8N Tire Questions

So, I just got this 1951 8N. The right rear tire is in pretty bad shape so going to replace it and the rim (bent and pretty rusty) as well. I noticed that both the left and right rear tires are oriented on the rims for the valve stem to be toward the inside of the tractor. Is that the correct orientation or do I need to reverse the wheel centers and switch the tires left to right and right to left to get the valve stems to the outside? If you have them pointed to the inside, how do you fill the tires with fluid?

Thanks...

" Is that the correct orientation" Yes. Otherwise the tread will be backwards.

"If you have them pointed to the inside, how do you fill the tires with fluid?"

I take the fenders off.

Switching them left to right usually means they are now set at a different tread width. If you have the original Ford owner's manual, there is a drawing and explanation of how you set them to get a number of different tread widths. For today's utility use, the tread width is not often much of a consideration, but when these tractors were used in planting and cultivating field crops, then tread width was a very important consideration. My valve stems are to the inside and that is less convenient, but manageable. I do not run fluid in the tires anymore. I'd rather have occasional tire slip than stress on the tranny gears. For field work, 2nd gear was the most common failure due to the occasional shock loading of the plow hitting a bigger rock. When we plow now, we use one of the bigger tractors pulling a 5 or 6 bottom plow. They have spring loaded (auto reset) break-away plow beams, so the occasional big rock does not stress the tractor and that one moldboard jumps right back into the ground.

Where might you need or want the extra ballast weight of loaded tires? If your tractor has a front loader, its weight needs to be counter balanced by fluid filled tires. If you are pulling a scraper or box blade, you might want the extra weight for traction. If you are operating on steep side hills, you might want to fill each rear tire half full to produce a lower center of gravity, thus less chance of roll over.

Welcome to the 8N board. There is a lot of knowledge hidden under the gray hair of us old timers. We enjoy sharing.

Paul in MN

Thanks for the info. This is on 5 acres and pretty much a hobby farm. I do have an old Dearborn front loader on it, want to get a blade for some leveling, maybe a sub-soiler to run some irrigation pipe. Might do a little cultivation for a garden at some point. Right now working on fixing a few things on it hence the tire question. Just looking for normal operation but wasn't sure if "factory standard" was with valve stems to the inside as I don't remember seeing that before. I think I would stick with the existing wheel width so if I needed to put the stems on the outside, I would reverse the wheel centers. Sounds like I don't need to do more than just replace the rim and wheel on the right rear and make sure there is fluid in the tires.

(quoted from post at 11:08:54 04/18/17) So, I just got this 1951 8N. The right rear tire is in pretty bad shape so going to replace it and the rim (bent and pretty rusty) as well. I noticed that both the left and right rear tires are oriented on the rims for the valve stem to be toward the inside of the tractor. Is that the correct orientation or do I need to reverse the wheel centers and switch the tires left to right and right to left to get the valve stems to the outside? If you have them pointed to the inside, how do you fill the tires with fluid?

Thanks...

Click to expand...

They can be on the inside or outside, depending on the orientation of the wheels. This is determined by the wheel width you want. Loops to the outside (valve stem inside) seems to give a very common wheel width setting.

On new rims you will mostly find the the valve stem hole is on the opposite side from the loops.



The above picture can be a little confusing at first. It is looking at the left rear tire from the back. Note the orientation of the center disk, the position of the center disk on the loops, and the position of the loops themselves.

So on the above picture the 76", 72", 60" & 56" wheel widths would put the valve stem on the outside. The remaining settings would put it on the inside. Most prefer the look of the centers with the convex surface facing out. That puts 60" & 56" widths as those options.

Of course you could always drill a new valve stem hole where you want it too. Be sure to orientate the tires correctly on the rims depending on the width you choose.