Front rim broke! '77 L185DT

[Rosher18]

Hi Orange tractor folks,

I was doing some front end loader work today and cracked my front wheel, between each bolt hole. Looking at the broken parts, it looks like it was half broken (rust) and then today's work finally fatigued through the rest of it.

Does anyone have a 6-14 rim in usable condition I can buy from them?

Pics for attention

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[redmaher]

I might. I know it's 14 not sure on width. From a b21.

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

 

[redmaher]

14x7 from a b21

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

 

[Rosher18]

I think I'm looking for 14x6. 7 might not change things too much. I'm looking at Farmland Tractor Supply in Tangent, OR as well but their inventory seems to be limited

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[MagKarl]

I may be accused of being a cheapskate, but I'd weld that back together and never think twice. Grind it clean and go for it.

One of my front wheels shows previously welded cracks and washers to close up the sloppy holes and it's been holding fine since I've owned it.

 

[maclean]

I agree...weld it for now...but keep looking for a cheap spare. Nothing ruins a weekend of work like a 2 hour tire or rim repair run...

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If you do choice to weld it, you need to either remove the valve stem or better yet remove the tire from the rim as if you leave it aired up it has the ability to expand and explode!

 

[Yooper]

If you do choice to weld it, you need to either remove the valve stem or better yet remove the tire from the rim as if you leave it aired up it has the ability to expand and explode!

I would add a backing plate that would fit inside the inner circle of the wheel. Even a quarter inch plate skip welded (don't weld all the way around) would go far to keeping the wheel from cracking again. Personally, I'd recommend replacing the wheel.

 

[Rosher18]

Thank you all for the suggestions! After a lot of phone calls to local shops, my wife stopped by Farmland Tractor Supply in Tangent, OR and they happened to have a 16x4 wheel with the exact centering hole diameter. It was for A John Deere so it had a larger 6 bolt lug pattern. They recommended we use the center part of the old wheel as a template and drill new lug holes in it.

We got the new holes drilled, did a little bit of fitting, and I used it for about 1.5 hours with no problems.

The best part? $125 for the wheel and a brand new tire, already mounted.

I may weld up the old one to have as a spare, though the tread would be facing backward if I used it on the left front.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Being that it's a DT (4wd), you really should change the other tire to match.

 

[Rosher18]

Being that it's a DT (4wd), you really should change the other tire to match.

What's really funny about that is that the tires were already pretty poorly matched, and the new tire and existing front tire seem to have very similar tread life remaining!

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[coachgeo]

Glad the former poorly matched tires on a DT had a rusty rim as a fuse to break instead of things inside the transmission etc.

 

[Rosher18]

Glad the former poorly matched tires on a DT had a rusty rim as a fuse to break instead of things inside the transmission etc.

Right? The break pattern does look a little bit more like a torsion break as opposed to a side-load break, until the end.

The mismatch (and good practice) is most of the reason I pop it out of 4WD as often as I do.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[redmaher]

Right? The break pattern does look a little bit more like a torsion break as opposed to a side-load break, until the end.

The mismatch (and good practice) is most of the reason I pop it out of 4WD as often as I do.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

It's very important to paint the rim kubota orange....being John Deere yellow might make the cost of replacement parts go up.

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk