who mounts their own tires by hand? tire spoon advice needed

[compleckz]

its not hard, and the starter fluid method does work, u jsut have to make sure as soon as the bead seats to hook the compressor up to shot in air to extinguish the flames that will still be burnin inside the tire....

well i got the beads broken pretty easy.. i lubed all around the lips and let it set for 5 mins and they both came off wicked easy (before lube they wouldn't budge with me jumping up and down on it)..

then i got front lip off the front of the rim by prying it up with one bar, then sticking another bar in a lug hole and pivoting the pry bar around that bar, while standing on the rim, came off just as easy as doing it on a machine...

but i cant seem to get the rear lip off, tried the same trick i did before and the rim just keeps slipping on the floor (before the tire must have been giving it the traction i needed, weird tire=traction?), i need to try and find a rubber mat or something to work on.. to be honest diane, i'm surprised. (family guy reference.)

anyways it seems spoons would be very useful in REMOVING tires, but as junkie + others have said, you can prolly just step on them lubed, to install.. and as long as everything is lubed up, i dont see any problem using spoons.. i just did it with 2 bars and its exactly how tire shops do it.. i wonder if they make spoons with plastic overlays to protect aluminum rims?

 

[compleckz]

also i found a coats 40-40sa local for 300obo.. im drooling over that.. at $10/tire thats only 30 changes so thats tire changes on 8 cars to break even.. im sure my friends will go for $15 tire changes too. that will help pay it off. oh and parts are easy to find too.

it can do up to 19" rims and 38" tires.. its the exact model i'm used to.. i just need a way to get it out of my truck! it weighs 575#. so yea im gonna call about that, cuz i've always wanted one.

 

[Black'03LevelII]

but i cant seem to get the rear lip off, tried the same trick i did before and the rim just keeps slipping on the floor

just a trick to try (we do this with semi tires) stand the tire up and from the back side where the rim is half out. stick your spoon thruso that you would have the rim towards you and the spoon is across the top of the rim thru to the other side, then pull the tire back towrds you so it would fall, at the same time push up on the bar. this should hopefully pop it off the rim. I'm not sure if it will work though with how little the tire/rim wheighs in comparison to a semi tire (130lbs mounted) but it might work, at least worth a try anyways. good luckwith machine if you get it.

 

[Mutant Pony]

The 40-40 is the fastest tire machine I've ever used. They are built solid, they almost never break.
They are hell on aluminum wheels though. Find an old bucket of grease if you do aluminums, grease the outer lip of the wheel. That will REDUCE the damage.
Oh, Also you have to keep an eye on the lower bead breaker, sometimes it will catch a wheel and it could bend/damage the wheel.

 

[compleckz]

The 40-40 is the fastest tire machine I've ever used. They are built solid, they almost never break.
They are hell on aluminum wheels though. Find an old bucket of grease if you do aluminums, grease the outer lip of the wheel. That will REDUCE the damage.
Oh, Also you have to keep an eye on the lower bead breaker, sometimes it will catch a wheel and it could bend/damage the wheel.

i LOVED the 40-40 i worked with.. you could swap a tire/stem in like a minute flat, or less.. point and shoot machine.

in regards to alloy wheels:
were you also using the plastic sleeves over the bars? i remember we used to use the plastic overlays, to mount/dismount tires on like stock 13-15" unpainted alloys with no problems (it was like 5-6 years ago, but i never remember damaging wheels).. i will MAINLY use this machine for steel wheels, but i have a few alloys for my cars, and my friend's trucks all have alloys.. so i guess its more like 1/2 steel and 1/2 aluminum.. i only did like 2 dozen tire swaps on this machine, (it only takes a few goes to get the rhythm down though). it sounds like you have more experience with it so i trust what you say about the machine more than my minor experience.

pic of what i mean:

 

[Nullifier]

to reseat a bead all you have to do is run a rachet strap around the tire. crank it really tight so it bulges the sidewall against the rim Then air it p. once the bead seats undo the strap and bring the tire to proper pressure. This is practical and safe.

As far as spoons they are a peice of cake. I have carried a set for years and have sed them on everything from rding mowers to 19.5" rims on my heavy duty trucks at work. You need some soapy water for around the bead but that is all. DO not forget to change your valve stems while you in there. THe especially the rubber ones. THey generally ;ast as long as a tire.

 

[odie1969]

I don't think anybody said it but I was always told to remove the shrader valve from the stem to let some of that air out of the tire so you don't blow the tire over the bead and rip it. not sure this is true but I have always removed the valve also I'm guessing that everybody is talking about mounting there trail tires due to the fact that I don't like vibrating the hell out of myself on the highway and perfer my tires balanced

 

[Todd]

I’ll add some of what I know on this subject, as I do and have done many of the things already mentioned.

As for tire spoons a good pair is very helpful but not always necessary. If care is taken pry bars can be used just as effectively. Dish soap works very well as a bead lubricant while mounting or dismounting tires.

For every type of tire there are different types of methods that work best for mounting them using manual labor. The principles are the same but slight variations of how the spoon is rotated to remove or get under the bead help depending on the tire.

For braking a bead I use the same method while out on the trail or in the shop. A high lift jack and a truck. Place the base close to the bead and lift the truck. Some times rotating the jack several times of blows from a hammer are need to get it to pop off.

Starting fluid is very handy for setting beads. Again I use this both on the trail and in the shop. I Have found that starting fluid with the tire upright work the best. Brake cleaner and carb cleaner also work. I have OBA and use it many times without flame to set beads, but do you know how hard it is to set a bead in the bush on a 16.5? Good luck without flame.

Oh and for whoever said the flame trick was too risky I have something to tell you. I carry two cans of starting fluid in my rig just for this purpose. Im sick of others tire problems slowing me down. When It needs to be done Im the one they call. And from how many cans I have used I must the most dangerous person in the world

 

[lzarnch]

or you can just take them to a tire shop like discount/americas tire co. and have them do it, just have the wheels and tires dismounted so they dont charge you to take off the old tires or to throught them away

 

[compleckz]

or you can just take them to a tire shop like discount/americas tire co. and have them do it, just have the wheels and tires dismounted so they dont charge you to take off the old tires or to throught them away

um.. the point of this thread is to avoid the tire shop..


and thanks for the good info Will!

 

[birddog1148]

The Harbor Freight tire changer was one of the best tools I ever bought, mine is close to 15 years old and still going strong. Use a bottle of soapy water to help get the tires on and off.