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: