tire tech (or how to fix a flat the hard way)

[Eric L]

OK so I haven't actually fixed the flat yet.. but stay tuned.

I came back from the parts house with the wife in her car and noticed a flat tire on my '72, ..odd, it wasn't like that last night

decided it was a good excuse to try some different wheels on my ride. I dug out a set of kinda unique 15x8 steelies I've had forever and gave 'em a wash with the pressure washer

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dug around in my paint selection and ruled out colors like red, magenta, orange, gray.. and settled on some Rustoleum gloss black. a quick sand job and squirt with my $10 Chinese paint gun.

now here's the tech.

to mount tires on the wheels you want some kind of lube.. I'm currently using liquid dish soap and water in a garden sprayer.. Murphys oil soap works even better. lube the bead and put the tire on the ground.

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place the rim "outside down" onto the tire and most of the time you'll be able to push the outside lip of the wheel into the tire.

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[Eric L]

turn it over and use a tire iron or pry bar to work the outer bead over the wheel.. the key here is to have the opposite side bead in the depressed area of the wheel to allow the other side to fit around the rim

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add air and it's about done

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Now.. these are 235/75-15s.. normally they would present a problem when trying to seat the beads.. I had removed them from another set of 15x8's a month or so ago and I had no problem airing them up, but, there are times when this can be a challenge.. search youtube for ways to use various compounds to help in this area. but a Cheetah( http://www.mile-x.com/cheetah-bead-seaters.aspx )is the way to go.. kinda $$$pendy for the home hobbyist.

had some chrome lug nuts left over from the wifes Bronco

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[Eric L]

painted all the drums black and installed the "new" wheels and tires

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I'll repair the flat later and add that info with pics when I'm done.

[cep62]

Those look good.

You bring back memories of my youth , I changed a lot of tires the old fashioned way.

Now you should scrub the tires and Armor All them.

[Eric L]

Those look good.

You bring back memories of my youth , I changed a lot of tires the old fashioned way.

Now you should scrub the tires and Armor All them.

thank's... the paint's still kinda soft.. they'll weather together

[fordman]

when mounting a tire sometimes you can rare the tire up slightly above your head and if it is slippery enough with soap you can wham the tire onto the rim for the first side in one whack. not every time but sometimes. i have done it.

[Eric L]

when mounting a tire sometimes you can rare the tire up slightly above your head and if it is slippery enough with soap you can wham the tire onto the rim for the first side in one whack. not every time but sometimes. i have done it.

That works too .. but I'd be beat if i tried that even once.. @ my day job I'm the "tire guy" (among other things)for a fleet of over 60 trucks.. that's 600+ big tires to maintain.

so, if we back up a week.. I had a flat. what does a person do now?

I wanted to test out my battery booster/compressor I bought some time ago.. the booster works great.. the compressor works...kinda ..mostly...but still better than nothing

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After removing the tire/wheel from the vehicle, I used soapy water to find the leak

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mark the location of the hole(s).. always check the whole tire.. a person might have a few fine words to say if they got all done, only to find out there was more than one hole after the tire was back on the vehicle.

Let the air out take the tire off of the rim... around the house I use my hi-lift jack under a convenient heavy truck.. the F-100 really wasn't heavy enough to do this tire well. a little soapy water can help if they're being stubborn. many times you need to work it multiple times to get the beads to slip past the lip (16.5 wheels do not have this problem).

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[Eric L]

Removing the tire is kinda opposite of installing but remember the key is keeping the bead on the opposite side of where you're working in the depressed center of the wheel. I'll usually use two tire bars about 8" apart and pull one, then the other.. at that point it's just a matter of working aroud the rim to get it the rest of the way off. Most wheels will be easier it work from the outside.. if you have reverse centers then you'd want to work from the backside... work from the side that the depression is closest to.. if that wakes any sense.

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heres a pic showing the depression I'm talking about.. as well as the lip on the wheel that makes it a little tough to dismount at times.. and a 16.5 wheel on the right. notice the lack of any lip..this is why many off roady types dont like 16.5 wheels.. the tires fall off if the air pressure gets low.

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[Eric L]

Remove whatever made the hole in the tire.. nail screw, whatever..make sure nothing is hiding in there or it may puncture the patch later..

heres a nail I pulled at work.. it was not showing on the outside or inside

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to get into the smaller tires it works well to force it open a bit so you can get in there to make the repair.

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for the repair patch to stick, the tire needs to be "buffed" .. I use a tire buffer.. go figure. It's basically a grinder.. I'm sure you can come up with something else that would work in a pinch. wire wheel maybe? I have 2 buffers here at the house.. top one is old and tired,, but it's shorter.. and that can make a difference when space gets tight.

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[Eric L]

Buff an area around the hole large enough for the patch.. but try not to get carried away. It is possible and not that hard to get too deep and grind through the liner inside the tire. here you can see the cords showing in the lower left corner.

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I'm using two different compounds to complete this.. "glue", on the right, and "black goo", on the left.

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Spread some glue thinly over the repair area and let it dry.. dont touch it.. it'll look dry when its ready. apply the patch and roll it out thoroughly with a "stitcher" http://www.google.com/images?q=tire+rep ... h%3A1&sa=2 try to work from the center out.

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Back in the old days we were trained to keep rolling it till the cellophane came off.. I dont have that kind of patience anymore.. just roll it out well and then pull the plastic off.

[Eric L]

I apply some of the black goo around the patch to seal the liner in case I ground through it (I did) and I think it kinda gives a little extra hold on the edges of the patch.

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Now put the tire back on the wheel, air it up, and check for leaks before putting it back on the vehicle.

tip: if you mark the location of the valve stem on the tire before you dismount it, you can put it all back together the same as it was and the balancing should be darn close.

[fordman]

do you ever light the glue oon fire to dry it faster? some times i have and other tiems i haven't. the patch and glue work fine both ways for me. but i get the glue on there too thick if i use a different glue than i usually use.

[Eric L]

do you ever light the glue oon fire to dry it faster?

No, but I've heard of folks doing it... If something is working, I dont usually change the procedure. the glue only takes a couple minutes to dry.. longer if you sit and watch it.

another tip: clean off all the rubber fuzzies before you apply the glue.. they get into the can of glue on the brush, and the chemical reaction starts in the can.. causing it to get thick and does not work as well.