Leaking Beet Juice

[JackJ]

One of the rear turf tires on my BX1870 recently started leaking Rim Guard somewhere at the tire bead/rim interface. Tractor is about 4.5 years old, and the the tires are otherwise in fairly good condition. Several months ago one of the plastic tire stems failed, which I learned here on OTT is not uncommon with Rim Guard. My dealer replaced them with metal stems, and had to break the tire bead, then top off the beet juice.

I think the problem only happens when I'm carrying a heavy load on the 3ph. I've got a carryall there that I'm filling up with fresh cut red oak, often to the capacity of what the hitch can lift. That obviously put a lot more weight on the tires. I've made sure there at the right pressure, and even tried upping the pressure a bit. But especially when driving on the uneven trails that get me to my wood piles, a small amount of the stick brown juice is squirming its way out at the bead.

I'm wondering if anyone knows if this can be fixed just by cleaning up the rim/tire interface. Given the Rim Guard, it's not something I want to deal with myself. And I suspect the problem might be a result of the bead area not being appropriately clean after they replaced the stems.

I suppose I could also consider new tires in order to better ensure getting past this problem. The turfs have worked well for me, since this is my lawn mower as well as a utility tractor. But I might consider something with stiffer sidewalls if that will better prevent the issue from recurring.

Thanks for any insights!

 

[ccoon520]

Is it all leaking from the same spot or from different spots of the tire?
How long in-between the stem repair and the leak first become apparent?
Did you ever overload the 3PH after the repair but before the leak? (Not trying to push blame onto you just looking for the potential cause of the issue)
Also have you tried contacting the dealer about the issue?
Maybe it was a missed spot on the bead when reattaching the tire. If so they should be able to correct the issue.

Otherwise there may be a spot that was damaged at the bead during the stem changeout and now there is a leak there. In that instance then I bet you'd need new tires. You shouldn't run into any issues sticking with Turfs if you have to get new tires because then you can have the dealer do the metal stem change before they are even applied to the tractor.

 

[JackJ]

Is it all leaking from the same spot or from different spots of the tire?
How long in-between the stem repair and the leak first become apparent?
Did you ever overload the 3PH after the repair but before the leak? (Not trying to push blame onto you just looking for the potential cause of the issue)
Also have you tried contacting the dealer about the issue?

Hard to tell if it's all leaking from one spot, as the tire now has a ring of dried beet juice all around the stem. But I don't think it's leaking much--probably just a few ounces has worked it's way out.

I only max out my 3ph when hauling fresh firewood, and just started doing that for this season, a couple months after the repair. But it didn't happen previously years, so I think the repair may quite well have something do with it.

Haven't contacted the dealer yet--wanted some input here, first. But I will.

I've got another issue with these tires in that, while the same make and model and purchased new with the tractor, they've got slightly different profiles. That's apparently not uncommon, and I only noticed it months after purchase, and didn't feel it was significant enough at the time, and considering they were no longer new, to complain to the dealer. But it still bothers me a bit, so I could maybe take care if it now if I decide I'm willing to shell out the $ for a new set. I asked about it during the stem replacement, and what gives hesitation is that I was told the new set might be similarly slightly mismatched.

 

[Tornado]

dumb question but have you checked the tire pressure on the rear tires? Higher pressure obviously would help with heavy loads, and if the tire is low it would allow more flexing in the sidewall - wether that could or would cause a small leak Im not sure, but I would want to make sure my tires are properly inflated. Im sure youve already made this obvious check but just figured Id mention it

 

[JackJ]

dumb question but have you checked the tire pressure on the rear tires?

Yeah, I agree that I think the tires deforming a bit under the extra weight is what's triggering this, so I've gone a few PSI over what the manual says for these tires. That may have helped some, but not fixed the problem.

 

[Tornado]

Yeah, I agree that I think the tires deforming a bit under the extra weight is what's triggering this, so I've gone a few PSI over what the manual says for these tires. That may have helped some, but not fixed the problem.

In that case I would reach out to the dealer for sure given they recently worked on the tires. I have water in my rear tires and Ive never seen even a drop of leakage, and beet juice is thicker than water.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

kinda late but, you should have had tubes installed THEN added the beet juice.....
I know.. a 'flame war' about tubes not being 'necessary', but you've found out why with any 'liquid' ballast tubes are a prudent install.

 

[ccoon520]

kinda late but, you should have had tubes installed THEN added the beet juice.....
I know.. a 'flame war' about tubes not being 'necessary', but you've found out why with any 'liquid' ballast tubes are a prudent install.

While I would agree that the tubes would stop the liquid from leaking, most likely there would still be an air leak in the tires if there is a bead issue, and if (I don't know for sure) the bead issue was from the sidewalls not being cleaned off properly during the reinstall that would be an issue with the person who did the work not the rim guard.

Like when changing brake rotors, they come shipped with a thin layer of oil on them to protect from rust during storage and shipping, but that oil has to be removed with cleaner before install so the brakes work as intended. If that isn't done it isn't the fault of the supplier it is the fault of the installer for not following the correct procedure.

If I recall those ballast tubes are meant to prevent corrosion of the rims and leaking of toxic chemicals. Neither of which really apply here.

Jack, as far as the different profile goes, I don't really know what you are describing (slightly different tread or width maybe)? But if you aren't seeing any performance detriments from them and they do the job that you expect from them then there really shouldn't be any issue with that. I think the thing to focus on is the cause of the leak and the cost to repair it. Otherwise you might find yourself writing a check to replace something that is in perfect working order.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: most likely there would still be an air leak in the tires if there is a bead issue,
not too sure how that could occour. Air is in the tube, not between tube and tire.
the big problem with tubless tires is that ANY imperfection in the bead or an excessive 'bend', can 'break the bead'. I've yet to have any problems with tubed, tubeless tires. Every rider in the past 5 decades gets them when they come to me to get fixed. NONE have every come back...cept ones with nails, scews or thorns in them....

 

[rgk66]

I had a similar problem with my BX rear tires, rim guard leaked just enough to allow the rim to slip in the tire under heavy pull. Took a while to find this slippage as the rim guard also acted as a seal enough to keep the tires from going flat. I compounded the issue when removing the valve stem cap to check tire pressure the metal valve core flew out and spewed rim guard all over, luckily I was out in the dirt drive. I contacted Rim Guard and was told that the dealer should have replaced the tubeless tire stems with metal stems before loading the tires. Also he suggested increasing the air pressure slightly. I found valve metal stems to replace without breaking down the tire - they are called Colby Valves (designed for rock crawlers/off roaders) I installed Colby Valves in both tires, increased the air pressure approx 5 psi over the manual recommendation and the Rim Guard, being some mighty sticky stuff, has sealed the beads tight. No more leakage or rim/tire slippage and it has been 2 years now.

 

[mikester]

My experience is that all loaded tires eventually leak, even if you use inner tubes. Leaky valves, leaky stems, leaky rims. I don't think there is a solution to the problem.

Thats why I didn't load the tires on my M59.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

If you spray on some 'V-belt derssing' on the tire bead before mounting, spread evenly, it'll really help GRrrrip the tire to the rim. That way when aire pressure gets a tad low, the tire won't slip off the bead.

 

[D2Cat]

Now if your REALLY want to seal the bead to the wheel use pinetar!

Had a 300 gallon sprayer that was leaking while I was trying to get a field sprayed. Took it to the barn and the only thing there that might work was Pinetar. I thing that wheel is still attached to that tire!!

Just so folks know, I'm not really suggesting you use Pinetar.