[AT] Tube type tire trick

[Larry D. Goss]

Long live Shoe Goo!

I took your advice about using Shoe-Goo to patch the gauge wheels on my
Kubota mower deck.  I built a dam out of packaging tape, filled the
cavity with Shoe-Goo, and let it set for about a week.  That was several
years ago.  The patches held and are still in place.  A tube of Shoe-Goo
from Wal-Mart sure beats paying nearly $100 each for those overpriced
gauge wheels.  I always thought JD green paint was expensive, but I've
found that Kubota orange is not much cheaper.  :-)

Larry

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Robinson
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 8:48 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group;
Smallfarmshop at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AT] Tube type tire trick

	I have a couple of hundred tires on the ground so I am always
changing 
or patching one. Those numbers and being well blessed with poverty means

I don't dash out and buy a new tire or tube every little whip stitch. 
Also of course many of those tires only move once or twice a year and 
some don't carry much weight. Sometimes repairs get a little creative. 
Anybody seen my tube of Shoe-Goo?   :-)
	I used one trick this week that I have used successfully several
times 
before. I am hauling soybeans and when I got the first load on a wagon 
one rear tire was a bit soft. I grabbed the air hose and safety inflater

and pumped it up. Then as I started looking it over I found a 6 inch 
place on the back sidewall where I could see the air. Well, not really 
the air, just the broken ends of the first 4 plies of cord on an 8 ply 
tire. It has looked pretty bad for several years but new tire time had 
come. There was $2,000 in soybeans in that wagon and I wanted them to 
arrive in comfort.
	We started calling around for price and called the Goodyear
store 
first. I bought the last one for that wagon there about 3 years ago and 
it only cost me $37 on sale. Diana asked the guy for a price on an 11L x

15 rib implement tire for a wagon. In the next few seconds it became 
quickly apparent that she was talking to a new guy that didn't know farm

tires. After she got him to quit talking about 3 rib fronts he finally 
said all they had was 12 ply's (I still doubt that). Well how much?... 
$92... Choke, gasp... Thanks we will call somebody else. We ended up 
buying a no name tire from another local tire store for $35. Orchlen 
farm store had no names for $52.
	While she went to get the tire I pulled the one off of the wagon
and 
plopped it on the Coats 40-40 to change it. That is about the largest 
tire I can change on it. The tube looked like new. Then I discovered 
that the tube was leaking around the brass part of the valve stem. OK, 
maybe not a problem, most new tires are tubeless anyway. If the new one 
is rated tubeless I'll just bore the stem hole and stick in a tubeless 
stem. I always keep those on hand. I was out of replacement tube stems 
and besides when the stem is in the kind of corner of the drop center 
that this one was sometimes those replacement tube stems get pulled out 
of shape as the tire inflates and breaks the seal. She got there with 
the tire and dang it, it was tube type. I was in a hurry so I mounted it

and inflated it then went to the small hose clamp drawer and got one of 
those stainless screw type gas line clamps and put it on the valve stem 
squeezing the outside of the rubber stem against the brass stem insert. 
No leak. I have used this trick several times on other tires. On one of 
them the brass had come completely loose. On that one I coated the brass

with Shoe-Goo and shoved it back in and put a clamp on it. It has held 
for years.

	I have been boring (actually I use a reamer) and changing quite
a few 
wheels to fit a large base tubeless stem lately. Most of the tires I use

are old car tires and are tubeless anyway. If I later want to use a tube

in one I can just stick in a plastic bushing on the stem. I keep those 
on hand all of the time, their cost is tiny.


-- 



"farmer"

Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.


Francis Robinson
Central Indiana USA
robinson at svs.net



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