[ttamoneypit]

craftsman LT2000 22hp 20x10x8 tires got this tractor new in late2004 I store it under my deck covered with blue tarps

this yr everytime I got to use it I have to fill the tires with air

I took them off and dunked them in water to find the leak and both tires have small cracks in the sidewalls--called a local small engine repair shop and they said they can ad innertubes to these tubeless tires

is this true? any other options slime maybe ???

not spending $180 to put new ones on this 5 yr old machine for all I know it could die on me tomorrow so I need to fix it cheap

thanks for any advice
Joe B Danville PA 17821

 

[SockPuppet]

Tubes are the answer. Slime will work but not as well or for as long.

 

[davidg]

go get the tubes. install them yourself, no sense paying someone to do it.

 

[professor]

Slime will eventually destroy the rims with rust. Tubes are not cheap though, how about finding good wheels and tires used - usually they have a key way in the wheel. Good time to take yours off and put some grease on the axe so they never rust on. Maybe look for a whole tractor cheap.

 

[music-in-a-bottle]

I have a 1980 John Deere with the same tires, cracks and all. Tubes!

 

[Grateful11]

Agreed tubes! I put a fix a flat in the rear of one of my Sears '89 GT tires
and took in not long ago to have tubes put in both. He took both tires off and
told me take that one back home and clean it up paint it. The one with fix a
flat was rusted something awful, the one with nothing but air was clean as a whistle.
I had to wire brush the bad one and paint before he would put a tube in it.

 

[engine2quarters]

Agree. Tube them. The price of the tube might be high, but much less than new tires. Installing them isn't rocket science. Just takes patience and space in the driveway.

 

[Tractor-Holic]

TUBES!..Slime does not help much if at all on dry rot crack leaks,or weather checked tires--nor bead leaks either..in addition to eventually rusting the rims out,it is a waste of money IMO--tubes cost the same as enough Slime to "fix" one tire,and will outlast the tire ,and preserve the rim too,if you decide to load the tires for weight with A/F and water..some folks use calcuim with tubes,but I never will,I had a Ford 641 that got both rear rims destroyed when calcuim oozzed out of a leaky tube valve stem,cost 200 bucks for new rims..tubes only keep the calcium away from the rims till you get a punture,then its no better than none!..

You can probably get tubes for about 10 bucks each..Lowes sells some with Slime in them for the 8" sized tires,but a "regular" non-slimed one will cost less..
I have used 400x6 and 8" wheel barrow tubes in lawn tractor tires many times with no troubles,they only cost 8 bucks at a local hardware store..its the 12" rear ones that get pricey now,they get 15 bucks at least in this area for one..I find tire dealers cheaper ,so I buy 12" car tire tubes instead,but they usually have to order them in for the next day..

 

[olcowhand]

Tubes for sure! There's another thread about tubes in tubeless tires. This is just more fuel for the "tube guys". The tires likely will last several more years with tubes & for a fraction of the cost of new tires. The tubes would likely still be holding in the old tires by the time a set of new tubeless tires would start leaking.