Flat Tire Repair on a Riding Mower

by Jim Cox

2 Materials

$12

12 Minutes

Easy

Not my typical home improvement, but I hope it can save someone some time around the house, and not use any flammable chemicals like ether to re-seat the tire bead.

Here is a tire on my Zero-turn that I rolled off the bead. It's broke loose so I won't be able to re-seat the bead with an air compressor.

First, jack up the front of the mower.

While the tire was loose I spooned in some Schaeffer tire repair solution. (Regular fix-a-flat will go in the valve stem too but it has already failed me once). We joke around the house and call this tire gravy ; )

Next I grabbed a 1" tie down strap out of my trailer toolbox

To fit a tire this small, we do NOT use the hooks. I feed the long side of the nylon strap thru the ratchet under the tire.

word to the wise: position the valve stem where you can get to in first. Don't ask me how I know this....

Bring it around the tire and over the top back to the ratchet

feed thru the ratchet. Most are big enough to handle two thicknesses of the nylon strap.

Tighten the ratchet. This will put near-equal pressure around the tire, causing the sides to 'bulge out' and meet the rim.

Add air thru the valve stem with a regular air hose and chuck. Tire should inflate quickly. Don't try to fill the tire, it will only make the ratchet harder to remove.

remove the ratchet strap and finish airing up the tire. When it's at the rated pressure, let the jack down. If you used a chemical sealer, it's a good idea to run the mower around a while to distribute the sealant.

Good luck.