Fixing Wheel Horse Tire.

Jeff-oh · Jun 30, 2008

I have a Wheel Horse riding lawn mower (1997 vintage)

One of the front tires is leaking at the Valve stem base. I do not believe these are tubed tires.

Assuming a tubles tire, Can I replace a valve stem without removing the tire?

Is there anything more to it than gluing the new one in?

ScottyHOMeY · Jun 30, 2008

Any valve stem I ever saw was made like a grommet and has to be pulled through to the outside until it seats. You don't have to remove the tire, but you do have to break the bead to put a new one in.

glennster · Jun 30, 2008

if its tubeless, you need to break the bead down on the valve side of the rim. use a pair of channel locks if you dont have the tire valve tool, and pull the whole valve stem out. check the hole to be sure its clean and rust free, then dunk the new stem in dish soap, insert it from the backside and pull it thru the hole until the ring seats. no need to glue them in.

Irv (Ia) · Jun 30, 2008

If that's an 8" tire I think you can get inside by pushing the tire down. If I remember right anything smaller than that gets a little tough.
A stem puller works the best and are cheap to buy. A pair of pliers and some dish soap on the stem will probably do the job if you don't rough up the threads. Put the cap back on after you get it through the rim and pull on the rubber behind the cap.
I put tubes in almost all my garden tractor tires.
That seems to work the best for me.

Irv*

Anonymous-0 · Jun 30, 2008

It should be a tubeless tire. Look on the sidewall of the tire. (it will say tubeless)
Even if it had a tube, you would not have to break down or remove the tire off the rim.
Loosen (break down)the valve stem side of the tire bead from the rim, push down at the stem and you will see the stem base. Cut this base off with a utility knife, and pull the stem out. You can buy a stem from any tire or farm / auto supply store, and install it into the rim from the inside (cap side out)
Make it easier by lubing it with a little liquid soap (soap the bead when inflating so it slips into place), thread on a 4 way tire tool to the stem, and pull till the flared seat is all the way through the hole.......then you're done.....with that part! When you do this, make sure that the valve stem hole is clean and smooth, so the new stem will seat. Good luck!

Anonymous-0 · Jun 30, 2008

You might try this--Let all the air out of the tire and twist the valve stim in a circle. This will help seat the stim of a TUBLESS tire. This has worked for me many times.

Iowa_tire_guy · Jun 30, 2008

(quoted from post at 09:09:43 06/30/08) You might try this--Let all the air out of the tire and twist the valve stim in a circle. This will help seat the stim of a TUBLESS tire. This has worked for me many times.

The above method would work. If you look at the stem carefully where it goes through the rim the difference is a tube stem goes straight into the wheel. A tubeless stem bevels out at the wheel. To answer your question I have put a stem in from the outside but decided it was easier to take the tire off. Or just push the bead in and replace the stem.

Jeff-oh · Jun 30, 2008

I am assuming tubeless because I just can remember. I'll have to check tonight.

I wanted to avoid breaking the bead as getting the tire to inflate and seat itself is a pain. Perhaps I'll try the gasoline method...

Let you know how it works out.

jose bagge · Jun 30, 2008

A 97 should be tubeless, and there's no way to install a stem without breaking the bead. Just bust the top bead, and then pull it thru with a pair of dikes.

ScottyHOMeY · Jun 30, 2008

Jeff, you can get by with breaking just the one bead if it is tubeless. My experience in life though is that I've had to put tubes in both front tires of every lawn tractor I ever had.

If you get in there and find you have a tube, you might just as well figure somebody put them there for a reason and you'll have to break both beads to be able to get a new one in.

If it doesn't have a tube, it's not that hard to get the bead to reseat on a small tire like that with just air -- no gas, no ether. Just get a strap around it (the cheapest tie-down-type nylon ratchet strap you can find will do the trick). Soap the bead up good (No more than I have to do it, I usually raid the cabinet under the kitchen sink and use Murphy's Oil Soap) and tighten the strap down around the circumference of the tire in the middle of the tread. That'll pucker the bead out enough to meet the rim so you can get air into it.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 30, 2008

I'd just Slime it. About a pint per tire. This is assuming that this is a fairly slow leak and the valve stem does not appear to be damaged.

Before I found about Slime, I had a terrible time with flat tires on my riding mower, mostly from Hawthorn thorns, but at least once from a leaking valve stem. It usually was not hard to break the bead of those tubeless tires, since just trying to drive the mower back to the garage would cause the tire to come off the rim. And it usually was not too hard to find where the leak was, and to repair that problem. It was a real hassle getting the beads to reseat on the rim, especially on the wide rear tires. I found that by tightening a rope or wire extremely tight around the middle of the tread by twisting the rope or wire that I could force the tire beads out far enough to finally seat when I put the air hose on the stem.

Slime is so much easier. Good luck!

Jeff-oh · Jul 1, 2008

It's a tubed tire after all. Got the bike tire patch kit out and it all back together.

Fixing Wheel Horse Tire.

Jeff-oh

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ScottyHOMeY

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glennster

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Irv (Ia)

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Anonymous-0

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Anonymous-0

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Iowa_tire_guy

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Jeff-oh

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jose bagge

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ScottyHOMeY

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Anonymous-0

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Jeff-oh

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