# Lawn Tractor Tire Change



## tufcat (Mar 9, 2020)

After 20+ years, I had to replace a rear tire on my Craftsman lawn tractor, 20x10.00x8 (tubeless).

i got the old tire off of the rim, cleaned the coating of "Green Stuff" off of the inside of the rim and got the new tire installed on the rim.

i installed a new valve, removed the valve stem, installed a tensioning line around the circumference of the tire and sprayed a soapy substance around the bead area of the tire. Still, I am unable to get the tire beads to set onto the rim so the tire will hold air and inflate.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get this tire inflated?


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

Use one of those cheap ratchet straps on the center outside diameter of the tire and squeeze it hard. That will expand the beads so they seat and use some soapy water to help it out. Works for me 100% of the time.


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## BigT (Sep 15, 2014)

If all else fails, put a tube in it.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

What works sometimes is to have a block of wood that will fit inside the diameter of the wheel. Hold the tire and bang the center of the wheel on the block, sometimes that'll push the tire bead onto the rim. Ratchet strap the tire as mentioned to try and get the other side to seat.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

tufcat said:


> After 20+ years, I had to replace a rear tire on my Craftsman lawn tractor, 20x10.00x8 (tubeless).
> 
> i got the old tire off of the rim, cleaned the coating of "Green Stuff" off of the inside of the rim and got the new tire installed on the rim.
> 
> ...


Tires can be a huge PITA. I do so many that I've broken down and bought both a bead blaster and a regular pneumatic strap, but it can still be a struggle, especially on a new tire where the sidewalls have never been fully flexed.

I've learned to take a wire wheel and buff the inside of the rim as clean as possible. I've seen just the smallest amount of rust, debris, or a nick hang up the bead. The real trick is to put as much air volume into the tire as possible at one time to "pop" the bead on the rim, that's how a bead blaster works... That's also how you blow up a dry rotted tire. That's where an "open flow" locking air chuck comes into play.

I've got a separate air line at the tire station set up with one of these, it's also set up with a hard mounted ball valve shut off. I lock the air chuck on the valve stem and use the ball valve to give the tire a couple of quick burst of 150PSI shop air all at once. That works 90% of the time... If it doesn't, then it's time to move on to the pneumatic strap and a "burst". If that still fails, the 5gal bead blaster, is the last resort. The locking chuck/shut-off valve gets me away from the tire if it explodes, and it has happened, but never on a new tire *so far*.
Open Flow Locking Air Chuck

Everybody and their mother uses, soapy water.... I normally do also, but sometimes on really stubborn rims, I'll use white lithium assembly grease, or Vaseline. Somebody is probably going to comment about "spinning the tire on the rim under torque". When have you ever seen a lawnmower with "bead locks", especially on front tires? For rear tires on motorcycles and ATV's, I use Armor-all. It's as slick as soapy water, but it dries "sticky" on rubber, unlike assembly lube, or Vaseline

The final trick I'll mention is to cautiously use a heat gun to warm the bead/sidewall. I'll usually do this on tires that have never been mounted and the bead/sidewall can be really stiff (6-8 ply tires). Some times, this is the only way to get a new tire mounted that has sit in a "stack", and arrives from an on-line seller flatter than a pancake.

Good luck... I feel your pain, and as Big T said, there's always installing a tube


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## tufcat (Mar 9, 2020)

Hi Everybody,

Thanks for the quick feedback. I couldn't get the beads to engage on both sides of the rim at the same time, even with a buckle strap around the tire.

I finally gave up and took it to the tire shop. They got it done.

The tire size on the sidewall is the same as the old one, but the new tire looks narrower and taller than the other tire. Anyways, I'm back in business for now, but may need to go for round two and replace the other tire too. 😕



Bob Driver said:


> Tires can be a huge PITA. I do so many that I've broken down and bought both a bead blaster and a regular pneumatic strap, but it can still be a struggle, especially on a new tire where the sidewalls have never been fully flexed.
> 
> I've learned to take a wire wheel and buff the inside of the rim as clean as possible. I've seen just the smallest amount of rust, debris, or a nick hang up the bead. The real trick is to put as much air volume into the tire as possible at one time to "pop" the bead on the rim, that's how a bead blaster works... That's also how you blow up a dry rotted tire. That's where an "open flow" locking air chuck comes into play.
> 
> ...


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