Take tire off the wheel without special tools?

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Is it possible for me to take a tire off of a wheel without any special tools? If so how?
 
I use to repair tires at a service station. We always used a tire machine. Mounting and dismounting a car tire takes considerable force and control.

The biggest tires I've mounted and dismounted by hand were garden equipment tires and they were a struggle. At times, it seems like the tire has a mind of it's own and is fighting not to be installed / removed.

I'd recommend having someone with a tire machine do the job.
 
Back before tire machines I use to do them with hand tools. A bead breaker of some sort is needed, then some tire irons and a tire hammer. Only took a couple of minutes each.

That was a while ago though. I still got the tire irons and a tire hammer though.

A bubble balancer finished the job, life was simpler then.
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Having worked in a tire service in my youth and changed many hundreds of tires (tyres) you can easily change a tire with a couple of tire levers and a rubber mallet. We usually did it by machine but did a number of mag wheels manually as the machine would tend to gouge the rim (newer machines don't do this) or truck tires (yes I know the majority have split rims, but not all). And sometimes the machine just simply wasn't working.

But you do need proper tire levers (high tensile)with reasonable length for leverage. I remember however that it wasn't getting the tire off that was the hardest part but braking the seal with the edge of the rim.

BTW: For home wheelbarrows/ bikes etc you really dont need anymore than a couple of decent screwdrives, just be careful that you don't damage the bead. Lever are better though.

[ January 09, 2004, 11:46 PM: Message edited by: theguru ]
 
I can remember watching my dad dismount, repair, and replace tires in the 50's. Modern tires are much more resistant to hand tools. If you just want rid of the tire, you can cut them off.
 
Probably not possible, or certainly not easy. However, I have the solution in my garage. An "armstrong" tire changer, sold by Harbor Freight. I've mounted and demounted dozens of 14", 15" and 16" tires with it for my Volvos. Last time I looked in the Harbor Freight catalog, they were selling for $59.99, free shipping. Takes a bit of upper body strength to use it; I'm 6'4", 240 lbs and have no trouble.
 
I've removed/replaced many tires in my lifetime.

Remove the valve core. After the tire is flat I put it laying down in front of my truck. I then use my Hi-Lift jack to break the beads. Put the base of the jack as close to the rim and jack the truck up. Turn the tire 90 degrees if necessary.

Once the bead is broken flip the tire over and do the other side.

Now with both beads broken lube the beads with soap. Using 2 large screwdrivers remove the 1st bead, then the other.

To install the tire, soap up the beads.Put the 1st bead on as far as possible w/o tools. Then using your knee hold the bead in place while working around the bead with the screwdrivers. Repeat for the other bead.

Usually you can air them up with a good 20 gallon or so air compresor. I have used either to seat beads but don't recomend that unless absolutly necessary.

Also. My Junk has steel wheels. I wouldn't recomend using screwdrivers on an Aluminum wheel or one that you care about.

I could care less about my Jeep wheels as they are rock rashed already.
 
One thing about using a tire machine is you are not likely to damage wheel. Especially with aluminum, if you just nick the bead on the wheel, it may leak. Also you should take care when inflating a tire. If its mounted to a machine, it will not likely hurt you if its blows or the wheel fails. While these are not likely, they can and do happen. Happened to someone I know. They where putting air in a tire and it suddenly blew out forcing they wheel back into his face. Spent a couple of agonizing hours in the E-room getting stitches, looked like he was beat up by someone. Now he will not inflate a tire unless its locked down on the tire machine.
 
easiest way of all to break the bead of a car tire or any tire for that matter is so use a second automobile and run over the tire, but not the wheel. this works prefectly, every time, and breaks both beads at one passing.

to get the tire off, use alot of slippery soap. like degreaser stuff that makes your hands feel slimy, works great. you can purchase a set of tire irons from just about any auto parts store for $10-$20. tire irons dont have to be high quality, it is not a precision item afterall. you want to slip one under the bead, and pull it around, then slip the next one a few inches away and pull it around as well. keep doing this untill one bead is off, then work on the other bead. you CAN get by using screwdrivers, to do this you need to take small steps, like have the screwdrivers an inch apart on the bead as you work your way around the tire, i have done it before, its not fun but it is possible to use screwdrivers.

to get the tire back on the wheel, apply more soap and step on the tire in small increments around the bead, you may need to hop up and down a bit, but i havent net needed a tool to get normal car tire on, however i have never worked with heavy duty tires on a truck or somthing. just normal passenger car tires.

remember, soap is THE key to working on tires. if it isnt slippery its never going to come off, or go back on.

also, u dont need a high capacity air compressor to seat the bead, if you properly slam the tire into the ground while it is on the rim, there can usually be sufficent air pressure to get a good enough seal so that you can use any air compressor, even those dinky 12v ones. with that said, a nice large compressor with a big tank is awalys helpfull.

i personally use a set of tire irons, a 2hp compressor with 10 gal tank, another car (to run it over and seperate the bead) and a squirt bottle of degreaser.

i change my own tires because all the local morons are famous for bending wheels, even steelies!
 
quote:

Usually you can air them up with a good 20 gallon or so air compresor. I have used either to seat beads but don't recomend that unless absolutly necessary

How does seating the bead with ether work ?
Doesn't it involve a spark and a pop.
How do you do it if it's necessary ?
 
One thing I'll mention is to put a chalk mark on the tire corresponding to the valve stem. When you re-mount the tire, match up the mark and valve stem. This retains the original wheel/tire runout and balance.
 
quote:

Doesn't it involve a spark and a pop.

You bet it does. Also takes some large cajones or a few brain cells short. Once saw a Discovery Channel show on some 4-wheelers crossing the arctic. They were running very low pressure tires and when one went flat they used ether to inflate it. Seemed a lot more reasonable in the middle of the arctic at -40 F temperatures. I was surprised they didn't have the "Don't try this at home kiddies." disclaimer at the bottom of the screen.
Terry
 
If you are not sure about bead sealing or if you are using a tube, creasing, I find deflating the tire and checking, then reinflating helpful.
 
All this talk about mounting and demounting tires without the use of a mounting machine makes me very nervous.

Some words of caution.

People have been killed inflating tires. Don't position yourself so you are over the tire when seating the beads. If the bead lets go, the force is tremendous! It could kill you!!

This means you ought to be using a clip-on device on a remote inflator.

Use lots of soap. On the wheel and on the tire! Anyplace where the rim and the tire touch.

Soap - Use a lubricant that is compatible with rubber. An earlier post mentioned a degreaser. I'm fairly certain these contain things that dissolve grease and that means it will attack rubber. Stay away from those!

And that goes for pretty much any petroleum based product (Kind of ironic, don't you think?).

When seating the bead don't use more than 40 psi. If you reach 40 psi, start over, and use lots of lube. I've only experienced a few tires that wouldn't seat at 20 psi or below and it took several tries, but they all seated below 40.

Carefully inspect the wheel and the tire for damage. If in doubt, DON'T!

Be careful when the last bit of bead goes over the rim flange. The bead toe canbe torn, allowing pressurized air into the carcass, which will result in a tire failure. This failure could occur almost immediately or be many hundreds of miles down the road.

If the inflation pressure you are going to use is more than 40 psi, it's best to bring it up to spec on the vehicle using a remote inflator, while you stand off to the side.

The idea of running over a tire to break the beads loose: I don't know about you, but if I took a piece of steel cable and creased it with a thousand pounds of force, I'd expect it to fail eventually. So why are steel belts any different? Surely there is a better way!

In a nutshell - I don't recommend anyone mount or demount tires without proper training and proper equipment. I've done a few myself and it was too much work and a little too dangerous for my taste - and I know all the danger points! Heaven help someone who tries to do this without having learned what to look out for.

A final thought - If you do not like the way your local garage does it - FIND ONE YOU DO LIKE!!!
 
when i run over a tire to break the bead, it is because i am changing that tire and throwing it away. i dont really care if i damage the steel belts because of this.
 
Capriracer, I am with you. THe only time I do shade tree tire work is for field fix's. When I was a tech. if the machine did not have a cage to protect the tech. while seating the bead I would not use it. Their was a young soldier doing split rim with out proper protection. THe bead let loose and tore out his throat. I took tires seriously from that day on!

If you want to shade tree that is fine but you should purchase the right tools. You should either take some class's or buy some automotive trade books! You might also consider an aprenticeship if they do this in the USA. You life is worth more then the price of mounting and ballanceing.

P.S. Good Luck!! I like to see young people takeing an interest in their vechiles!
 
Here's an Aussie mob who make a field service tyre replacement set-up that takes the place of your towbar hitch.

It's recieved rave reviews in the 4Wheel mags.

http://www.tyrepliers.com.au

(edited 'cause I thought that the link would be useful)

[ January 17, 2004, 03:25 AM: Message edited by: Shannow ]
 
This is how they do it in mother Russia:

http://arch.zr.ru/articles/162_08_2000.html

If you can't read the text (very informative, BTW, use Google,) you can still understand the diagrams on the right. There are many ways to do it. Actually, before too long ago, many Russian drivers did this routinely. This is what happens when you have to wait 6 month for a govenment service shop to do a poor job
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Be sure to get both sides of the tire off before using a long bar to dismount the tire
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I'm buying one of these to change my own tires and than pay someone to balance them. There are many specials for tire rotation with balancing in the newspaper fliers.

I saved a lot of money buying tires online and putting them on myself and balancing them. However, I lost access to a military auto craft shop that had all of the tools to do the install and balancing. This is an alternative.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34542
 
I'd like to buy one of these, too. Can someone comment on how difficult (or easy) it is to use one of these? I'd like to know if it's worthy of taking up space in my garage.

BTW, last weekend I tried unbeading a tire by running it over with my car. I couldn't break the bead! Maybe it was too cold and the rubber wasn't compliant enough.
 
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