Ever Break Down Tires by Hand?

[wt4speed#2]

Yea as a matter of fact fathers day weekend My oldest son came back into my life( that is another story) He was driving a 98 swb silverado need tires ,as luck would have it my project had 4 nearly new 235/745-r16's on it and I didn't have the money to even have them swapped for him so 4 off mine,4off his 4 back on his 4 back on mine then 2 more off and back on mine . All with old school bead breaker tire spoons and ether.

Tony B

[ICEMAN6166]

I'm guessing it's harder on a small car or truck tire but I have done it on semi tires and I would inflate them with lighter fluid and a maches .

that is a good way to get the 16.5s to seal, and hard tires that do not like to seat.guys in the salvage yards do it a lot.little spray of ether,boom, done.scary the first time you see it for sure.
when i was in my late teens i did tractor-trailer tires, a friend of mine had an uncle with a gravel company and we used to fix the tires for extra cash.all by hand.money earned thru very hard work.

[two-bit]

Ether and a match is how i got the bead set on the 38" on the Deere.
It works, just be careful how much you spray.
I do all my tires by hand, 10 plys are the worst, i usually put them next to the woodstove to warm up the sidewalls before i try.
Two-bit

[ToughOldFord]

Nothing to see here, move on.

[ToughOldFord]

Nothing to see here, move on.

[kknip]

I have dismounted many a semi truck tires.With the right tools and soapy water,they ain't that bad to dismount and mount.They are a little heavy though.

[FLATBEDFORD]

wow thats too much effort.

[jor]

using lighter fluid will void the warranty on new tires. yes is scares the heck out of you when you have to air the tire when someone else lights it. i have done a few mobile home tires that way.

A truck stop guy used gasoline on my 1200X16.5s many years ago. I stepped waaaaay back. He probably never made it to retirement!
jor

[marz68]

[averagef250]

I had my tandem trailer quite a bit over the ratings of it's tires and had a tire blow out on a long sweeping corner. Turned out it just blew the valvestem out of the wheel somehow. The tire came completely off the rim, but was in good shape. I pulled the wheel and chained up the axle and drove to the next town. Sunday night, nothing open. I used the tongue jack on my trailer to break the bead of my truck spare and pull the valvestem out. I found a porta-potty nearby that had one of those hand sanitizer dispensers inside. I pulled the whole bag of sanitizer out, gooped it over the wheel and tire and wrestled the tire back on the rim without any bars. That sanitizer made for a pretty darn good lube! Woke up the gas station owner and he fired up his compressor. Got back on the road. I carry a trailer spare now.

I use a ratchet strap around the tire if the bead won't seat. I built a friend a propane tank with an 1 1/2" valve on it to fill with air and stuff in stubborn tires. Works pretty good.

[68swb]

it is hard work we have done a lot of them in the past but luckly we had a chance to buy a hunter tire machine and car lift last year and both are a life saver, i am more apt. to working on cars at home now then to bring to the shop and work on them when i am not busy. life is easier now with those two items.

[fordman]

those blast tanks are great.

[72hiboy4x4]

I had my tandem trailer quite a bit over the ratings of it's tires and had a tire blow out on a long sweeping corner. Turned out it just blew the valvestem out of the wheel somehow. The tire came completely off the rim, but was in good shape.

I just did something like that with my trailer. popped the bead backing the U-Haul box into the back yard. after I got the box off, I needed to use the trailer the next day, so I took it to the local Sears (my compressor is 40 miles away right now) and we just grabbed the tire and pulled it towards us while we aired it up. popped right back on the bead, aired it up and away we went. didn't even take the wheel off the trailer.

[Blue Cloud]

I ran a service station years ago, also ran a service truck for the local Firestone dealer for awhile. I've changed tires by hand from wagon- cart size up to big off-road equipment ( front end loaders, graders, tractors). Like most things, with alittle practice and the right tools they're all easy to change. It's the first couple dozen or so that will kick your butt!

[CA180]

too bad your not in oklahoma or you could come down to my shop and i would mount and balance them for free.