Hey everyone, I'm budgeting to get a new set of tires and rims soon.

I guess it's been a while since I've had tires put on a vehicle, they're going to charge me $100 to put four tires on the rims. That's just ridiculous. Does anyone know how to mount your own tires? What tools are needed? Techniques?
Thanks for any info.

 

BF Rubber H Stand on tire on rim and beat until on, It's worth the 25. Find a new tire supplier, the cost of install should be properly hidden in the tire markup.

 

I do my own, I have the $50 manual tool for this I got from Harbor Freight, it is mounted on a big wooden pallet so I don't have to drill holes in my concrete floor to keep it from moving. I swapped 4 rims (dismount and remount tire on new rim 4 times) on my Escape the other night in about 2 hours. It helps that I worked at Sears doing tires many years ago and I know how to do it with a Coats machine - this thing works pretty much the same way except you supply the power.

 

i remember doing tires for my dad when i was 13...

heres a method of madness:

remove valve core and set somewhere you wont lose it

you need to bust the beads off the rim, you can use a bead breaker like jas was talking about, however I have used a hi-lift jack many times.

you need two tire irons, work the bead off the rim (make sure that you are working on the shallow side of the rim) once you have the first bead off, i suggest standing the tire up cause you will need to get at it from the back, think about this second bead as trying to get the rim to pop out rather than trying to work the bead off the rim, and a rubber mallet helps too.

make sure the rims and tire is clean, and please dont do this in the dirt...
with the outside (shallow) side of the rim facing up, use some soapy water, or some foam window cleaner, or the actual stuff for mounting tires and lube the bead that you want to go on the inside (black walls or lettering) set it down on the rim and give it a shove around, sometimes they will slide right onto the rim, if not, get out your trusty rubber mallet and work on either sides, alternating to knock the bead on.

lube up the other bead and work it on with your tire irons, NOTE: when you have part of the bead on the rim, make sure it sits in the little channel in your rim so the tire can shift in the other direction when your working it on, which helps prevent torn beads. and be carefull and go slow at this time, it is the easiest time to tear a bead.

now your tire should be on the rim, and the beads need to be seated, before you put the valve core back in. simply add air and they will pop onto the rim, but make sure your fingers and every other appendage and all of your clothing is out of the way, as it can be dangerous, so the disclaimer is that if you dont and get hurt, its not my fault...

i usually dont even use the chuck to pop the beads on, i use the quick coupler, works alot better.

after the beads are seated (double check that they are) install the valve core, and inflate up to pressure.

i hope that was understandable, if you have any other questions feel free to ask. i would post pics, but my schedule is tight enough that i am going to make you ask for them if you want them...