Lawnmower front wheel cant air up
#1
Lawnmower front wheel cant air up
On my riding mower the front right wheel has lost so much are that it no longer allows me to air it back up. I attempted to use a ratchet strap to compress the tire onto the rim but it would not air up in this manner. I may be doing something wrong but it's not working. What can I do to get air into the tire or am I stuck bringing it to a professional?
#2
You need to put the ratchet strap in the center of the tread area so when it gets tightened the tire bead contacts the rim tightly.
#4
Member
Some of them just take some patience and sounds like you're on the right track so don't give up yet. Sometimes, particularly smaller tires like that, the ratchet strap doesn't do enough to expand the bead. If you haven't yet, try it with the tire upright and center the rim to get as much of the larger diameter of the rim touching the bead. This ones a little tricky because you have to quickly pull the rag out before it gets caught but I've also done them horizontal with a large rag wrapped in the gap on the top side, a forearm on each side holding it in place while I put the air in, then, like I said, quickly snuck it out before the bead got too far onto the rim. A couple springs ago I had one that I must have tinkered with for a couple of evenings, then finally popped it off the rim, cut 3 or 4 2x4 blocks that I wedged between the beads, and left it in the sun for a day. Went back to it, the blocks fell right out and the beads were expanded enough that I was able to put it back on the rim and air it right up. Of course there's always the matter of having enough air available right when you need it, so, depending on the size of your compressor tank, yeah, you might want to run by a tire store and ask them to inflate it.
#5
A good blast of air is really helpful with any method as it causes the tire to briefly expand.
#6
Usually it helps if you take out the valve stem core and use a blower on the air hose to really get some air into the tire faster than it can leak out. It also helps to spray WD40 or something like that around the beads of the tire. Also, keep the weight of the mower off the tire while doing this and when you put the air to it, if it doesn't go ahead and inflate, you can sometimes punch the tire in the middle to help make the sidewalls billow out a little from the temporary burst in pressure.
#7
Group Moderator
If you search YouTube there are some bush fixes for seating the bead if you don't have the proper tools. I'll leave it at that except after the flaming "whoomp!" you need to be ready to put in air because when mini explosion cools the air inside will contract and can suck the tire bead back off the rim. Or, the much safer alternative is to take the tire & rim to a tire store and have the seat it for you.
#8
Member
You could also add an inner tube to the tire. This will require removing the tire and wheel from the mower.