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Anyone have a trick or tip for mounting tires


MARK (LI)

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I have done it before but I just bought 4 tires to replace and I had a heck of a time getting the first old one off its rim...I finally got the new one back on after a lot of cursing and and work...now I can't get the beads to sit so they take air..I tried a belt around the tire, but no good...anyone have a suggestion?....thank you

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I ended up taking mine (26 x 12 x 12 on wide rims) to a local ag tire store.   The guy said I didn't want to know how much pressure he used to get the bead to seat.

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grease the rim with murphys oil soap it will help with lubing and making a seal .plus if you can find a tire filler that doesn't require a needle to make it work you can remove the needle which will help get the air in quicker to help get it started

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First of all, the tire shop will charge you $12 - $15 per tire for mounting.  A harbor Freight tire changer will pay for itself ($42.00) on the first time out.

The following process to set the bead is not for the faint of heart.  Make sure you have goggles, a fire extinguisher, and leather gloves.  Keep the kids away.

 

changer.jpg

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What size tires on what size rims?  If the new tires are folded in either expand them with blocks of wood or an inner tube blown up and let them sit for a few days.  And then remount.

Or just buy inner tubes.

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10 hours ago, wwbragg said:

First of all, the tire shop will charge you $12 - $15 per tire for mounting.  A harbor Freight tire changer will pay for itself ($42.00) on the first time out.

The following process to set the bead is not for the faint of heart.  Make sure you have goggles, a fire extinguisher, and leather gloves.  Keep the kids away.

 

changer.jpg

I've driven tractor trailer for over 30 years and I can't count the number of times I've seen this done at "budget" shops. Makes a 150 lb. tire and rim jump a foot off the ground!  The proper way would be to get one of these.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Gallon-Air-Tire-Bead-Seater-Blaster-Tool-Seating-Inflator-Truck-ATV-145PSI/253392853869?epid=2213316290&hash=item3aff641b6d:g:sjcAAOSwpiNZuNxr

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I take the valve out of the stem, and push the air hose directly onto the stem.  That usually helps as it pushes a lot more air in at once. I also use a bead sealer, or as KRTsaid some Murphy's.  Once it's seated, reinstall the valve and fill the tire.

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1 hour ago, dhoadley said:

The proper way would be to get one of these

Yeah, that is probably a better idea - - - and it wont singe your eyebrows. 

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Thanks for replies   I actually just received an email from HF with a coupon...I really don't like their stuff but with 20% off I can't really go wrong

I bid a couple of bucks for the air powered one    but if I win it I have to wait a week or 2 for delivery...I might move everything out of the driveway and try the arsonist's trick away from anything, should it go wrong...will let you know how it works out

Thank you for all the responses....Mark

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I couldn't believe it.......  I used carb and choke cleaner..I didn't use much so it did not work well on my first attempt....so I used a little more and it worked fine...it still was not a lot of carb cleaner...just a shot for a second.....then the little tail away and hit it with the torch.....it worked instantly...I don't know who figured that out, but it is one cool trick

 

As far as the tire mounter from Harbor Freight...I bouhgt it...says good for 8 to 16 inch tires.....they are not talking about the tires...they are talking about the wheels...so I have to take it back and get the "mini" one    ...hope they don't give me a hard time...it is kind of cheaply made, but it is better than I thought it would be...the hole in the center is too large to use it for a tractor tire.....

Edited by MARK (LI)
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I have a HF  mini tire changer. I bought a small tire  spoon to help with the process. I also use regulaer tire bead lube I get from a local service station. To seat a bead on a mower tire I usually use a small tie down rtchet to pull the center in and pop the sides out to contact the bead. I dont get crazy about using lots of pressure to seat the bead either. Sometimes, just get a decent amount of pressure in it and tap around the tire with a rubber mallet. The key for me is plenty of bead lube...

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I went back and got the mini one...it was easy to pop old tire off...got the first bead of new tire back on with reasonable ease..second is a killer..it would be a lot easier to use with a second set of hands...I did mount it on a thick piece of wood about 3 foot square., so it is reasonably stable.......I think I have to clear some crap off one of my work tables and mount it at that height..I think that it will be easier to work with....thanks for the input Sam........I appreciate it

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22 hours ago, wwbragg said:

First of all, the tire shop will charge you $12 - $15 per tire for mounting.  A harbor Freight tire changer will pay for itself ($42.00) on the first time out.

The following process to set the bead is not for the faint of heart.  Make sure you have goggles, a fire extinguisher, and leather gloves.  Keep the kids away.

 

changer.jpg

This works great when it works...When it does not you will be buying new tires because the sidewalls are blown out. And if you are lucky the piece only flies past your head saying idiot. Otherwise it slaps you in the face.

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I put tubes in ALL of my tractor tires. Got TIREd :/ of always having to add air when I wanted to use the tractor because the beads never seal good. I've worked in several different tire shops and know all the tricks, but let's face it; a tire that is not used often will leak around the bead eventually. 
Using tubes also saves on high blood pressure, cussing, and beating your head against the wall when the beads won't seat! 

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17 hours ago, Allen Cooper said:

sidewalls are blown out

How much starter fluid did you use???  If you are blowing out sidewalls, you are using way too much.  But you are right; it is probably not the safest solution - - - funny as all get-out; but not the safest.

Edited by wwbragg
punctuation
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Not much at all...I took it out in the middle of the street to do it.....just a short maybe 1 second shot of it...I used carb cleaner....It seemed as though it was just enough to do it.....I saw one video in which the guy just loaded up the tire and it jumped off the ground and kept burning...this was a full size tire

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13 hours ago, dhoadley said:

I've driven tractor trailer for over 30 years and I can't count the number of times I've seen this done at "budget" shops. Makes a 150 lb. tire and rim jump a foot off the ground!  The proper way would be to get one of these.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Gallon-Air-Tire-Bead-Seater-Blaster-Tool-Seating-Inflator-Truck-ATV-145PSI/253392853869?epid=2213316290&hash=item3aff641b6d:g:sjcAAOSwpiNZuNxr

Ah, yes, the Cheetah! We had one of these at one of the shops I worked at. It was funny to let the salesmen try it. There is a definite technique, and they did not know it. A couple got knocked on their rear as the rest of us laughed!
But the MOST fun we had was to take the nozzle off and replace it with a straight section of exhaust pipe. Then pick up the pine cones from under the tree by the parking lot. By using the right adapters & pipe size, we could get the green, bullet-shaped cones to fly a good 100 yards!
One of the salesmen (gotta love those guppies!) failed to notice we gave the nozzle some good elevation to reach the empty lots across the street. He let go of a dried pine cone (not as much aerodynamics) just as a car went by. The street was 100 feet away. The THUNK of a pine cone hitting a car door caused us to disperse rapidly and replace the pipe with the correct nozzle!
Did not see any damage to the car, but the driver did jump and look over!
 

Edited by Hick
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Its also a must to clean the rims where the bead seats, and if theres surface rust of any kind, painting with glossy paint may be required. I must admit to using tubes alot of the time anymore as well. The interesting thing about tubes is that if you run over a tack it will go through the tire, but its not long enough to penetrate the tube. Learned that tid bit mowing a city park for years where people used lots of tacks to tck up decorations...dOd

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I can't count the times I've used my min tire changer.  It did strike me as cheaply made, but I have bused it for years with no failure or disappointment.  I actually used it yesterday to swap a 40 year old 10" tire on my powermax.  That old rubber is TOUGH to break loose and pull off.  I had a 6' bar for prying that last little bit, and still it took me a while.  I'm sore today.  But I won.  I just spread dishsoap on the rim/bead for easing the on/off.  I have a small (1-1.5"?) wire wheel I use on an extension for my cordles drill, and use that to reach in and cleanup the edge of the rim if I foresee a battle.  That helps things go smoothly as well.

I lag bolted mine t the floor of my landscape trailer until I sold that last year.  That worked great for a platform.  Yesterday I bolted it to my deck, and made sure to hit a joist.  I ended up pulling the 3" lag bolts out of the wood.  So now, I found a large/flat, partially exposed tree root behind my shop, and used four 3" lag bolts into that baby.  Nothing pulled loose this time, and i finished the job.  I prefer to mount my change low to the ground, because I use my body weight to break beads, etc.  When I first got it I bolted it to the workbench and didn't like fighting it with little leverage.  Plus, it moved my workbench all around.

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  • 1 year later...
On 1/29/2018 at 7:09 PM, MARK (LI) said:

I found a safe way that is so simple and worked right away

 

And at 1.00 he better be glad it did not seal the first time. His thumb is between the tire and rim!

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I have used water to seat bead

hook hose to stem  with valve removed

it works better if you have a shutoff valve located close to valve stem

because if you keep it on when bead is seated

you are working with more pressure than your water system has

I broke a weak bead one time

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I mounted my tire changer to the concrete floor with removable round headed allen bolts.  I barely notice them on the floor, they are nearly flush, and they are installed with Neversieze so they aren't hard to pull when I mount the changer.  You do have to have a good solid mount, it's amazing how much leverage and torque is used to remove these tires from the wheel.

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