Changing tires...

[w3srl]

I just scored a new set of Bridgestone rain tires for my 'stool and I need to change them over. I don't have any special tools for this, and I don't want to damage my nice, new Douglas rims. How do you guys change tires?

I'm OK with breaking the beads with a piece of 6" PVC pipe and a hydraulic jack, what I need help with is getting the tire worked off the rim. Is there a good way to do this without trashing my new rims? :dizzy:

[speeddemon0308]

some masking tape on screw drivers?

[Mike Bean]

Well I can tell you from my past experience, I had no luck. I even purchased one of those so call "Bead Breakers" from APS Karting and that things was useless and junk.

I have the Douglass rims also and they are easy to mount, but tough to dis-mount. I was thinking about making a device for my 20 Ton press to push them off but I have not gotten around to it.

This should be interesting.... Although, I thought we had some discussion in here before on this... Might try a search..

Mike Bean

[speeddemon0308]

i have 6"x 7.25 on the rear and 6"x6.5 on my race mower.. and to break the bead iniinally i just stick it in he vice and tighten it.. and then which ever side doesent pop off i stick the oposide side of the rim onto the vice with a rag between the rim and the vixe and then that will pop the other side off!!!

[Fudd]

Yo guys here is a little secret from a Model "A" restorer................me. Us teeker types use a semi stiff plastic. Just cut a piece from say an old antifreeze jug big enough ( 4x5 ) inches and use baby powder or silicon spray and go gently but with authority with a small tire iron or a brake adjusting tool. To install a tire place the rim show side down on a piece of carpet. Place a plastic garbage can liner (leaf bag) over the rim. Then work the tire casing over the rim. Remove the plastic liner. Then flip the unit right side up and use the plastic that you cut from the antifreez jug to protect the wheel and work the bead around the rim. You might try using a plastic glass stick for a tire iron. You get those from a glass shop. Hope this helps. :smash:

[Snakester]

I also bought one of those "Bead Breakers"...It makes a great anchor for my JON Boat!:cheers:

[speeddemon0308]

all i use to break the beads on mine is a big vise.. and tighten it until the one side pops off.. then the side that poped off.. stick a rag over it and put it on the jaw and tighten untill the other side pops off.. i havent bent a rim doin that either...

[Mike Bean]

I also bought one of those "Bead Breakers"...It makes a great anchor for my JON Boat!:cheers:

I even tried modifying the holes to apply more pressure and it would still slip off. I called APS Karting where I got it from and told them it does not work and they swore it works great and there was nothing wrong with it.

I ended up shipping it back to them for a refund. The sad thing is I had to eat the shipping both ways because APS Karting would not stand behind the product.

Mike Bean

[Snakester]

Yea, I had the same issue with the shipping...I needed a "Cheap" Anchor anyway!!!:dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy:

[w3srl]

Well, I got them all dismounted and re-mounted. It wasn't very pretty and some choice expletives were heard here and there but I got-er-dun.

I ended up using a big vise we have at work to break the beads. First I pulled the valve stem and chucked the mounted tire into the vise with the jaws as close to the rim as I could get. Slowly tightening the jaw got one bead to pop, but I had to back off and re-chuck it into the vise at an angle to get the other bead off. I used a thin board between the vise and the edge of the rim to prevent scratching.

Once the beads were broken, I chucked a 2x4 into the vise vertically and it press-fit into the backside of the rim tight enough that I could really work the tire. I put my palms on the tread with my fingers over the sidewall and was able to roll the outer bead off the rim. The inner bead was tougher, and I resorted to a little WD-40 for lubrication but it eventually came off without the use of tools. :thumb:

Getting the new tires onto the rims was a bit tougher, as the sidewalls were thicker. I had to use the WD-40 and it took about twice as long to mount each tire than it did to dismount the old slicks. This is where the fun began... I just could not get both beads to pop on any of the 4 wheels. I limited myself to 40 PSI, and at that pressure I could get one bead to seat but not the second. I didn't have a ratchet strap at work, so I resorted to wrapping the center of the tread with some clothesline and then duct tape. POP! the second bead seated at ~ 30 PSI! :cool_dude: Backed the pressure off to 0 again and removed my bubba-mount (TM) system, reinstalled the valve core and reinflated to 20 PSI.

Pics to follow! :cheers: