Who mounts there own tires?

When we were teens we mounted our own tires using screw drivers and a VW jack to brake the bead because the tire shop was to chicken to mount temporary spares on our car for us. I wanted to mount my own tires again but I do not have a VW jack to brake the bead from the rim. Does anyone have a technique for breaking the bead without the proper tool?

Thanks

Dave

 

let the air out and drive around a little.

 

I always do, they aint getting my $4 a tire to put them on and old ones off. I use a crow bar with a flat end bent at 90*. Just hammer it in and pry it down.

 

Jack up another car , put a block of wood on the side of the tire and lower the car on it. That's how I just did 4 of them.

 

No I don't I own a manual beadbreaker ,I think they are still around .I've done over 300 tires .I just have them spun balanced later.

 

Because that's very similar to how the actual tire machine works. You let the air out, insert an angled flat bar and on the machine, it spins the wheel with tire and breaks the seal for you.


Yah, we have a family owned tire shop.

 

I do all my own tires. I have a manual bead breaker. Harbor freight might have them, but you can find them at swap meets sometimes too. Dean

 

sit your engine hoist legs on the tire, hook the chain to the rim, and start pumping. works great for me.

 

You can get them new for about $160. This cutie does them while still on the car, does tractors and backhoes *whew*, and it only requires an air ratchet............

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34542

Works good. Get it on sale even cheaper. Paid for itself in about a week.

 

There is a special sledge hammer used for truck ( semis ) rims has a rounded kinda clw on one side hammer on teh other ,,the claw is used to break the bead.. On a car tire try a Spoon ( not from the kitchen) and a hammer between the bead and the rim,,work it around the rim and it should break loose,,

Or a large friend to stand on it

After that bout the same as changin a motorcycle tire ,,



or just find a bead breaker

 

I do it whenever I can. My old jeep buggy, I'd run that thing around with 4 psi in the rocks. Beadlocks on the outside, but the insides never came loose either. Had to take it to a shop to break that. A friend left a HF deal here and I used to use that to get the 35-37" tires on for the buggy and other jeeps, but always fought it. Haven't tried a regular sized tire. The bias ply's I got for the rod went on by hand. The radial white wall retread cheaters on the back, I was able to get one side on just by spinning it like a tire machine and using a big prybar and a screw driver. I had to take them to a shop to get the outer bead on.

Shoot, $4 per tire, I'd happily pay that. Anyone around here wants at least $30 per, even if I bring them in loose. I was lucky enough to get a shop that realized how simple the work was and just popped the beads on for me. I was ready to pay, so I gave the guy in the back a $20 for some lunch. Was so damned happy I took my wifes car for new rubber the next week.

 

Remove the valve core and then lay the tire on the ground under the bumper of a car. Get an old fashioned bumper jack. Hook the jack under the bumper and put the baseplate on the sidewall of the tire. Jack away and the bead gets broken.

 

Round here $12 to take old off.. put new on,,balance and dispose of the old tire..

 

I have an old Coats Manual machine. It has a bottom breaker that doesn.t work for me. I would get a hernia liftin up on the handle before it breaks a bead. It has an air cylinder to pull the center cone down but i don't use the air, I use a top breaker bar to then turn the tire over to do the other bead. I use a v end bar out of a power rotator and beat it around with a big hammer. spoons to install the new tire. My brother in law bought the john bean spin balancer surplus from a buick dealership.Now I have it. It takes longer than the new type but the tire guy said it worked better but took too long for the price they charged. It's all hard work and unless I'm short of cash I take them down town and spend the $ 12.

 

I use a "farmers" handy man jack setting on the tire bead edge and the front bumper of a 3/4 ton pick up. Jack the pickup up and who-ose the bead breaks. Front bead first, flip the tire and break the bead on the back side of the wheel-tire assembly. The physical work out gives you a good feeling.

 

I dug two tire machines out of salvage and got them working, also bought a digital balancer from a local dealer(for under a hundred bucks) that was going out of business.

 

I had the Harbor Freight version...turned a lovely shade of pink after a year in the sun. Worked great! Now I just remove the stem and drive the truck over it to break the bead and break out my 2 biggest Snap On screwdrivers! Done so many this way i can do It faster than some of the tire jockey's a Sears!
Aloha

 

My dad had a gulf station back in the late 50's and i remember watching him fix flats for $1.00 ,all by hand . Those were tube type tires so it was alot of work.Sometimes he would get so busy my mom had to take the wrecker out on tow calls! I still mount my hot rod and antique car tires by hand using those same old tire irons and a manual beadbreaker,and can't help thinking of him every time i do it.

 

I use an old manual unit but have also used most of the other methods mentioned here. I usually install and remove the tire from the rim with the approiate tire iron tools - they are sold new and are usually available at swap meets. For balancing, I have an old bubble balancer to get it close and then throw in 'Dyna Beads'.

 

Quickest way i've found:

Lay tire flat one ground
Take valve core out
Put my parts chasing truck in 4 lo
Drive up on tire(but not the rim)
Done

 

I have always mounted my own. Jack, spoons, BFH.

 

This thread reminded me of an article I once saw in a 1949 issue of Popular Science. The article was about some tire store in Manhattan where the workers could change tires in a matter of minutes. They did not even take the wheel off the car. They used tire spoons and, obviously, a good deal of expertise. The photo series showed them removing a tire from the rim and replacing it in some insanely short period of time. Of course, nowadays try to hire a mechanic willing to change tires without the latest hi-tech machine. Times have changed.

 

Speedway motors has bead breakers for about $30-$40. I've used them for years to mount 15 x 15 racing slicks. Haven't had any problems with them and they are gentle on the rims, even super ultra light ones.

 

that's cool.

 

We've got a tire machine, but it usually just gets used to take tires off...

I figure for the $4 a tire or what ever it is down at Marion's I'll just let them do it... They're good people.. and it saves me having to dig the tire machine out anyway..

 

The bottom one is what I use, works great. Dean

 

The timing of this is just what i needed guys. I am currently trying to sell my older FMC 8800 machine. Its just time to up date. I intend i getting a ranger 980x. I have done plent of tires in the military with spoons and jacks and bad backs. Ill take the rim clamp anyday. Oh and ill give a great deal on the FMC if you PM me

 

i have a coats 40/40 it will do up to a 38 inch tire. i don't use it on my nice ansen wheels. but steel wheels i do. i need 3 phase for my balancer.

 

I just use something like this :

I also use an older Coates 40-40 and some older Corghi machines.

Family owns a tire business that was started in 1922