Murphy was out today

[Welder Dave]

Why do the simplest things always give you the most problems??

I bought some liquitube to put in the front tires on the grader because one has a slow leak and the other has a really slow leak and won't go right flat. Some people swear by liquitube because it coats the inside of the tire and lasts the life of the tire. It also cleans up with water and doesn't leave a sticky mess. I got lucky and found it on clearance at a Napa store.

Go out to the grader and it starts right up. Lift the blade and move it about 75' up to the shop. Of course even after thinking about it totally forget to lift rear scarifier up so it messed up the driveway a little. Lift the front tires and remove the valve core from the almost flat tire and some air comes out. Put a manual pump on one of the bottles that's supposed work for gear oil and thicker liquids like tire sealer. Sealant comes up after several pumps but won't go in the tire. Take pump out and it doesn't want to pump. Of course makes a bit of a mess. OK, I'll just squeeze the bottles in the tire with the supplied hose. Nope won't go in. Last thing to try is a suction gun that looks like a grease gun. It has a larger hose with a smaller hose stuck in it that is the perfect size to fit the even smaller that was on the manual pump. I cut all the hoses shorter and took the end cap off to fill it with liquitube. Put in on the valve stem and it still wouldn't go in. It did blow the larger hose on the gun off and made more of a mess. I wrapped some wire around the hose to keep it on.

Tried to blow air in the valve stem and it wouldn't. OK, the valve stem is plugged. Tried pounding a nail in and it was hard to pull it back out so I tried a small T handle hex wrench and must have got lucky because it pushed right through easily. After that the suction gun worked pretty good to get the Liquitube in. I was going to put 4 bottles in each tire as recommended but put 1/4 of a fifth bottle in to make up for the spilled sealer. This tire had the worst leak. Put the valve stem back in and filled the tire to 40 PSI and then spun the tire for a few minutes to spread the liquitube.

On to the other tire. It still had 25 PSI. in it after sitting since last fall. Took the valve stem out and the liquitube went in no problem. Hook the inflator on and hear a leak. Thought it was just the quick coupler on the airline but it wasn't. I could feel air leaking from the ring that goes around the rim. That's odd since the tire held 25 PSI. I hit the ring a few times with a small hammer and it slowed the leak. I got about 20 PSI in and spun the tire to spread the sealant. Then I finished filling the tire to 40 PSI and spun it for a few more minutes before driving around at a medium speed. Liquitube is supposed to be really good for all types of small leaks including sidewall leaks. Hopefully it works for me.

Driving the grader I realized it had no brakes. I checked the master cylinder and it was empty. The flip over spring isn't super tight but I had some brake fluid so filled the master cylinder. I figured it was better than nothing. Pumped the brake pedal very slowly and it was firm after 3 pumps. Great I have brakes again. I don't think there are any leaks so wondering if brake fluid evaporates over several month's if the cap isn't really tight?

 

[HarleyHappy]

Never heard of brake fluid evaporating, as if anything, it should expand as most of its hydroscopic. The tire sealant thing is interesting. Have never heard of your brand, we have Slime and I had a jug, with its own pump, that I finally used up after so many years. Looking through TS the other day, they had the same jugs but figured it lasted so long, I would just buy a squeeze bottle. Hope that wasn’t a mistake.
I have always had good luck with the expanding tire foam and while it’s supposed to have its limitations, I put that stuff in anything thats big enough for the whole bottle and as long as it doesn’t go 70 MPH.
I usually have a Pro Series spray foam gun and will use Low E in tires, especially with tubes and it works pretty well. Just need to keep the valve stem out and cap off, for it to air cure.
Unfortunately I don’t have any at the moment, along with the specialty cleaner for it, as I loaned it out, to the succubus neighbor.

 

[Welder Dave]

I looked at several different tire sealers and found a lot of people really like Liquitube. Apparently slime is only good for 2 years in a tire. Slime leaves a sticky mess in a tire and can form clumps. I have used it though. Tire shops don't like it. Liquitube coats the entire inner surface and stays a semi liquid, doesn't freeze and lasts the life of the tire. The best thing about Liquitube is it is easily cleaned up with just water. If you get a big puncture and need a patch you can easily clean the area. It's normally a little more expensive than Slime but I got lucky and found some on clearance. A lot cheaper than having someone come out to put tubes in. I'll have to see how it works.

 

[terex herder]

I have found plain antifreeze works just as well.

 

[Tony Wells]

Liquitube has a rep that stops by once a month peddling his wares. Claims it is much better than Slime. I haven't tried it yet. Slime isn't for highway use but this guy says we should be putting his stuff in all the truck and trailer tires when new. I dunno about that. It comes in plastic pouches for that or in a pump/jug system for later.

 

[Welder Dave]

The same company that distributes Fluid Film in Canada is the Liquitube distributor. They sell high end products. It's different than Slime and most other sealants because it stays semi liquid and coats the entire inner surface of the tire and rim for life. It has 4 different corrosion inhibitors. If there's a leak I think there's some kind of chemical reaction. It seals 1/4" punctures on regular tires and up to 3/4" punctures on heavy duty multiple ply tires. Really good feature is it washes off with water. Tire shops hate Slime and some won't work on tires with Slime in them. It leaves a sticky mess. Liquitube also acts as a wheel balancer. I read a lot of good reviews on it and some people swear by it and buy it in drums and totes. It can be used with tubes but works best on tubeless tires. The pouches are for semi tires to balance and stop leaks.

 

[moorecraftt]

Why do the simplest things always give you the most problems??

I bought some liquitube to put in the front tires on the grader because one has a slow leak and the other has a really slow leak and won't go right flat. Some people swear by liquitube because it coats the inside of the tire and lasts the life of the tire. It also cleans up with water and doesn't leave a sticky mess. I got lucky and found it on clearance at a Napa store.

Go out to the grader and it starts right up. Lift the blade and move it about 75' up to the shop. Of course even after thinking about it totally forget to lift rear scarifier up so it messed up the driveway a little. Lift the front tires and remove the valve core from the almost flat tire and some air comes out. Put a manual pump on one of the bottles that's supposed work for gear oil and thicker liquids like tire sealer. Sealant comes up after several pumps but won't go in the tire. Take pump out and it doesn't want to pump. Of course makes a bit of a mess. OK, I'll just squeeze the bottles in the tire with the supplied hose. Nope won't go in. Last thing to try is a suction gun that looks like a grease gun. It has a larger hose with a smaller hose stuck in it that is the perfect size to fit the even smaller that was on the manual pump. I cut all the hoses shorter and took the end cap off to fill it with liquitube. Put in on the valve stem and it still wouldn't go in. It did blow the larger hose on the gun off and made more of a mess. I wrapped some wire around the hose to keep it on.

Tried to blow air in the valve stem and it wouldn't. OK, the valve stem is plugged. Tried pounding a nail in and it was hard to pull it back out so I tried a small T handle hex wrench and must have got lucky because it pushed right through easily. After that the suction gun worked pretty good to get the Liquitube in. I was going to put 4 bottles in each tire as recommended but put 1/4 of a fifth bottle in to make up for the spilled sealer. This tire had the worst leak. Put the valve stem back in and filled the tire to 40 PSI and then spun the tire for a few minutes to spread the liquitube.

On to the other tire. It still had 25 PSI. in it after sitting since last fall. Took the valve stem out and the liquitube went in no problem. Hook the inflator on and hear a leak. Thought it was just the quick coupler on the airline but it wasn't. I could feel air leaking from the ring that goes around the rim. That's odd since the tire held 25 PSI. I hit the ring a few times with a small hammer and it slowed the leak. I got about 20 PSI in and spun the tire to spread the sealant. Then I finished filling the tire to 40 PSI and spun it for a few more minutes before driving around at a medium speed. Liquitube is supposed to be really good for all types of small leaks including sidewall leaks. Hopefully it works for me.Gambling platforms https://speedau-australia.com/ often provide educational materials explaining risks and responsible behavior.

Driving the grader I realized it had no brakes. I checked the master cylinder and it was empty. The flip over spring isn't super tight but I had some brake fluid so filled the master cylinder. I figured it was better than nothing. Pumped the brake pedal very slowly and it was firm after 3 pumps. Great I have brakes again. I don't think there are any leaks so wondering if brake fluid evaporates over several month's if the cap isn't really tight?

Isn't that always the way? A simple "throw some sealant in the tires" job turns into half a day of troubleshooting hoses, pumps, plugged valve stems, and cleaning up spills.

As for the brakes, I'd be a little suspicious of the fluid just disappearing. Brake fluid can absorb moisture over time, and you might lose a tiny amount through a vented cap, but an empty master cylinder usually means the fluid went somewhere. It could be a small seep at a wheel cylinder, caliper, line fitting, or even the master cylinder itself that's slow enough not to leave an obvious puddle. I'd keep an eye on the level now that it's topped off. If it stays full, maybe it was just low for a long time and finally got below the pickup. If it starts dropping again, you've probably got a leak hiding somewhere.