So, I spend a lot of time at self-service wrecking yards. I see good tires, and cheap. But the yards charge if you take 'em with the wheels, which I don't need. How do I take tires off rims without the machines used at tire shops? I have tried with screwdrivers, but that didnt work well. I know in "the old days" they used some kind of tire iron to skim them off the rim. Does anyone know how to accomplish this?

 

Pick up this months issue of 4 wheeler magazine, they're 2 guys mounting tires on on rim with hand tools. The tire was 46" i beleive. I would think a good set of crowbars and a long dull chisel should do the trick.

 

I've seen this done on big-truck tires, using a proper tire iron and a big sledge hammer - then a pry bar (which could have been a tire-specific pry bar) - by one of the biggest, strongest guys you could imagine (who was already missing half a finger form working on big trucks). With today's regular-tire-size strong beads and compounds (a 46" 4x4 tire sounds easier) I bet it would be a tough, tough job for two guys, let alone one.

I remember how difficult of a time I had mounting and dismounting some tires using a pneumatic tire machine when I was a mechanic.

The bead strength and tightness will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

I don't mean to discourage you - I hope you get the right tools and try it. Perfect it even. But for some tires and wheels it might not be feasible.

Best,
GammaDriver

 

It's really not that hard to do. Break the beads with a sledge hammer. Take a bottle of dish soap with you, and soap the bead and rim. Work the bead over the rim with a couple of crowbars.

 

I agree with everything GammaDriver said.

 

The tires I am after are usually the garden variety 14's/15's/16's from passenger cars. I am not sure if those are harder or easier to get off than large truck tires. I will try the crowbar and soap method and let you know. I saw some nice 195/60's for my GF's Acura, but dont want to buy the rims. The tires are $15 if I can get them off, so quite a deal. Thanks for the ideas.

 

It's easy, I do ALL of my own tire work. Usually the hardest part is getting the bead broke loose.The sledgehammer is kinda iffy-one bad swing and you're buying the rim. 1- remove valve stem core 2-set tire flat on ground in front of or behind a vehicle and use a high lift jack. set foot of jack on sidewall of tire as close to rim as possible and use weight of vehicle to push bead down and off. sometimes you have to help it with your foot around foot of jack, or work your way around tire and I have run into some that i couldnt get off to save my life!!! One of my friends says he drives a vehicle onto sidewall to break it loose but thats never worked for me. ALSO- a plain old bumper jack works too. 3- repeat on other side 4-move tire away from vehicle for more room to work. 5- stand on sidewall of tire, pushing it down into center of rim and use a prybar of big screwdriver to lever OPPOSITE side of tire over top of wheel(standing on tire pushes bead into center where the wheel diameter is smaller, creating a temporary gain in space on opposite side to pry tire over) 6-move around tire with second prybar getting more small "bites" next to the previous. 7- after front of tire is off, flip the works over and basically do the same thing except you pull wheel into off-center position with one hand instead of standing on tire. Ive never had to use soap to get one off but it does help to put them on. It works best if the jack and tire are dry because the jack will want to slide off otherwise. My directions probably arent very clear,pictures would be better . Once youve figured it out and done it a few times it's pretty easy.

 

When I could not break beads with my hi-lift, I have used 2x12 pieces of wood to spread the pressure along the tire more and that has worked.

 

haha that's alot of work just to take tires off, or plan B spend an extra few hours at work and pay a auto shop a few bucks to do it with their machines.

 

Once youve got the technique down, it's really pretty easy unless you run into the occasional stubborn one. tire shops around here charge around 7$ to fix a leak, I've saved a LOT of money over the years doing my own

 

Last time I got a flat I was in a very small town and my spare was questionable . . . I went to a old time service station and the 80+ year old, 100 lb guy did it his self, by hand, and had the tire properly patched and remounted in just a coule of minutes . . .

I was surprised at just how easy it was for him. I'm sure there is technic envolved because he didn't have much strength . . .

 

> I went to a old time service station and the 80+ year old, 100 lb guy did it his self

I learned a lot of tire tricks by keeping my mouth shut and my eyes open working with an old timer truck mechanic. Learned how to seat a leaking bead on an aluminum rim using a hammer and a piece of wood when I thought it was a lost cause because the rim was warped so much.