I have some snow tires mounted on some ugly rims that I need to dismount. Is there a way to get the tire off the wheel without damaging it? I'm sort of trying to avoid paying the tire guy to do something that takes him 10 minutes.

 

If they are old they are sometimes soft enough to get off without a machine. You need to let all the air out, break the bead (try using your heel, then use the drop center of the wheel and try pulling it off. Local tire shop pulled my old stock tires of for $10. I say that was a good deal.

 

Agreed. $10 to pull off all four old wheels is a deal, unless, of course, you bought the tires from them, in which case that shoudl have been free.. LOL..

The larger the tire, the easier is is to get off, IMO. Spray liberally with soap/water or even WD-40 to help 'slide' the tire off the rim.
Hair spray and a match will air 'em up and set the bead on install in the middle of the woods. Be warned, it ain't the safest way to do it, but it will work.

If you plan on doing your own tires, do yourself a favor and get a good set of irons, and a balancing machine. Even a bubble type one will do, in a pinch, for off road tire/wheels.

 

I either drive the truck over the tire, once the valve core is removed, to break the bead or (my favorite way) use a hi-lift jack. Hook the hi-lift jack to the bumper, place the tire underneath it with a 1x6 board on top of the tire and put enough pressure on the jack to break the bead. Then use a very big screwdriver or 1/2 impact extension to work around the bead to get the tire off the rim. The extension is nice because it does not have any sharp edges to cut the tire or inner tube (if present).

 

I'd stay away from the wd-40 if you want to keep the tires. Petroleum products tend to cause the rubber to dry out prematurely.

 

WD40 may be OK though. It's my understanding it's made mostly of fish oil. No joke.

rebocardo, thats a great idea using the hi lift.

Another method would be to take a piece of 2x6 (or something equivilent) lumbar about 2' long. Lay the tire down with one end of the wood on the ground and the other on the sidewall just shy of the rim. This basically makes a ramp up the tire. Now just drive up your litte ramp and 'viola, you bead is broken. Make sure you lumber is stout and long enough to hold some weight. Oh yea, and as mentioned before, be sure and pull the valve first.

 

AH ha! that ramp trick is somthing I haven't thought of yet. Ill have to give it a try.

Hmmm, now how do I drive the truck with only 3 wheels?

 

Be warned about the ramp idea that the whole tire/wheel will sometimes slap up into your front end if you're not lucky. It won't do this if you ahve someone either standing on it or holding it down. I'd prefer to stand on it rather than hold it down, but I'm odd like that.

mleichtle:

You obviously never watched the 'Dukes of Hazard'. They rode of TWO wheels all the time..

 

Well i would go to my garage get my slide hammer bead breaker and 2 of my 4 tire irons and go nuts but then again when you've been changing tractor tires for 6 years a car or truck tire is nothing. lol

 

Guys, Harbor Freight Tools sells a manual tire changer that's sometimes on sale for $39.95. It has a bead breaker included and is well worth the money if you do a lot of tire changing.