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Can't Find Tire Leak

#1

M

mcvoss

Hey Everyone,

I am embarrased to ask this. I have a slow Leak in a Rear JD D130 Tire. It takes 2 days to go completly flat. I've taken it off the mower. I can't see anything in it and I have gone over it multple times w/ soapy water and I still can't find the Leak. I also soaped up the valve stem and bead but nothing. Tire is in great shape. If I find the leak y thought was to use a plug.

Any other ideas? All the lawn shops around here won't repair will only replace the tire. I thought about filling the bathtub up w/ water and checking it that way, pretty sure the wife wouldn't like it but I'm losing ideas.

My last resort, which I don't want to do is add slime. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

MIchael


#2

ILENGINE

ILENGINE

With a leak that slow slime won't have much effect. Best option is while you have the tire off the mower. Just soap a small section say 1/4 of the tire and just keep an eye on that area to look for a small patch of bubbles. Then move to the next section. Really slow leaks can be hard to detect and tend to make really small bubbles. Doesn't hurt to also check the side walls really well at the same time. I have had times were I would soap a section and then walk away for a few minutes and come back and recheck. Good luck.


#3

M

mcvoss

ILENGINE said:
With a leak that slow slime won't have much effect. Best option is while you have the tire off the mower. Just soap a small section say 1/4 of the tire and just keep an eye on that area to look for a small patch of bubbles. Then move to the next section. Really slow leaks can be hard to detect and tend to make really small bubbles. Doesn't hurt to also check the side walls really well at the same time. I have had times were I would soap a section and then walk away for a few minutes and come back and recheck. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll recheck. Thanks for letting me know about the slime. What do you think about the bathtub idea, I used to submerge an intertube in the tub when I was a kid. Mom didn't appreciate that but I always found the leak.

I see you're in Beecher, my wife and I grew up in Decatur.

Michael


#4

StarTech

StarTech

Last resort...Find a tub big enough to completely submerge the tire and rim assembly. Then fill the tub completely with water. This will even show up a rim internal weld problem. Rare but does happen.


#5

Scrubcadet10

Scrubcadet10

I'd submerge the entire thing.
I remember i had a truck tire that would slowly go down over a week or so.
took it to a local shop and they submerged it in a tank of water and kept it under for an hour, every so often,i'm talking maybe every 6 or 7 minutes, a few bubbles would come from the base of a raised tread.


#6

G

GrumpyCat

Time to either buy a new tire or put Slime in the tire you have. Slime is high viscosity and will seep very slowly through wherever your leak is located. You may never see Slime on the outside of the tire. It may totally fix your leak.


#7

StarTech

StarTech

But later have mess to clean up and rust to remove. Just cleaner to install an inner tube vs the slime mess.

You however have remove the thorns, screws, and nails.


#8

R

Rivets

As someone who’s had to repair more than my share of tires where Slime or other sealing products have been used, it is not a cure all and you definitely will have a mess if the tire has to be removed in the future. I inform customers that if I find it there will be at least an extra 1/2 labor to do the job. I had one customer tell me “NO SLIME” when replacing 4 tires on his UTV. When I found SLIME in first tire called him to inform him what I found. Didn’t believe me. Told him to come in and I’ll take the next tire off in front of him. He did and when he saw the inside he got on his phone. Found out his som-in-law had put it in when he found thorns in it while using it. Ended up with 4.5 hours of labor plus cost of the tires. Neither him or I were happy campers.


#9

Tiger Small Engine

Tiger Small Engine

StarTech said:
But later have mess to clean up and rust to remove. Just cleaner to install an inner tube vs the slime mess.

You however have remove the thorns, screws, and nails.
Click to expand...

There are better products on the market than Slime, and they have their place, mainly when dry rot is the issue.

If you install a tube, as soon as you hit a nail, thorn, glass, etc., you are back to square one. Plus you have to deal with the inner tube as well as the flat tire.


#10

StarTech

StarTech

Tiger Small Engine said:
There are better products on the market than Slime, and they have their place, mainly when dry rot is the issue.

If you install a tube, as soon as you hit a nail, thorn, glass, etc., you are back to square one. Plus you have to deal with the inner tube as well as the flat tire.
Click to expand...
Yes but that happens even with new pneumatic tires. I got a neighbor that I installed two new tires and within a week had three flats. It is cheaper to patch inner tubes than buy new tires. Once he got rid of the thorn sources no more flats.

But I did something along during the time and that is the 24 x 10.00 requires a tube smaller than the one Carlisle says goes in that size tire as several other customer had tube related problems.


#11

J

JimP2014

I'm not sure if you're still having a problem but I have a lt2000 the rear tire kept going flat and like little engine mentioned I tried that slime stuff and that did not work but what I did find that works and is still working because it's still holding air is a product called road instant flat fix something like that but I bought it on the big a let's call it.

So I wasted the 15 bucks on the slime stuff but for 13 bucks I got this other product


#12

J

JimP2014

JimP2014 said:
I'm not sure if you're still having a problem but I have a lt2000 the rear tire kept going flat and like little engine mentioned I tried that slime stuff and that did not work but what I did find that works and is still working because it's still holding air is a product called road instant flat fix something like that but I bought it on the big a let's call it.

So I wasted the 15 bucks on the slime stuff but for 13 bucks I got this other product
Click to expand...

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#13

Tiger Small Engine

Tiger Small Engine

StarTech said:
Yes but that happens even with new pneumatic tires. I got a neighbor that I installed two new tires and within a week had three flats. It is cheaper to patch inner tubes than buy new tires. Once he got rid of the thorn sources no more flats.

But I did something along during the time and that is the 24 x 10.00 requires a tube smaller than the one Carlisle says goes in that size tire as several other customer had tube related problems.
Click to expand...

When you get a puncture in a tire with no inner tube, you can simply plug it. With a tire that has an inner tube and gets a puncture, you end up putting in a plug. Much more time and cost saving to plug vs. putting in tube.

Fix A Flat usually doesn’t work well and often rusts out the wheel long term. So then you have to clean and prep wheel once the tire goes flat to accept a tire to hold air right.

I fix a fair amount of tires on mowers. Tire plugs, bead sealer, and good tire sealant is usually the answer, most of the time in that order.


#14

StarTech

StarTech

Well there is one problem with tire plugs. Most of you are using the automotive string type. These don't seal in the long term due to the automotive type are meant to be cured by the road heat generated while the vehicle is moving. Lawnmower tires just don't heat up to cure these plugs.

Now there are rubber type mushroom plugs that much better and are meant for off road use.

Another problem with string plugs is that if you do later want to install an inner tube, they will wear a hole in the tube due to ball of string inside the tire. Now rubber mushroom plugs are less likely to do this.

And a hint of patching inner tubes. Use some talc powder or similar dusting powder on the patch area after installing the patch. This is keep the patch area from sticking to the tire inner liner as tubes must be free to move around a little.

Another hint here is not using the 24x12-12 tubes in the 24x12-12 tires. You use 23x10.50-12 tubes. The problem of the 24x12-12 tubes in the 24x12-12 is the tubes are too big for the tires. Once you use the 24x12-12 tubes, they will fold and rub holes in themselves. When you pull these tubes and air them up they look a pair of pointed breasts with heavy cleavage. It is at this cleavage point where they wear holes and are not patch-able. I have well test the smaller tube in these 24x12-12 tires.


#15

ILENGINE

ILENGINE

Never had any issues with using the string rubberized window sealing sticky strips that are commonly used for tire plugs. And if I later go back to install a tube just pull all the plugs out and put in the tube.


#16

StarTech

StarTech

ILENGINE said:
Never had any issues with using the string rubberized window sealing sticky strips that are commonly used for tire plugs. And if I later go back to install a tube just pull all the plugs out and put in the tube.
Click to expand...
Unless you boot those areas you just asking an easy puncture. Some tires I have tubed has so many plugs in the same hole that the inner tube just sticks out when I remove the plugs.

Or least that is the case with punctures from some of the sage grasses and other tough weeds. Heck even I get punctures myself from those things and it is not the tires that getting punctured either.


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