Tire valve stem

I had something happen to a loaded 18.4 38 radial that I still can't get my head around. Brian the tire guy has fixed thousands of tractor tires and said he's never seen anything like it.

I was chopping yesterday, stopped to change wagons and a tire was leaking chloride around the stem. I called and all the service trucks were out, so he didn't get here until this morning. When he looked at it, he thought the same thing that I did, that the rim was rusted and had cut in to the tube. He had a heck of a time unscrewing the outer part of the stem, then couldn't get the tool screwed on to it to suck the chloride out. He just kind of had to hold it up against it and let it suck air and chloride until he got it down far enough to break it down, slit the tube and suck the rest out that way.

When he pulled the tube out, the brass part that's vulcanized in the rubber part of the stem stayed in the hole in the rim. He had to wiggle it around and then it came right out. There was a big groove worn right in to the side of that brass stem. At least half way in. It must have flexed just enough in that radial tire to eventually wear into it. The rim was fine. The hole looked like new. The rubber part of the tube must have been sealing things up just like the stem in a tubeless tire for all those years until something finally flexed just enough to break the seal.

Brian tossed it up in the back of the truck after we looked at it and pondered what must have happened. I wish now that I'd have kept it or at least taken a picture of it. Unreal how that tire stayed up for so long after that hole first wore through.

At least you didn't have to repair or replace the rim. I guess that's as close as you will get to good luck with a flat tire!

Ben

On my big tractor, two of the rear tires have tubes, two don't. I needed weight fast when I got it, so had fluid [not calcium] put in all of them. 100 gal @ 10#/gal, in each tire. So far, so good. Radial tires really don't like tubes, and I don't like fluid! I recently bought another similar tractor, and happily, it has 3000# iron weights on it.

Randy, I had one do that last spring. Onlly cost $300 for a new tube. Tire guy blamed it on cheap Chinese tubes, but he put it on.....

He showed me this new one he put in was a heavy natural rubber rube this time. The total bill was $288. I was surprised at how thick the rim is on that big White. Way heavier stuff than these lighter tractors.

I had a very small leak between the valve stem and the adapter. So I tightened it a little, still leaked. So tightened a little more and the valve stem threads broke off. Ya it was loaded. Was. Tire was rotten anyhow and rim was rusted bad. Yesterday I went to the Tractor wrecking yard in Stanten MI. and picked up a used tire and wheel. 16.9x34 9hole wheel for a 656 Farmall.

Micro tire event my self!!! I ride a Schwinn to school every day it is reasonable to do that. About 2 miles one way. On the way home I noticed a wiggle in the frame that was not the front tire (I was looking at that). It made it home no issue. The sidewall had separated at the bead into a see through mesh of distorted cords. Easy fix with a new 1.50X26 Tire and the old tube. (not very exciting, and no Beet Juice, CaCl or windshield washer fluid. to drain). Jim

dont let mike from pickers know you have a schwin !

Ah yes, Jonny Hall. I'm about 6 miles from him. Should have stopped in, I'd have put you to work. LOL

(quoted from post at 20:48:24 09/10/21) I had a very small leak between the valve stem and the adapter. So I tightened it a little, still leaked. So tightened a little more and the valve stem threads broke off. Ya it was loaded. Was. Tire was rotten anyhow and rim was rusted bad. Yesterday I went to the Tractor wrecking yard in Stanten MI. and picked up a used tire and wheel. 16.9x34 9hole wheel for a 656 Farmall.

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I had the same problem on a loaded 20.8x38 I ran a pipe tap over what was left of it and screwed on a brass 90 then screwed a Schrader valve assembly off an old well pressure tank on to the brass 90 so I could air it back up.

It was a hokey temporary repair but with that said it was 4 years ago and it is still holding up.

There was no fix to this one. I probably didn't describe it very well, but it wasn't half worn through the brass on one side, it
was cut more than half way across. If it hadn't started leaking and had kept going, it was just a matter of time until the whole
thing would have been cut right off clean. It looked like somebody had taken an angle grinder and cut it half off.