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Front tires

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 10:41 am
by Shopp'n Cubs
As I said in my tractor purchase post, I got a set of rear tires to go with the tractor. But how about fronts? I have seen a few different styles on cubs. What would be correct for the '55. And can any farm tractor place order them?

ALSO

I remember a long while back someone telling me that "in the old days" he used to mount his tractor tires himself. Is that true? can you mount a tractor tire (rear) by hand?

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 11:53 am
by johnbron
I bought a set of front tires (rib) and tubes from Tucker-Tire and they were only $60.10 delivered Fed-Ex to my door. My local tire shop could go no cheaper than $110.00 and could not understand how Tucker could sell&ship them for less than his wholesale cost.

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 12:26 pm
by Shopp'n Cubs
johnbron
How will you go about mounting then??

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 12:42 pm
by johnbron
Shopp'n Cubs wrote:johnbron
How will you go about mounting then??


I will attempt to mount them myself. It should not be to much of a chore. If they give me too much of a hassle I will take them to the tire shop and let them do it. The ones that I have a hard time doing myself are the Tubeless ones trying to get them to seat but tubed is easy. I find the smaller the tire the harder to mount by hand, Like those (*&^%$#@#$%&) 4" rider mower tubeless`s.

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 1:01 pm
by George Willer
I remember a long while back someone telling me that "in the old days" he used to mount his tractor tires himself. Is that true? can you mount a tractor tire (rear) by hand?


It isn't really that difficult to do. I've done my own tire work for years, but sometimes take one to the tire shop just to get the beads broken. That's the hardest part... especially if the rims have rusted badly. I'm 69 and disabled so I suppose I may quit doing it in 5 years or so. Just so you know, the larger the tire, the easier. I have a pair of 13.6 x 38's on an M that will have to have the tubes replaced. I don't expect any problems.

Those 4.00 x 12's are a job for little kids and old ladies because they are so flexible.

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 1:36 pm
by Bigdog
Though not necessary by any means, this helps make the job real easy"
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$35 at Harbor Freight.

Like George, I've changed a lot of tires with only hand tools. Not a difficult job and probably the worst part is getting the tire bead "broken" from the rim. Especially if it's been on there for a few years. That's one of the features I really like about the changer. Any "tire irons" you use should have well rounded edges to prevent puncturing tubes or gouging the sealing surface of the bead.

Mama's liquid dish detergent makes sealing new beads on the rims really easy. I might even buy my own bottle (especially if she catches me with her's again).

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 1:44 pm
by Jim Becker
George Willer wrote:Those 4.00 x 12's are a job for little kids and old ladies because they are so flexible.


The tires or the kids?

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 2:03 pm
by WKPoor
I too have geared myself up to change my own tires. Purchased a wide variety of bead breakers and spoons and the manual changer Big Doogy showed pic of. The most useful tool however is the tube of tire lube I purchased at a local auto parts store. Came in a tub special order (lifetime supply for the house) butt I'm a little leary of dish soap. Had bad experience in the past with that stuff rusting metal real bad. This stuff is non-corrosive and real slippery for a while. The rubber absorbs it after installation and it won't corrode your rims. Makes installation 10xs easier. Also TireTek sells a solvent to aid in breaking beads that are stubborn. It slightly attacks the rubber compound just enough to allow the bead to give up on those rusted or just plain stubborn ones. Bill

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:51 pm
by farmallcub49
When we changed the tire on the M, I just backed the H onto the the tire and rim. After doing this twice the came right off. Make sure the air is out of the tire though. Hopefully that is common sense, but I had better put in that disclaimer. We mounted two tires in about an hour. I have also hit an old tire with a sledge hammer and this also broke the bead.

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:59 pm
by johnbron
:P I found an easy way to break the beads on tires. I use the outrigger on my backhoe for down pressure on the tire with a 2X4 next to the rim. I tried with the loader bucket but it just raises the front of the tractor off the ground on tough stuck beads. :mrgreen:

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 6:57 pm
by Scott C
I just picked up some tires today for the 54. I had told my dealer about Tucker, by the way Jim at Tucker is a great guy to deal with, and the $60.10 sounds about right. She sold me two tires and tubes for $65. As much as I like a great deal, for 5 bucks I'd rather support my dealer. I plan on mounting them myself, I do all my cub cadet tires by hand although that handy gadget from Harbor is lookin better all the time.
I use a brick hammer to break the bead on small tires (can't be new and sharp or it will damage the rubber) a little water helps it get through the bead. I was wondering about the 24's, I don't have any old tire hammers from my trucking days (thankfully).

BTW, is Tuckers price for the rear tires good? I've never had to buy them before.

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 7:19 pm
by John *.?-!.* cub owner
Scott C wrote: I do all my cub cadet tires by hand although that handy gadget from Harbor is lookin better all the time.


I don't think the one Big Dog showed will work very well on lawn tractor tires, but they do sell one for about $20 that does do a fairly good job on them, also works great on the golf cart that I use to run around the place, though I would suggest going to your local auto parts store and getting a couple of small tire spoons to go with it. Most auto parts store also sell Rubber Lube at a reasonable price.

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 10:18 pm
by WKPoor
John-I agree with the small spoons. I've got a large assortment of spoons from very large on down and the handiest are 2 little ones about 8" in length. I've found they will work on 4" to 38" rims quite well. Bill

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 11:07 pm
by Jack fowler
Someone had a post on breaking beads with a “C” clamp last summer. At the time I was changing a set of tires on a friends Cub and couldn’t break them down the conventional way and tried the “C” clamp way. The rear tire(s) bead broke down as soon as the clamp was turned in. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The front tires were removed by my tire machine.

I just did some Cub Cadet tires and they were a little more stubborn with the “C”clamp method because, their rims are pretty wide.
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Jack Fowler

Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2004 9:46 am
by Catfish
johnbron wrote::P I use the outrigger on my backhoe for down pressure on the tire with a 2X4 next to the rim. I tried with the loader bucket but it just raises the front of the tractor off the ground on tough stuck beads. :mrgreen:


johnbron, Now I can convince my wife that I really need that backhoe I've been wanting. I have to have it to break the beads on the cub tiresImage