Starting a Farmall M restoration; question about flat tires

Greetings all. We're relative newbies to tractors, and we're starting the restoration of a Farmall M which belonged to my recently deceased farming mentor. Our first gotta-do is to move it to a new more practical location. All four tires are mostly flat; the two back tires still have some bulge in them so they're not completely empty. My mentor's widow seems to recall (but isn't sure) that the back tires have a calcium solution in them, which I know is common, but I'm not sure how best to go about re-inflating them. Do we need to put in more calcium solution, or use an air compressor, or some combo? Probably a dumb question, but it's one of several thousand questions I didn't think to ask my mentor before he passed away. Thanks all. I'm sure this won't be the last question we have about this tractor's restoration.
 
What I do is rotate the tire to get the valve stem right at the top, then inflate with air from my compressor.

Calcium chloride is caustic stuff and should be disposed of properly, if you decide to remove it.
 
Correction! I was told it was hazardous, but when I tried to confirm that, I found out it's not dangerous to dispose of down the drain.

At least that's what the internet tells me. :)

My apologies.
 
(quoted from post at 10:50:13 08/20/18) Correction! I was told it was hazardous, but when I tried to confirm that, I found out it's not dangerous to dispose of down the drain.

At least that's what the internet tells me. :)

My apologies.

It makes a very good weed killer, or spray it on the road for dust control.
 
First thing is to check if there is fluid In them or not. Just try to let some air out with the stem at the bottom. If you get liquid it has fluid In the tire. No fluid then just air. If it has fluid rotate the tire so the stem is on top and put in air. You want 12-15 PSI.
 
I won't put 12-15 lbs of air in old tires. Just put 6-8 lbs will be good enough to move it around. I have not seen them and do not know the condition. But I can tell you old tire make a loud bang when they let go with barely 10 lbs of air in them.
 
Tell me something I do not know. Not all that tong ago I was airing up a tire on a Case VAC I have and the bead of the tire started looking odd. I stopped putting air in and stepped back. I did not get 5 feet way when the tire exploded and the bead let loose. Had I been next to it when that happened very likely I would have gotten cut badly by the wires and or maybe broken my arm. Either way one has to keep there eyes open when airing up any tire be it new or old. I have seen brand new tires come apart as often as I have seen old one do it
 
If they have much tread, take the wheels to a tire dealer and have him put new tubes in them. Tell him that he can keep anything he finds in them.
 


Tires would be the last thing I would worry about. Drag it to where you want it with flat tires if they will not air up. Probably will need to put different tires on it anyway.

If you don't get it running you won't need tires anyway.
 
Jack up the rear wheels and roll the valve stems to the top. Put in just enough air to make em stand up.Air up the fronts the same.Use a regular tire chuck on your air compressor. doesn't need much air,5 lbs or so will do the job.Get it home where you can look and decide which direction to go.....Good luck! Happy tractoring with your 'new' M!(one of the best tractors of all time)
 
It costs me $1.20 a foot to have the road treated in front of my farm house. I do 300 feet every year. They spray it on twice once in May and once in June. The road maintainer raises the blade and doesn?t touch it when he works the road. Works VERY well for dust control.
 
The same stuff you guys claim is such great dust prevention, is the same "brine" they spray on the roads in the winter, that rusts your car out twice as fast as rock salt.

They used to spray it on the roads in front of the houses back when I was a kid too. It lasted about as long as it took for the water to dry in the hot summer sun. You could keep the dust down longer if you went out and took a whiz on the road.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top