Valve stem size, .453 vs .625 ?

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

Started cleaning up the rear wheels I got from Lincoln, preparing them for paint and  new tires.

 

I noticed something odd.  One of the wheels is drilled for the .453 valve stem, and the other is drilled for a .625 !

 

I've got a bag of the former, but not one of the latter.

 

What's up with the .625 valve stem?  Which machines used those?  In all other respects these wheels appear identical.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by Jeff-C175

[pfrederi 17,741]

Maybe the PO had a bunch of .625 stems and no small ones...but he had a drill

[Pullstart 62,912]

My local parts store has both in stock.  I’d say for the sake of it, drill the smaller one out and run with it.

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

1 hour ago, pfrederi said:

Maybe the PO had a bunch of .625 stems and no small ones...but he had a drill

 

22 minutes ago, pullstart said:

My local parts store has both in stock.  I’d say for the sake of it, drill the smaller one out and run with it.

 

Both holes are obviously factory drilled. (original paint on inside edge of holes)

 

I don't have a problem using two different sizes, I'm heading out right now to buy a couple of the .625 size.

 

I'm just puzzled because every other WH wheel I've ever seen has had the .453 size.  I was surprised when I saw the larger size and wondered which machines might have used the larger size... and why?

[pfrederi 17,741]

Wheel horse didn't make the wheels they bought them.  Doubt if they much cared if a shipment came in with big holes. Cheaper/easier to buy a few big valve than to reject the shipment probably have to pay freight and wait for replacements.

[AMC RULES 37,130]

Run what you brung!

[Lee1977 6,667]

We had 1964 Ford Pickup truck that had the larger valve stems, have not any thing with them since. It was ordered with every thing heavy duty. The truck had a real heavy clutch, the transporter managed to do some damage just getting it off the trailer.

The rear tire lasted 8000 miles you could take off with out spinning tires.  At a stop light if you didn't make the first light you had to take it out of gear because you weren't going to hold it in through another light change. Hilbush Ford with in an old build wit just one garage door.  They backed the cars in a pulled in to the work spaces. When I went to pick up the truck of was pulled in to the wash pit next to the garage door. I was 23 at the time still looked like a 18 year old kid. All the mechanists new haw hard it was to drive, they

had all stop work and were watching to see what I did with it. I chocked it down two or three times trying to back it out of the wash pit. I went hard down on the gas a up with clutch at the same time, back in to the main ill smoking both rear wheel. I could see the 

the fellows heading for cover. I hit the brakes and clutch pulled it in low and smoked the tires out the door. There was a tire shop in Kannapolis NC that retreaded stock car tires Towel City Recapping.. I bought a set of 820 x 15 had the put on Lincoln rims, that solved the rear tire problem.

Did a lot of stop light dragging back then. A car had to jump the light or be extremely quick to out run that truck to 60 MPH.  It didn't have anything for them after 60 MPH, I could usually pull them a car lenght off the line and another when I hit second gear. I was fun to watch those P-off guys go on past. Those 820 would break loose for about 3/4 of a round then grab and the truck had some type of locked rear differential. In snow it would spin and you would hear a metallic sound and it was locked up.

Edited March 21, 2021 by Lee1977

[JoeM 7,874]

Seen them both too! More of the smaller size. I do keep both stem sizes in the drawer.

 

Not really sure but this may make some sense, were there tube stems in the old days with threaded locks? I vaguely remember some.

I know new tubes, run of the mill, have the smaller size. 

[ebinmaine 67,627]

6 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

  One of the wheels is drilled for the .453 valve stem, and the other is drilled for a .625

The smaller is the industry standard for most wheels. TR13. 

 

The larger is more widely used on specialty equipment or farm tractors. 

TR15. 

 

When I asked my local industrial tire guy if one mattered over the other the only real advantage was taking less time for him/them to fluid fill a tire. 

 

As to why wheelhorse would have done it I think @pfrederi Paul's theory makes sense. 

 

 

20 minutes ago, JoeM said:

were there tube stems in the old days with threaded locks?

 

You can get both sizes in standard and heavy duty threaded stems. 

 

 

[Lee1977 6,667]

14 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

The smaller is the industry standard for most wheels. TR13. 

 

The larger is more widely used on specialty equipment or farm tractors. 

TR15. 

 

When I asked my local industrial tire guy if one mattered over the other the only real advantage was taking less time for him/them to fluid fill a tire. 

 

As to why wheelhorse would have done it I think @pfrederi Paul's theory makes sense. 

 

 

 

You can get both sizes in standard and heavy duty threaded stems. 

 

 

I put metal valve stems in my 520 when I put the new tires on.

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

14 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

taking less time for him/them to fluid fill a tire. 

 

Not sure why that would matter?  They both have the same size inner diameter and use the same valve core.

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

I guess the consensus is that there is no single machine that for whatever reason had the larger diameter stems in the wheels.

 

That it was the 'luck of the draw' in what you got.

 

[ebinmaine 67,627]

22 minutes ago, Lee1977 said:

I put metal valve stems in my 520 when I put the new tires on.

Yes sir. Same with me when I got my first set of loaded tires which has now been on four or five different tractors. 

 They were recommended by several different parties.

 

 

 

20 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

Not sure why that would matter?  They both have the same size inner diameter and use the same valve core.

Boy you got me there Jeff. Haven't the foggiest.....

[Lee1977 6,667]

55 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Yes sir. Same with me when I got my first set of loaded tires which has now been on four or five different tractors. 

 They were recommended by several different parties.

 

 

 

Boy you got me there Jeff. Haven't the foggiest.....

Tractor valve stems are two piece the tube or tubeless part locks on to the wheel the valve stem part screws in to it it has an o-ring on it to seal it.

That gives around 3/8" opening for filling the tire. There may be some that are not two piece.

Edited March 22, 2021 by Lee1977

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

1 hour ago, Lee1977 said:

There may be some that are not two piece.

 

Talking about the regular old rubber snap in valves for tubeless tires.

 

            

Edited March 22, 2021 by Jeff-C175

[EricF 589]

On 3/21/2021 at 2:17 PM, Lee1977 said:

We had 1964 Ford Pickup truck that had the larger valve stems, have not any thing with them since. It was ordered with every thing heavy duty. The truck had a real heavy clutch, the transporter managed to do some damage just getting it off the trailer.

The rear tire lasted 8000 miles you could take off with out spinning tires.  At a stop light if you didn't make the first light you had to take it out of gear because you weren't going to hold it in through another light change. Hilbush Ford with in an old build wit just one garage door.  They backed the cars in a pulled in to the work spaces. When I went to pick up the truck of was pulled in to the wash pit next to the garage door. I was 23 at the time still looked like a 18 year old kid. All the mechanists new haw hard it was to drive, they

had all stop work and were watching to see what I did with it. I chocked it down two or three times trying to back it out of the wash pit. I went hard down on the gas a up with clutch at the same time, back in to the main ill smoking both rear wheel. I could see the 

the fellows heading for cover. I hit the brakes and clutch pulled it in low and smoked the tires out the door. There was a tire shop in Kannapolis NC that retreaded stock car tires Towel City Recapping.. I bought a set of 820 x 15 had the put on Lincoln rims, that solved the rear tire problem.

Did a lot of stop light dragging back then. A car had to jump the light or be extremely quick to out run that truck to 60 MPH.  It didn't have anything for them after 60 MPH, I could usually pull them a car lenght off the line and another when I hit second gear. I was fun to watch those P-off guys go on past. Those 820 would break loose for about 3/4 of a round then grab and the truck had some type of locked rear differential. In snow it would spin and you would hear a metallic sound and it was locked up.

Sounds a lot like my '83 F150 pickup. Previous owner had specced it out with the heavy-duty clutch, 3-on-the-tree, manual everything and the bulletproof straight-six engine. A real beast to drive, but plenty of power. I was about the same age at the time... Older mechanics got surprised by it, and the kids just couldn't drive it to save their lives. A lot of them either got their knees smacked on the wheel, or a big surprise as the torque spun the tires on a slick shop floor... Sometimes both! Then I'd come along and drive the thing away like the big, docile workhorse it was... Although like yours, if I wanted to stuff my foot in it hard and dump a bunch of gas, it was no slouch off the line.

 

At least by that time everything ran on radial tires, nothing odd with sizing the wheels/tires/brakes. But the clutch certainly caused confusion when it needed service. It really messed with shops that expected everything to match the standard service books and fiche lookups.

 

Until the acquisition by Toro, Wheel Horse still did everything as a small company would, making changes and variations mid-stream as needed to be economical. A large-scale service chain like the auto industry has would've gone nuts trying to keep track of all the little details!