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Loaded Tire ?

Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
20
Location
Lansing, MI
We just had new tires put on our 544 and now it drives like crap. Your speed is limited to the weight of the load. With a set of empty forks, it drives fine. With a scissor lift on the forks, you can't go over 10 without it bucking so bad the tires are almost coming off the ground. With a load of topsoil, you can't go over 3 or 4.

The old tires didn't do that but here is the thing - With the old tires, only the rear tires were loaded. The new tires, the shop loaded all 4. Would this make a difference? They look to me like they are out of round when you are driving it too. You can see high spots as the tire turns but the old tires did that too so I don't know.

I wanted to ask some people who probably see things like this everyday instead of a tire shop that does mostly big trucks.

I wanted radial tires but I could only get bias-ply due to price.
 

diggerman57

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2009
Messages
57
Location
Massachusetts
Occupation
heavy equipment operator
Maybe try different air pressures. Keep in mind too that bias-ply tend to ride harder than radials.
 

powerjoke

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Messages
1,125
Location
Missouri
Occupation
owner/operator/estimator/mechanic/grunt/ditchdigge
is it any better after they "limber up"?

I would deffinatly take the liquid out of the front, why did they even put it in there?

Pj
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,870
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
What kind of machine is your "544"?

Older wheel loaders use to have less air pressure in the rear tires to soften the bounce you get when travaling fast. We never put ballast in the front tires though for any reason.
 

aliceco

New Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
4
Location
Sydney
I would also have a look at the air pressure. Probably there's too much pressure in the tires. I think you could quite easily fix the problem by varying air pressure and weight.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
20
Location
Lansing, MI
put some wieght in them that might help

Weight in where, the tires? The tires are loaded, cannot add more weight.

Maybe try different air pressures. Keep in mind too that bias-ply tend to ride harder than radials.

The original tires were bias-ply but I wanted the radials for better wear and nicer ride but the price difference couldn't be justified by the higher ups.

is it any better after they "limber up"?

I would deffinatly take the liquid out of the front, why did they even put it in there?

Pj

I knew the rears were loaded for sure and I didn't know about the fronts. When I took the loader in to get the tires replaced I told them the rears were loaded and I don't know about the fronts and to do the same to the new tires. When I picked it up they said the fronts were not loaded and that they loaded them.

What kind of machine is your "544"?

Older wheel loaders use to have less air pressure in the rear tires to soften the bounce you get when travaling fast. We never put ballast in the front tires though for any reason.

A 544 is a wheel loader. The tires pressures are supposed to be 40 psi and they said they put in 41. So unless 1 psi makes a huge difference, then I don't know.
 

special tool

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2008
Messages
878
Location
Bethel, Ct.
Weight in where, the tires? The tires are loaded, cannot add more weight.



The original tires were bias-ply but I wanted the radials for better wear and nicer ride but the price difference couldn't be justified by the higher ups.



I knew the rears were loaded for sure and I didn't know about the fronts. When I took the loader in to get the tires replaced I told them the rears were loaded and I don't know about the fronts and to do the same to the new tires. When I picked it up they said the fronts were not loaded and that they loaded them.



A 544 is a wheel loader. The tires pressures are supposed to be 40 psi and they said they put in 41. So unless 1 psi makes a huge difference, then I don't know.


So you told them to do the same and they changed it.
Max pressure is 40 and they put 41.
Sounds like we know who needs to fix this situation.
 

Komatsu 150

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
673
Location
Northern Illinois
In no way would I accept even the best tire guy's statement of how much air he put in a tire. Check the pressure yourself. Make sure you put the valve at the top or you'll get fluid in your gauge.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,870
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
You need to get the ballast out of the front tires to start with. Your drive train wasn't really meant to handle calcuim in the rears and now you got it in the front too!

I don't know what the manufacturer says about tire pressures but on that size machine you probably need about twenty PSI higher pressure in the fronts than in the rears to get rid of the bouncing.

I also wouldn't trust any slack hammer jocky about tire pressures. Just because he can work a few tools doesn't make him and expert for the tire on your machine.

Years ago we had four 773B trucks we had new tires installed on. There are no rim locks in these wheels so what happened after the tires were installed was when the drive stepped on the brakes the wheel would stop but the tires kept on turning. It would break the bead and the tire went flat. It happened three times on three different trucks. I asked bead head if he cleaned out the slots on the wheels before he installed the tires. He told me that wasn't necessary and wouldn't make any difference. I called his boss and had some leverage having just gotten the tires but not having paid the bill yet. The boss came up and had the bead head jack the pressures to 110PSI and run the trucks again. We had three more flats in twenty minutes of running. I told Boss man that we do it my way and if it worked then he installed my tires for free. It it didn't work I would pay his guys time from beginning to end. When the trucks came down bossman and the bead head spent the next two days pulling all apart, cleaning the wheels and going back together. We never had another flat and I only paid for the tires.

Don't ever trust a tire jockey unless you know him personally.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
20
Location
Lansing, MI
You need to get the ballast out of the front tires to start with. Your drive train wasn't really meant to handle calcuim in the rears and now you got it in the front too!

I don't know what the manufacturer says about tire pressures but on that size machine you probably need about twenty PSI higher pressure in the fronts than in the rears to get rid of the bouncing.

I also wouldn't trust any slack hammer jocky about tire pressures. Just because he can work a few tools doesn't make him and expert for the tire on your machine.

Years ago we had four 773B trucks we had new tires installed on. There are no rim locks in these wheels so what happened after the tires were installed was when the drive stepped on the brakes the wheel would stop but the tires kept on turning. It would break the bead and the tire went flat. It happened three times on three different trucks. I asked bead head if he cleaned out the slots on the wheels before he installed the tires. He told me that wasn't necessary and wouldn't make any difference. I called his boss and had some leverage having just gotten the tires but not having paid the bill yet. The boss came up and had the bead head jack the pressures to 110PSI and run the trucks again. We had three more flats in twenty minutes of running. I told Boss man that we do it my way and if it worked then he installed my tires for free. It it didn't work I would pay his guys time from beginning to end. When the trucks came down bossman and the bead head spent the next two days pulling all apart, cleaning the wheels and going back together. We never had another flat and I only paid for the tires.

Don't ever trust a tire jockey unless you know him personally.

The tires are supposed to be at 40 psi. But running 20 psi in the rear seems like it would squat and wear tires out quickly.

This is why I wanted AIS Construction Equipment to work on this rather than the Goodyear Wingfoot down the road that usually just does big trucks.
 

heavylift

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
1,046
Location
KS
I can't ever remember seeing calcium in a loader tire..... farm tractor yes....
... I've seen hundreds of flats over the years... but never seen them take out or put in the calcium.
 

John C.

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Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,870
Location
Northwest
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Heavylift,
I've put calcuim in rear tires of big loaders quite abit. It's cheaper and safer than welding big chunks of metal to the sides of the frames.

It doesn't much matter about the tire pressures as long as you have the ballast in the front tires. Get it out and ride should improve.

Good Luck!
 

Deeretime

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
344
Location
High River Alberta
Occupation
superintendent
Were they the cheapest tires u can Buy
Spend the money and buy radials for them it makes a huge difference especialy if u dont have ride control
 

Bob Horrell

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Messages
424
Location
Acton, CA
Occupation
Owner/Operator grading business
I have always run lower tire pressures in loaded tires than what is normally recommended for an unloaded tire - usually somewhere around half the normal pressure. This is with the tire filled to just above the rim - air space is now just the upper portion of the tire above the rim.
I definitely would not load the front tires of a loader.
I have found that with the tires filled above the rim, you don't get as much movement of the flluid when traveling at speed and therefore have a smoother ride. Tires filled about half way seem to be the worst.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
20
Location
Lansing, MI
Heavylift,
I've put calcuim in rear tires of big loaders quite abit. It's cheaper and safer than welding big chunks of metal to the sides of the frames.

It doesn't much matter about the tire pressures as long as you have the ballast in the front tires. Get it out and ride should improve.

Good Luck!

I am thinking about taking it back and having them empty the fronts. I talked to AIS Construction Equipment and they said it won't hurt anything but it is not needed and it uses more fuel and takes more power to run.

Were they the cheapest tires u can Buy
Spend the money and buy radials for them it makes a huge difference especialy if u dont have ride control

The original tires were Goodyears but aparently they don't make that tire anymore so I think they put a different brand on. Which may be why the price was a lot lower than originally quoted.

I have always run lower tire pressures in loaded tires than what is normally recommended for an unloaded tire - usually somewhere around half the normal pressure. This is with the tire filled to just above the rim - air space is now just the upper portion of the tire above the rim.
I definitely would not load the front tires of a loader.
I have found that with the tires filled above the rim, you don't get as much movement of the flluid when traveling at speed and therefore have a smoother ride. Tires filled about half way seem to be the worst.

I don't know how much fluid they put in. I could check it I guess by putting the valve stem and the top and slowly having somebody inch it forward while letting air out and see when liquid comes out.
 

watglen

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
Messages
1,324
Location
Dunnville, Ontario, Canada
Occupation
Farmer, drainage and excavating contractor, Farm d
Dont be afraid to play with tire pressures a bit. On farm tractors it is common to solve some transport bounce issues by varying tire pressures. To visualize this, think of a basketball, and how air pressure affects how it bounces.

I also can attest that fluid in the tires can make the tire ride like steel, or dramatically alter how it rides and handles. My opinion...definitely pull the fluid out of the fronts. I don't imagine any manufacturer recommends fluid filled tires these days anyway. It won't hurt loader performance, and it can only help the ride.
 

Deeretime

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
344
Location
High River Alberta
Occupation
superintendent
yea i have a set of no name cheapies on our 544 and i am not impressed with them we have had them for a couple years and it wears the hinge pins out soo much faster im praying to run over sompthing so i can get new radials
 

James S Coad

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2022
Messages
45
Location
Soldotna Alaska
Hello, new here on this post.
Own 1993 544g
Have book, says 40 psi. Front and back
Doesn't say anything about less in rear.
I'm going by the book
 
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