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My JD 855 compact utility tractor came with calcium chloride loaded in the rear tires for ballast. This is the 2nd time I've had to address leaks due to the valve cores rotting out. The rims are pretty rusty now too. I considered getting new tires and rims and adding a non-corrosive liquid, but the options for 33x12.5-15 turf tires are extremely limited and I'd be looking at over $1,000.

Instead I'm going to have a local truck and heavy equipment tire dealer repair the rims as necessary and fill the existing tires with foam. Hopefully they'll provide enough ballast. The machine is used mostly for light duty chores on my own property these days and I'm looking forward to not having to worry about air/fluid leaks anymore. I'm grateful that the backhoe outriggers make it so easy to pull the wheels.

I tried to upload photos but the files are too big. I never had that issue before the software update.

I once worked at a farm equipment dealership, hated pumping out tractor tires so flats could be repaired then refilling them. The nasty stuff ruined coveralls and sure got my attention in burns or cuts. A lot of farmers now use beet juice. I doubt foam will give you the weight you need.

We'll see. Rim Guard beet juice and windshield washer fluid as ballast were also considered. I just need a tire that doesn't leak and enough ballast to offset the front loader carrying wood mulch, compost and firewood. I've usually got either the backhoe or York rake on the back and I can always fabricate a ballast box for it if needed. I'm not too worried about ride quality because I don't transport it far on roads and I don't mow with it. It's mostly my personal wheelbarrow but it is also used to push back my brush piles, turn my compost piles and for grading my gravel driveway. I used to use it on landscaping jobs more but I've moved to doing mostly mowing and other maintenance work. I may use it for an occasional large mulch job. It's an experiment for sure. If this machine was being used off of my property doing earth work on a regular basis I would have likely made a different decision - likely the R4 industrial tires. Foam filling is what my local equipment rental yard does on their skid loaders these days after having similar calcium-related issues.

As a side note, another option was to put Jeep all terrain truck tires on it. They were half the price of the Goodyear turf tires which I was quoted $360 a piece for. Yikes!

P.S. - The machine is 4wd and I'm usually on solid ground so traction isn't usually an issue even sporting turf tires.

IT is a problem with the new rubber formulations.
The other problem is cheap surface finishes like PVC powder coating.
IF it was my tractor ( and it isn't) I would have the rims pulled, wet sand balsted back to bare metal then the full POR 15 paint treatment with 3 top coats.
Then go to plain water in the rims
If you are some where that can freeze water over night so plain old glycol anti freeze in the water
The cheaper way is to simply fit a tube and go back to plain water.

Freezing is an issue. They're tubed now but the valve stems are shot I'm sure. retapping and replacing the cores worked last time but was temporary and at the expense of the rims. They need protection to at least zero degrees F. I'm leaving it all up to them. I don't used this machine much. It's taken me 20 years to put 500 hours on it. Cheap and functional/trouble free is the goal. This is what they do for the old farmers with leaky dry rotted tires.

Anti-freeze 50/50 mix should be good to -34* F. That should prevent further rust when the present rust is contained.

In the South we use plain water.

Here we go. Resized a couple of photos of the machine and the worst rim. It needs a little TLC. It used to be covered by a tent but it's been out in the open for years now and I haven't really kept up with service. It has lichens growing on it. Going to get a new seat and seat springs too.

Well it is a tractor and most of them spend all their life out in the weather.
Throwing a tarp over them is only good in winter to prevent snow building up.
In hot weather they trap the damp air and promote corrosion.
That corroded area will need repairing or the rim will rust away to nothing there.
Hit the paint with a knot twist wire brush and take all of it off back to good metal.
Do not be surprised if 1/2 the paint just flakes off in big strips.
Now if you really want to you could drop the stabilizers to lift the rear wheels & rotate them so both valves are somewhere between 9 & 3 ( clock ) thus they will be in air .

Darryl- "Looks like dual rear tires". With that, do you even need to weigh down the rear tires for traction ?

Fill them with helium ?

7394 said:

Darryl- "Looks like dual rear tires". With that, do you even need to weigh down the rear tires for traction ?

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They're single rears. Must be an optical illusion.

Darryl G said:

They're single rears. Must be an optical illusion.

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Or I need to put on my reading glasses..

Wheels are back on. The tire dealer decided to take a different direction and install new tubes and washer fluid after seeing that the rim interiors were in good shape. The problem is that one of them is weeping a little, sigh. It's just a drop or 2 a day. They bent one a little too. I think it will be ok. One of the rims was pretty corroded - the other wasn't nearly as bad. It would have been a lot easier to prep and paint them without the tires installed, another sigh. But at $150 for new tubes and washer fluid installed I don't think I really have anything to complain about. It's interesting to see how this rim corroded in ridges almost. I definitely should have done something about the calcium issue sooner but the visible side of the rims looked fine. I didn't realize how bad things were on the inside side.

I've got the battery box and grill painted - both also pretty rusty - and I've got a new battery I'll be installing and I'm about to run out and get a new seat. Yellow ones are available at Tractor Supply. The original was black for my model/year but yellow will look fine I'm sure. Then I can finally turn my compost pile, get some more wood up on the deck and do some other chores/projects. I'll be in for under $500 total. Well worth it to have a tractor/loader/backhoe around.

That spray paint is pretty thin, I think I would have opted to brush paint them & a couple coats as well. Reguardless, they look 100% better.

7394 said:

That spray paint is pretty thin, I think I would have opted to brush paint them & a couple coats as well. Reguardless, they look 100% better.

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I won't disagree but I've got so many things to do that just getting the tires holding air/fluid and not having to buy new rims makes me happy. There are 2 coats of primer and 2 of topcoat on them. The front grill was pretty rusty at the bottom too - common problem with them. That got painted last night. 2nd time for that. They're really pricey! I went thin on that with the paint - didn't want to plug up all the perforations.

I hear ya about "so many things to do"... not enough hours in the day or energy. LOL