On Tue, 10 Mar 2015 08:09:20 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
Today my wife called and said she had a flat on her car. Well at
least the weather was not bad. So I went to her and put on the spare
dinky tire and then followed her home. She had run into a pothole
that was filled with water and it had ruptured a spot on the sidewall.

So the logical thing to do would be to go to a tire store and get a
new tire mounted. But the last time my wife bought tires she brought
home two of the old tires. And they were actually in good condition.
Do not know why she had gotten new tires, or for that matter why she
brought two of the old tires home.

So I took the damaged tire off the rim. I used to have a bead
breaker, but that was one of the tools that did not make it across the
country. Harbor Freight has them on sale for $50. Such a deal. So
I used a hydraulic jack working against the trailer hitch to break the
bead. Not the best tool, but the tire was already junk.

So does anyone have a better idea for a bead breaker? I am thinking
of beating a lawn mover blade into some sort of shape with some bits
welded on that I can use with a hydraulic jack . The bead breaker
that I had took too much room to store. And it is not like I used it
very often.

See below.


After the beads were broken I used large screw drivers to get the tire
off the rim. Here again there must be a better tool. But still a
tool that does not take a lot of room to store. Any ideas? Large
screw drives are a bunch of work.

Heat to cherry red and flatten out a 1+ inch diameter bar of
steel/iron to make a spoon with a rounded edge. They're much easier
on the bead.


And after mounting the new old tire, there was the problem of getting
the beads to seal. Several years ago, I watched a guy changing a
truck tire. He had a service truck equipped to service large trucks.
But he could not get the new tire to seat on the rim. Finally he
borrowed some starter fluid and sprayed into the tire. Then stood
back and threw a match at the tire. Big poof and it was seated.

I've seen pictures of people who used a bit too many hydrocarbons to
do that. It looks like the guys who had a split rim truck wheel come
apart. What a mess. I strongly recommend against that method.


Me, I made a little tool instead. I connected a air quick disconnect
to a 3/8 ball valve and then to a tire air chuck. I then removed the
little bit that acts to seal the air chuck when not being used. With
the tire valve core removed, I held the air chuck on the tire valve
and opened the ball valve. And that worked. So I did not have to use
starter fluid.

So what do you people use for tires. Inquiring minds want to know. I
am sure most of you use the tire store, but some of you must live in
the boon docks .

Oh yes, I used some spray vegetable oil on the tire bead and wheel
rim. Like PAM, but the cheap stuff from Walmart. Handy to have
around. I use it for anti spatter when welding and for general
lubrication where I am not concerned about it getting gummy. Also for
snow shovels to keep snow from sticking.

Dan

I learned manual tire-changing on split rim truck tires in the Army.
They insisted that the only proper lubricant was soap because oils
could weaken the rubber.

Tire rubbers are impervious to most oils, but that's not true for
other rubbers, especially cheap o-rings. They'll swell like hell if
you try to grease 'em with oil or petrolatum.


I take road vehicle wheels that need to be spin-balanced to the store
but change smaller tires myself on the Harbor Freight mini changer,
which turns an impossible task into a merely miserable one.

Yes, they do work well.


In addition I use a pair of their older two-foot tire irons, two
shorter and handier ones meant for motorcycles, and large C clamps to
help break the bead.

A 3# sledge and 12" tubafore work for that, too. Spray with soapy
water, then start hitting it. As you move it, the soap gets into the
rest of the bead and helps slide it off.


The one time I took a glued-on 23" garden tractor tire to supposedly
the best local dealer they gouged the bead so badly it wouldn't seal.

The moron probably did it dry.

We had a nice Hunter balancer and tire machine at Flynn's, to
complement the Hunter 111A 4-wheel alignment machine I used. Next to
the tire machine was a 1gal bucket filled with soapy water and a mop
to run around the bead of the rim and tire prior to sealing. There
was also an inflatable band which went around the tire to make the
beads touch for easier seating. That can be cloned by using a simple
rope and stick, tourniquet style. Yes, remove the valve core and jam
the air hose directly down on the valve stem for quickest seating.
Once it has air in it, reinstall the valve core and use a chuck to air
it to proper pressure.

--
Stoop and you'll be stepped on;
stand tall and you'll be shot at.
-- Carlos A. Urbizo