Packer wheels

[ABfarm]

So finished seeding and looking over the drill and once again I blew the side wall out of a couple of the Titan packer wheels on the drill. Of course not the ones on the end which would require a minute to get off, but the ones are in the middle of the packer cluster which requires you to remove the packer to get the dam things off. Which is a total pain in the ass.

So was thinking I should probably forget about the regular tires and just go to a polyurethane or whatever they are airless tire. But they are so expensive. I mean so are the Titan ones for what they are. No matter how many times I fill the dam things seeding, I always seem to get a few to deflate and rip off the sidewall. I should have maybe sprayed some "slime" or whatever it is called last year when I put them on in case the rim didnt quite seal and the air leaked out. I dont think it would last though.

I was thinking maybe letting the air trying to spray some expandable foam in one of them to see if I could make my own airless tires. I see guys do it on the internet for lawn tractors and such but I think when the drill is up and the weight is on those little tires, the foam wouldnt hold up and just turn into dust. Anyone try anything like this, or maybe know of a rubber type product a guy could use that would firm up and take the weight? Just curious, I cant be the only one dealing with this issue every year....

[farmaholic]

Are there tubes in the packer tires or are you running them tubeless?

What kind of drill are you running that has tire packers in gangs? Didn't Concords have tire packers in pairs on a walking axle?

[ABfarm]

Are there tubes in the packer tires or are you running them tubeless?

What kind of drill are you running that has tire packers in gangs? Didn't Concords have tire packers in pairs on a walking axle?

A JD 1820 I think it is. It has those stout Titan rubber tires on gangs of 5. They are tubeless. Maybe a tube would help - all I know is the tires are a bitch to change. Just trying to make the inevitable job of replacing them easier. They are like 200 a piece too. Crazy

[fjlip]

That would be my 5710...

Never had them go flat in 8 seasons. Ruined one due to rocks jamming between them against bearing arm.

Not hard to take gang apart be the sidewalls are so stiff it is a nightmare to change the tire!

Wheat belt Sales in Wadena has a few pallets of them, $100 each

[ABfarm]

That would be my 5710...[ATTACH]2929[/ATTACH]

Never had them go flat in 8 seasons. Ruined one due to rocks jamming between them against bearing arm.

Not hard to take gang apart be the sidewalls are so stiff it is a nightmare to change the tire!

I have the Deere but yes that's the same set up. Be glad you don't have any issues with the tires. I counted 4 I need to change. Every morning I checked and pumped up the ones which looked a little flat. Frustrating

[fjlip]

These all came with the slimy sealant inside, maybe it works.

[biglentil]

These all came with the slimy sealant inside, maybe it works.

Forget the name of it off the top of my head, but I get it by the gallon at Auto Parts Plus. Its like green slime but is white and works better imo. Any slow leaking tire on the farm gets it pumped in through the valve stem. Its fixed dozens of leakers for me from big to small. Does not work as well if tire is tubed though.

[countryguy]

I figured I wouldn't be the only one fighting with these things. If the gangs come apart the tires aren't too bad to change once you do a few on the tire machine. Just be sure to use LOTS of bead sealer on them. I struggle more so with the wheels and spacers seizing to the shafts making them impossible to get apart.

[workboots]

Oh gotta love them packer gangs on them 5710’s Farmers best friend them goddam things. Bad bearing..no worries just zip er off, hauler back to the farm yard. Get the one inch impact on er Brap brap, “hey Joe hit er with the WD” BRAP BRAP. Slam er with the pry bar about 15 time hit er with More WD “the bastards bout to go” BRAP BRAP . “**** sakes!! more WD Joe” BRAP BRAP

“I think the son bitch has come about an inch” Sweating like a sick dog at this point.

Repeat for 20- 30 minutes and finally you’ve got the rotten piece a shit apart. feeling like you wrestled The horns off a bull moose, maybe have a glass of water and wonder why the hell you do this to yourself.

Now that dirty rotting bearing has to come out next.. get the hunk of brass on er SLAM SLAM.. that hammers obviously too small. Time for the bigger hammer SLAM SLAM. **** sakes nearly took my hand off swinging for the fence. Oh great, broke the cast housing. off to town to get a new one.

[farmaholic]

Doesn't applying some heat to strategic places with an Oxy\acetylene torch make taking those things apart easier? Cut the balls out of the bearing then cut the inner race off the shaft, knock the outer bearing race out of the cast holder, apply a bit of heat if necessary. Heat spacers? Heating stuff, where you can, seems to break loose or unseize parts that are froze together. The bloody things are torqued so tight so they don't loosen that they're a real pain to take apart. Sounds like an out of season maintenance project. If some bearings are starting to fail, the rest can't be far behind. I bet the outer most gang's bearings fail first because of the torque while making tight turns. We had a 40 foot NH SD440(like a Flexicoil 5000) and had no trouble. Only seeded 2500 per year and we had it for about ten years. I bet by now there are issues....nothing lasts forever.

[fjlip]

Our 5710 gangs came apart easily, have heard Flexicoil 5000 is the worst nightmare of all. Put the whole gang in water over nite and rust softens is one idea. BG at a clinic years ago said DO NOT over grease, just 2 shots a year. Seals could be ruined.

[Rareearth]

WHAT? Flexicoil 5000, well hammers, hydraulic presses etc only solution is to have spare wheels and torch them. Some in the area even had whole spare gang assemblies. If time permitted tying a rope on to the gang and rolling it into a dugout would loosen the rust in a few days, then disassembled much easier..

Farma maybe you have our old one😀. Never seize everything that’s ever come apart on our farm. We did all bearings on our packers one fall, holly...

[WiltonRanch]

The Deere packers are no better. Service guy at the local dealership put it best; “you have to get medieval”. Often considered buying a donor for the packers. $300 per wheel and guaranteed you wreck one getting it apart if you’re hasty.