Anyone ever moved the tire valve stem?

[PWL216 889]

One of the (only) things I really dislike and find really annoying about wheel horse tractors, is the fact that the valve stem for the tires is on the inside of the rim. It would be so much easier not to have to crawl under the machine to put air in the tires. Just curious if anybody has ever welded up the valve stem hole and drilled out a new one on the outside of the rim. Is there any reason that it couldn’t or shouldn’t be done? I’m working on a C105 at the moment and I’m considering doing that. 

[ebinmaine 67,435]

My understanding of the reason that garden tractor rims have the valve stems on the inside is that some types of wheel weights don't have provision or notches in them for the stems.

 

If you are going to use outside wheel weights and there's a place in the weights for the stem, I don't know why you couldn't move it.

 

If you are using tubes, just remember to flip them around side to side so the angle of the stem coming out the wheel is correct.

 

 

[ri702bill 8,316]

I may be all wet, but I believe the logic to have the valve on the inside to prevent accidental to it. I suppose if you did move it, use a 2 piece metal stem style with the O ring.... after welding and leak testing the repair ro close the original - OR - LEAVE it. Makes adding fluid easier.

Edited December 12, 2023 by ri702bill

[Handy Don 12,214]

Agreeing with both @ebinmaine and @ri702bill. 

I wouldn’t bother welding up the old hole, either, I’d just leave (or add) a tubeless valve stem to fill it.

[8ntruck 6,998]

One of the advantages of steel wheels is that they are easily modifiable with careful cutting and wielding.

 

Move a valve stem? Piece of cake - drill a new hole and weld up the old one, or as others have suggested, leave the old valve stem.

 

Need a different width? Easy - cut the drop well neatly and weld in new ring of steel for a wider ring, or remove a ring of steel off of one half to make a narrower wheel.  

 

Got a couple of same size wheels that are rusted through?  Cut the rot of one wheel and a matching patch from another wheel.

 

Access to a welder is necessary.  Access to a lathe or band saw will make the job a whole lot easier.

 

Since a garden tractor is a low speed machine, accuracy in one of these steel wheel modifications do not need to be very precise.  Reasonably round and flanges parallel within 1/16" will be fine.