Lawn Mower Tires

I am going to go against all the internet articles that say lawn mower tire repair is easy. I also strongly disagree with those that say mounting a new tire on a lawn mower rim is easy. In all my years of lawn mower repair, I have never seen a tire replacement need that was caused by just too much use (wore out) or tire failure due to the tire itself.

The number one cause of lawn mower tire failure is neglect. Tires that are not inflated properly, stored out in the weather or allowed to sit in one place for a winter season are going to cause problems.

When you see a tire with cracks, or if the tire has become stiff and hard, save yourself a lot of time and bad timing – replace the tire and be done with it.

Also, most of my clients have not even considered putting a new tire on the existing rim. Most assume that the entire assembly (tire and rim) need to be, or must be replaced. In most cases they are correct because the rim was neglected too. It usually is too rusty to let the tire bead seal to the rim.

However, if the rim is still in good shape you can replace just the tire. If you have to replace tire and rim, you now must know the axel size for the rim. Getting the tire size is easy. Just read the size imprinted on the side of the tire. Then – measure the axel to know what rim diameter you will need.

I have a post about lawn mower tire sizes here.