How to Liquid Fill Tractor Tires

The rear tires of tractors are filled with liquid to give them better traction.

Tractor tires are filled with liquid to make them heavier to give the vehicle better traction to do its work. Putting the liquid into the tire is not difficult, but can be time consuming. If you do not plan to drain the tires in cold weather, you will need to use a mixture of water and an antifreeze for all-weather use. For summer only use, water can be the only substance poured into the tires.

Things You'll Need

• Valve stem puller
• Wrench
• Garden hose
• Water pump
• Water
• Antifreeze
• Valve stem adaptor
• Jack

Instructions

1. Place a jack under the tractor's rear axle and raise the tire off of the ground. Spin the tractor tire until the valve stem is located at the top of the wheel. Use a valve core removal tool to unscrew and extract the valve core from the stem to let the air out of the tire.

2. Loosen the nut that holds the valve core housing in place on the valve stem and remove the valve core housing. Snap the garden hose adaptor onto the valve stem. If the tractor tire does not have the type of stem with a removable valve core housing, attach a hose adaptor to the valve stem. This adapter is designed to screw onto the valve stem and allow a garden hose to screw onto the adaptor. This makes the process slower, but it will work.

3. Fasten the hose to the adaptor. If you are filling the tire with water, hook the other end of the hose to a faucet and begin to fill the tire. The adaptor is made to let the remaining air out of the tire as you put the water into it. If you are filling the tire with an antifreeze solution, you will need to use a pump to pull the fluid from your container and pump it into the tire through the hose.

4. Stop the liquid from flowing into the tire after about five minutes. Release the pressure valve on the adaptor to let any excess air pressure out of the tire. This pressure builds up because the fluid compresses the leftover air in the tire. When you open the valve and only fluid comes out, the tire has enough liquid inside.

5. Remove the hose and adaptor. Attach the valve stem housing to the valve stem. Screw the valve core back into the valve stem. Use an air compressor and air hose to fill the remaining space in the tire with enough air pressure to meet the pressure requirements for the tire. Let the tractor down from the jack to complete the process.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not let any of your body parts get beneath the tractor tire while it is raised during the filling process.

References

• Gempler's: Installing liquid ballast in tires