# Front Kubota tire is leaking at the bead area



## charly (Jul 15, 2013)

Just wondering if any one has used a liquid sealer .. Dealer I talked to said to tube it... Then I can never plug the tire after that if need be.. Just wondering .. They are turf tires so it's a thin flanged rim at the bead area.. I even taken a rubber mallet to some areas that were a little dipped years ago... Tire's been fine for years but just lately it's been leaking down on a daily bases... Sprayed the bead with soap,, that told all...


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## Highbeam (Jul 15, 2013)

My front left tractor tire is slimed. Worked great to stop a leak from deep crack/wound in the tread. Not sure it would do the job on a bead leak since the liquid can't get there.

I love slime. I have it in my motorcycle tires too and no problems running 70 mph on the highway with it.

There is tube slime and tubeless slime.


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## charly (Jul 15, 2013)

Highbeam said:


> My front left tractor tire is slimed. Worked great to stop a leak from deep crack/wound in the tread. Not sure it would do the job on a bead leak since the liquid can't get there.
> 
> I love slime. I have it in my motorcycle tires too and no problems running 70 mph on the highway with it.
> 
> There is tube slime and tubeless slime.


   Thanks . First I'll see if bead sealer will work.. I have no spoons so I'm going to my local Kubota dealer.  They're real good people, treat me well..  When I worked at the Harley Dealership years ago, I had a guy drop off a tire to get it balanced, well after the Snap On spin balancer told me to keep moving the weights, I realized the tire was full of slime... Customer never mentioned that. No way to balance that...


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## ironpony (Jul 15, 2013)

had a bead leak once, when I broke the tire off the rim there was rust in the bead area.  cleaned the bead reseated the tire fine after that


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## charly (Jul 15, 2013)

ironpony said:


> had a bead leak once, when I broke the tire off the rim there was rust in the bead area. cleaned the bead reseated the tire fine after that


I have no way to break it down to look.. Was going to use the front end loader of my tractor, but I have one side jacked up with the tire off,, don't want to have the tractor fall off the jack trying to break the bead.. Just going to run it over to my dealer in the morning... They treat me good...pretty cool people.. Other Kubota Dealer near here is a rip off.. Money, money ,money...


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## Highbeam (Jul 16, 2013)

charly said:


> When I worked at the Harley Dealership years ago, I had a guy drop off a tire to get it balanced, well after the Snap On spin balancer told me to keep moving the weights, I realized the tire was full of slime... Customer never mentioned that. No way to balance that...


 
In my experience this is false. Maybe the guy had not properly used the slime or maybe it was some other formula but I compete on these bikes and deal with tires a lot and with other folks about their tires. I added a rim lock to each wheel of my bike which prevents a tire from spinning on a rim. The rim lock weighs a few ounces and after adding it I had a bad out of balance condition. I added equal weight opposite the rim lock and now the tire is balanced, runs smooth. This experience is repeated all the time and some folks just go ahead and install two rim locks 180 degrees apart to fix it. There is no reason that a tire with slime can't be balanced, I've done it.

The drawback to slime that you may experience with the bike or tractor is that when you check air pressure you may get a squirt of slime out of the valve stem into your gauge and that slime may prevent the valve stem from sealing. The fix is put air in the tire before checking pressure. If you forget, just use air to blast the slime back into the tire and clear the valve.


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## charly (Jul 16, 2013)

Highbeam said:


> In my experience this is false. Maybe the guy had not properly used the slime or maybe it was some other formula but I compete on these bikes and deal with tires a lot and with other folks about their tires. I added a rim lock to each wheel of my bike which prevents a tire from spinning on a rim. The rim lock weighs a few ounces and after adding it I had a bad out of balance condition. I added equal weight opposite the rim lock and now the tire is balanced, runs smooth. This experience is repeated all the time and some folks just go ahead and install two rim locks 180 degrees apart to fix it. There is no reason that a tire with slime can't be balanced, I've done it.
> 
> The drawback to slime that you may experience with the bike or tractor is that when you check air pressure you may get a squirt of slime out of the valve stem into your gauge and that slime may prevent the valve stem from sealing. The fix is put air in the tire before checking pressure. If you forget, just use air to blast the slime back into the tire and clear the valve.


What I found was the slime kept moving around apparently as the tire was spun back up for a final check..then it would show more weight in a different spot,, again spun the wheel,, and the same thing... Maybe balance the wheel, then add slime?


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## Highbeam (Jul 16, 2013)

The slime should distribute itself into an even layer with speed. That particular spin balancer may have not been made to spin quickly enough to spread out the goo. Obviously, though I have never felt it, the goo must all fall to the low point when the tire is at rest and then transition to an even layer with speed. You don't put a lot of slime in a tire, the directions call for a smallish amount. That might be part of the problem.


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## charly (Jul 16, 2013)

Highbeam said:


> The slime should distribute itself into an even layer with speed. That particular spin balancer may have not been made to spin quickly enough to spread out the goo. Obviously, though I have never felt it, the goo must all fall to the low point when the tire is at rest and then transition to an even layer with speed. You don't put a lot of slime in a tire, the directions call for a smallish amount. That might be part of the problem.


Like you said, not enough spin speed or too much slime... Had me going for a while..


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## lukem (Jul 16, 2013)

charly said:


> Dealer I talked to said to tube it


 
Don't tube a drive tire.  Is your 'bota 4x4?


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## charly (Jul 16, 2013)

lukem said:


> Don't tube a drive tire. Is your 'bota 4x4?


Yes , it is 4x4.. I told the dealer I wanted to try rim sealer first...only because I can still plug the tire should I pick up a nail , etc. Tube your all done... When I worked for the local Harley Dealer, service school techs said never tube a tubeless tire as a tubless tire has a very course finish inside,,, rough on the tube... Now I bet your going to tell me the tire will spin on the rim at some point in time and shear the valve stem clear off? Ugh! They ordered me a tube when I dropped it off this morning...Oh no!


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## lukem (Jul 16, 2013)

charly said:


> Now I bet your going to tell me the tire will spin on the rim at some point in time and shear the valve stem clear off?


 
Not saying it will, but very well could.


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## charly (Jul 16, 2013)

lukem said:


> Not saying it will, but very well could.


Just talked to my Kubota dealer service guy who ordered my tube... He said they do tubes all the time...300 hp machines all run tubes... He also said that they are not like motorcycle tubes, they a super thick so even something that might give you a tubeless flat won't give you a flat with the tube.. As far as shearing off the valve stem he said no... They ran these tubes for years..So I'll run the tube for now and see what happens...I would think 300 hp tractors would play hell on the valve stems if they were going to be a weak area.. Maybe a thin walled tube would have issues...


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## MasterMech (Jul 18, 2013)

Have I ever told y'all how I feel about inner tubes?  

Charly, not be a jerk here but your just going to continue having trouble with that wheel until you fix the problem. Sound to me like the problem is the wheel. If it's repairable, do it, if not, replace it. The thickness of the tube will have little effect on durability. If it is tough enough to penetrate the tire, the tube doesn't stand a chance. And the issues with tire/wheel slippage and shearing the valve stem are still very relevant, especially if the wheel has a compromised bead area. 

EDIT:  Just to add a bit here, Lukem was right when he said there is no guarantee that the tube will give you trouble, but on the other hand, there is no guarantee that it won't....  Those 300hp machines that are successfully using tubes are generally liquid filled tires too.  And small tears, usually around the stem, aren't exactly a rare failure in that application either.


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## lukem (Jul 18, 2013)

charly said:


> Just talked to my Kubota dealer service guy who ordered my tube... He said they do tubes all the time...300 hp machines all run tubes... He also said that they are not like motorcycle tubes, they a super thick so even something that might give you a tubeless flat won't give you a flat with the tube.. As far as shearing off the valve stem he said no... They ran these tubes for years..So I'll run the tube for now and see what happens...I would think 300 hp tractors would play hell on the valve stems if they were going to be a weak area.. Maybe a thin walled tube would have issues...


 

A 300HP tractor that weighs in at 30,000 lbs (using the 100 lb / HP rule of thumb) set up for field work isn't exactly a fair comparision to a 30 HP tractor's front wheel.  It could be easier on the tires (because there are more of them, and they have a lot more bead area, and a LOT more weight pressing on the bead).


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## charly (Jul 18, 2013)

MasterMech said:


> Have I ever told y'all how I feel about inner tubes?
> 
> 
> 
> Charly, not be a jerk here but your just going to continue having trouble with that wheel until you fix the problem. Sound to me like the problem is the wheel. If it's repairable, do it, if not, replace it. The thickness of the tube will have little effect on durability. If it is tough enough to penetrate the tire, the tube doesn't stand a chance. And the issues with tire/wheel slippage and shearing the valve stem are still very relevant, especially if the wheel has a compromised bead area.


Because it's a turf tire type rim,, the bead area is thin... What happened about 3 years ago,,, I was unloading my 700 pound Esse cookstove from a tractor trailer out in my road,,,, As soon as I had the stove in my bucket I realized I was losing air in the tire,,, I had no choice but to get off the road with the stove,,, so I did drive on a very low flat tire for about 20 feet... I think that started the bead issue... I set the stove down , put down pressure on the loader to get weight off the tire... Then got my portable air tank and it beaded right back up and held... Issues just started after carrying my 700 lb Progress Hybrid... I had the tire up to 30 psi where I usually keep it.. Next day I saw the tire was starting to get soft... Probably should bite the bullet and get another rim sometime.. When I went to pick the wheel up they asked me if I had ever driven on the rim . Worst case would be out in my woods with a flat .. I'll keep an eye on things for now , of course nothing will happen slowly . Be an instant flat or not from now on .. Probably should hunt for another rim.. 27 x 8.50 x 15...Probably not cheap for the Kubota Thanks for the heads up...MM


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## MasterMech (Jul 18, 2013)

charly said:


> Probably should hunt for another rim.. 27 x 8.50 x 15...Probably not cheap for the Kubota


 
I would price it.  Turf tire type rim probably wouldn't be as $$ the other options.  Kubota may not be the only source either.


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## charly (Jul 18, 2013)

MasterMech said:


> I would price it. Turf tire type rim probably wouldn't be as $$ the other options. Kubota may not be the only source either.


 Here's the rim and tire ..


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## lukem (Jul 18, 2013)

That doesn't look terrible. Might try remounting with a healthy dose of bead sealer (not the same thing as slime).  Did that on my FIL's four wheeler with good success on a much rougher looking rim.


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## Ashful (Jul 18, 2013)

charly said:


> Probably not cheap for the Kubota


 
Orange parts are usually half the price of Deere green or yellow. 

Me? I'd pull the tire (or have the dealer do it), spend some time cleaning up and repainting that rim, and then try re-installing the tire. Maybe even try re-fairing the scratched up (from driving on it) bead area with epoxy. Could even be done with the tire on the rim, in a pinch, after you break the bead loose.


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## MasterMech (Jul 18, 2013)

Sure doesn't look that ugly.  Is the wheel bent?  Rusted inside?


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## charly (Jul 18, 2013)

Just called another Kubota dealer near me... Told me it's cheaper to buy the wheel and tire as whole goods then to just buy a rim... 300 dollars for a wheel and tire... He said the good news,, the tire and tube should be fine.. so if and when it goes flat I'll do what I have to do,, for now it's back on and I'll see what happens...


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## charly (Jul 18, 2013)

MasterMech said:


> Sure doesn't look that ugly. Is the wheel bent? Rusted inside?


I didn't take it apart and get to look in side.. I originally let the air out and tried to break the bead standing on it , but no luck.. Didn't want to use the tractor bucket as I had the front end on a bottle jack and didn't want to take a chance of loosing my jack even though I had shoring underneath the drive wheel housing... If I have trouble I'll go the rim sealer route.. If the tube works out I'll be happy with that... Second dealer that said it will be fine,, I'll see if they're liars


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## MasterMech (Jul 18, 2013)

charly said:


> Second dealer that said it will be fine,, I'll see if they're liars


 
Dealer I used to work for would tube anything.  Sale is a sale right?  Didn't matter what the tech thought.   I saw tires go back out the door with tube showing through the sidewall/tread and the customer saying "it'll get me through today!"  And when that tube let go he'd be back in wanting another tube.  

SMH.    They'd spend $145 trying to avoid replacing a $150 tire.


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## charly (Jul 18, 2013)

MasterMech said:


> Dealer I used to work for would tube anything. Sale is a sale right? Didn't matter what the tech thought.  I saw tires go back out the door with tube showing through the sidewall/tread and the customer saying "it'll get me through today!" And when that tube let go he'd be back in wanting another tube.
> 
> SMH.  They'd spend $145 trying to avoid replacing a $150 tire.


I hear ya ....   When I was out in Milwaukee for Harley service school,,,  in the chassis class we got talking about tires.   They said to never tube a tubeless tire... A tubeless tire has a very rough interior, a liability issue for a blow out  on the road... I wonder how rough the interior of my Kubota tubeless tire is?


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## Highbeam (Jul 18, 2013)

Are those the dings at 11 and 7 o'clock? Dude your rims look nice, I should show you mine. Pop the tire off the bead, and look for some junk stuck in that interface then clean it real well. If it's not cracked then I bet there is just some junk on the bead preventing a 100% seal.

It has to pass the walrus test, every walrus likes a nice tight seal.


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## charly (Jul 18, 2013)

Highbeam said:


> Are those the dings at 11 and 7 o'clock? Dude your rims look nice, I should show you mine. Pop the tire off the bead, and look for some junk stuck in that interface then clean it real well. If it's not cracked then I bet there is just some junk on the bead preventing a 100% seal.
> 
> It has to pass the walrus test, every walrus likes a nice tight seal.


Yes, a few different spots had little bends.. Actually I used a rubber mallet in the past it seemed to have straighten things back up to where the rim looked good... For now I'm going to run the tube,,, maybe I'll never have another issue... Yes I would have loved to be able to break the bead myself but didn't want to drive on the tire with no one here to watch it....so I just ran it to the dealer so I could get it back... I cleaned many a Harley Rim,, wire brush the bead area , etc. Tires are like 12 years old.. When I bought the tractor used  from the dealer, it was 3 years old with 120 hrs.. They offered to put on any new wheels and tires I wanted, so I got the turf..  I believe I was told you can run R 1's on the same rims but not R4's or the other way around... I just wanted something that wouldn't tear my lawn up at the time.


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