrgh... getting old, forgetting, um, ah, hmm.....hay coffeee's ready !

 

[Crash277]

KENDA K514 series tires....took me all night to remember the name......
arrgh... getting old, forgetting, um, ah, hmm.....hay coffeee's ready !

if I end up with new tires on this beast it’s likely going to be r14s. In an ideal world, I’d have a set of turfs on rims and then swap tires out depending on the job. These little tractors aren’t too bad to work on. Especially with a backhoe. It’s got a built in lift lol

long story short. This was my first coffee for today. Taking my pup outside and the Cat started to chase her so of course my coffee paid the price.

 

[Donystoy]

Got tired of plugging my front tires from hawthorn punctures. Recently installed new tires with Kevlar liners and tubes. I tried slime in the past but just blew out.

 

[Crash277]

Well it’s flat now. Held air until about 5 min ago. Even survived being stuck. Gonna have to pull it off and patch it.