How to Repair a Lawn Mower Tire

Lawn mower tire repair

Save time and money by repairing your lawn mower tire yourself. To repair a small air leak the simplest solution is to purchase a can of fix-a-flat and follow directions. However, for a larger air leak you will need to insert a tube into the tire. Lawn mowers do not come with tubes in their tires but are designed to hold one if they do develop a leak. You could take your mower to a lawn mower repair shop or you could do it yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Pliers
• Two pry bars
• Wrench
• Knife
• Tire tube

Instructions

1. Lift tire off the ground. You need to gain access to the tire. Use either a jack or a block to lift up the flat tire. You should use a chock block behind the tires on the ground to prevent your mower from rolling off the jack and causing injury.

2. Pull the carter key if you are repairing a front lawn mower tire. Unbolt the tire from the axle using a wrench if you are repairing the back tire.

   The carter key is a small bent piece of stiff wire that holds the tire to the axle. Use pliers if necessary and pocket the carter key, its small size will make it easy to lose.

3. Pry the tire off the rim. You will need to place a pry bar between the rim and tire to pry the tire loose. Hold the first pry bar in place. Move around the tire 3 to 4 inches and insert the second pry bar. Continue doing this all the way around the tire until it comes free.

4. Cut the air valve off the tire and check the inside of the tire for sharp objects. Remove any you find before inserting a new air tube. Be sure to align the new tube so that the air valve stem comes up through the stem hole.

5. Place your tire back on the rim. Placing the tire back on the rim is the exact opposite of how you took it off except it is a bit more challenging. For this part of your task, you may want to get help. Place pry bar between tire and rim and have someone hold this as you use another pry bar a few inches away to do the same. Repeat until you have the tire completely back on the rim.

6. Pump up your tire and replace it back on your lawn mower.

Tips & Warnings

• This task can be a bit daunting. Another option would be to remove the flat tire from your lawn mower and take it to the lawn mower repair shop and let the repairman do the repairs. You can then easily put the tire back on the lawn mower yourself.