New rear shoes
 

Got a call from Miller last week that the tires I was hoping to purchase had come in. They arrived yesterday and I set to mounting them today.

I had wanted AG tires since 2012 when I bought my 147. I debated a long time about what to get as I use it to push snow with and I've been told ag tires and chains don't work well. I didn't really want a new set of turfs, and a used set is a dime a dozen. What I eventually came down to was: buying an alternative set of wheels, mounting the Ag tires to those, run them spring-fall, and keep the chains on the ag tires/wheels for winter. In the case that the turfs fail (I think they are original tires to the tractor) I can get another set of turfs, used, for cheap. I find them for sale all the time. I debated which ags to buy for a while, but knew I should bite the bullet and go Firestone. They work better (from what I've read) and they match the pattern that I grew up with on dad's 125.

The new wheels were sorta rough around the edges, but that was OK with me as it's still in it's work clothes. However, I wanted to clean them up a bit. Let them soak with some evaporust for a few hours and I'm happy with the results. New valve stems (total PITA with that process, I had never replaced a valve stem and I kept thinking I was doing it wrong as I didn't have the tool to pull it through the wheel). I mounted the tires myself. That was fun....I put 20-25 PSI in them, and I don't think I got them mounted just right as I can hear air escaping the bead. (I mounted them tubeless) After consulting a few people on what PSI it takes to mount the beads, I probably will take them to a tire shop to have them do it so I don't kill myself.

More pics to follow once I get the wheels mounted.

Great looking tires....you should be satisfied with them. Get them filled...you will not regret the extra weight!!!!:beerchug:

Looking good Dr. D. Worth the wait, liking the 23 degrees more and more these days over the competitors.

Glad you got a set of lugs you always wanted!

I would have painted the rims while there were no tires on them. Easy to do.

The tool to pull a valve stem in is only a couple bucks at a parts store. Take a pair of pliers and rip the old stem out, then put soap on the new stem and pull it through. Takes a few seconds.

I agree with Beth. Load 'em up! :biggrin2:

Were they difficult to mount?
Just kidding.
They look like they will last a long time.

Yep I learned that I was being too gentle the first go around with the valve stem- I went back to the store and bought the tool (soaped up the stem) and did a yank a rooney.

It's evident that I'm going to have to take them to a tire shop to have them seated better. I just checked the PSI and it's at 9; three hours ago it was at 18. I'll drop them off this week. At least I did the hard work for them....:cool:

I thought about painting the wheels, but then they'd stick out...meaning I'd need to paint the fenders, frame, etc.................. I really contemplated the tru powers but I figured I was only going to buy a set of ags once and be done with it, so I'd better get what I really wanted.

Below are some pictures of Dad's 125 (and his 782 that he bought later in my childhood.) Lots of seat time on that- I looked forward to the hour and a half each week that I got to mow grass each summer. It was great until my brother got older and learned how to mow as well- we'd fight over who got to mow, and neither of us really wanted the red one. :biggrin2:

Looks great, congrats :beerchug:

As a former tire installer myself, it may take 40-50 psi to set the beads. Let the tires guys take care of it. They'll have a cage to put it in.

Daniel, just let the air out of the tires, spray the bead with soapy water and air them up to 30 psi. They'll pop. No big deal. They aren't going to pop off. :beerchug:

What he said! It'll probably scare you when they seat, just don't stick anything in the crack. I had some on a Kawasaki Mule that were a little hard to seat, had to over inflate them a bit, then let the air out and inflate proper. Just don't do anything stupid with PSI and you should be fine. Sometimes a big ball peen hammer may help.

Congrats on the Firestone's Daniel.:beerchug:
I hope that the picture you have with the tires mounted, with the one on the pail, the tire on the floor isn't mounted backwards.:bigthink:
Oh, and a third on what they said about seating the bead.:beerchug:

Those look really great! Certainly give it more of "tractor" look and more grip on the turf. I agree with Jonathan about painting them with just the rims, but I totally understand why a person might not, as I have run short on time and said, "Oh, I'll paint them later....". Its just easier to do when they are not mounted. Miss Deltacub and others have a really great suggestion on loading them up. No that you have some extra grip, might as well make the most of it!! Glad your "ship" finally came in......

Cub Cadet 123

Looks great Daniel. I use Jon's method and squirt some dish soap around the bead and then bounce them around like a basketball. As he said too, pump them up to 30psi and they should pop.

It’s an optical illusion. I checked myself about 10 times when mounting to make sure I had the direction correct.:beerchug:

Stick tubes in 'em and fill 'em with W/S washer fluid. About 6 gal per tire is what mine took, raised the weight up to about 77lbs each. on my 10.50's
I built a standpipe from 4" ABS pipe with an outlet at the bottom and a valve stem at the top. Takes about 4psi to shoot 'em full. just be sure to capture the valve stem while filling to avoid loosing it inside the rim while filling.
Takes about 5 minutes per tire, piece of cake.
Wal -mart has the fluid for about $1.80/gal when on sale

Looks really good.

Maybe a thin coat of some clear to keep the rims from re-rusting quite so quickly (or at least a good coat of wax on them).

Great looking cub!

Welcome to the club! I have yet to try mine out on my 1450. Have to make the engine all pretty first ya know :biggrin2:

I took the tires to a local tire shop to have them seated. The guy said that he had a tire explode once while seating it between his legs (to which I responded that's why I'm letting you do it!). He put them in a cage; then they were seated and aired up for a very Lew price. What it really did was save me peace of mind. :beerchug:

Smart move Grasshopper. :beerchug:

Lew's gotta eat too!

I've seated car tires and it's never been my favorite thing. I'd be glad to let someone else seat the beads if it was affordable!

Good call...

Mounted the wheels to the 147 today. I like that I have an alternate set of wheels to throw on in the winter, keeping the turfs with the chains and weights. Having grown up with that tread pattern on Dad's 125 it is great to make the impression again but this time in my lawn. I'm super impressed with the way it looks now. Originally Dad bought the tires he has because the turfs he had wouldn't climb the hill that is his front yard.

Daniel, that is a great looking tractor!:beerchug:

Looks good Daniel.:beerchug:

Looks great!! :beerchug:

The 147 looks great Daniel!! Glad you got what you wanted and you're happy! :beerchug:

You'll have to name your tractor Betty Lou. Here's Eddie Wilson and the Cruisers to explain it to you in case you don't get my joke.

https://youtu.be/YoGFUgpywGE :biggrin2:

Looks good!

Thanks all for the replies. I'm very pleased with them. I was saving up for another tractor (still would like another one) but took my own advice and decided to spend my $$$ on something I already owned, making it better, instead of acquiring more. I did a lot of snow removal/shoveling this past winter to afford these.

The next thing I'm saving up for is an engine rebuild. :beerchug:

I think you are being wise to invest in your current machine. When it is mechanically rock solid and always ready at a moments notice, then start shopping for another machine. There is a lot of satisfaction in fixing all the little things and having a reliable machine on standby.

Those Firestone are the best looking AG out there and worth every penny you pay for them Daniel!:beerchug:

Go big or go home, haha. I didn't want to settle for less. There was a time that I was considering it. Not knocking other brands, just not overall what I wanted.