Hello the front tire on my lawn tractor went flat. I have searched for a way to remove the wheel with the tire to have it repaired or replaced. Can someone please tell me how I can remove the wheel. Thank you

 

I don't know what kind of front axle you have, But usually you pull a cotter pin,remove the washer & slide the wheel off, Or there may be a dust cap covering the pin, or a nut with a cotter pin in it. (unless the inside of the bearing has siezed to the shaft) Have a closer look & you may have to post the model & serial numbers & the pros will tell you exactlly what you need to do. Good Luck, Roger

 

A craftsman will have rubber dust covers over the area you need to get to. Grab it with pliers and pull it off (might have to tug a bit). Then, you will see an "E" clip that you can pop off with a flat screwdriver and then remove the washer and wheel.

 

You're fortunate that its the front tire. The rear is another animal. Everything suggested are good suggestions. The rubber cap can be a challenge to remove and put back on as well. You'll have to lift the front axle to free the tire so you can pull the wheel off.

If it is a slow leak, then just get some "Fix-A-Flat" and save yourself the trouble.

Good Luck!

 

I tried the "grab it with pliers" to remove the rubber grease / dust cap but just managed to tear it up (just a bit though) and could not get it to come off. In trying several other methods, this is how I managed to get the cap off (and may be able to re-use). I have not but the tire back on the tractor so .... I will post an update as to whether the cap was in good enough shape to re-use. I had made a tool to aid in the removal the electrical connectors for the glow plugs in my truck (another story for another time). For the purpose of this posting, it is sufficient to say that the tool amounted to a piece of steel stock with the following dimensions 1/2" x 10" x 1/8" thick with a right angle bend at about 1/2" from one end. Using this tool to apply a pulling pressure to the inside edge of the cap, I then used a 18" hub cap removal tool to pry against the tool using the tire / rim as the fulcrum. Rotating the hub and repeating the pulling + prying until the rubber cap finally came off.

 

When they're that dried up and hard, I just cut 'em off and put another on.

 

I use a cotter key tool,,,pointed and bent on 90 degrees, most of the time you can pull those caps right off but like others are saying sometimes they are hard as a rock, so I break out the propane tourch and just heat it up enough to soften the cap,,,don't go crazy and start it on fire and or melt the grease, just a little heat will do the trick.