The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Tire dismount

Well, I found some irons to pull the tires off and switch over to the wheels I am going to use. Started that last night. Wow!! Now i understand why they charge so much on road calls. I only got 2 of the junk tires off the rims I am keeping. Feeling more like a marshmellow right now. Guess i need to work on the technique? 10 more to go. I have decided that when I get them all pulled I will take them to a shop and have them mounted though. That way they can put in the proper stems and seal them all nicely. If anyone has any pointers on demounting tires I am open for suggestions.

Oh good to hear that you are getting it done sorry I bailed on you just got so much going on here.

Hey, no problem Grant. I have really appreciated the help so far. I found the irons on CL, but wonder if I have the right ones. I looked at some Youtube clips and the guys in many of the clips make it look so easy. One guy had a tire off and put a new tire on in about 48 seconds. Took me a half hour to do just 2 demounts. SIGH! I know my technique sucks and maybe I need another iron that looks like the ken tool. I have 1 that looks like this:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200347638_200347638

and 1 that looks similar to this:

http://www.gemplers.com/product/DBT37/37-Mount-Dismount-Bar-Tool

They are around 36-42" long. Is that the right size to be changing 8 and 9 R22.5" tires?

This comes from the Ken Tool web site.

http://www.kentool.com/catalogs/KTCatalogTireIrons.pdf

Once you decide what you need, check Amazon.com. They are a lot cheaper than Northern or Gemplers.

1. Try one or two yourself (looks like you can already check that one off)
2. Take the rest of them to a tire shop
3. Watch how effortless and quickly they do in moments what you struggled half a day to do...
4. Pay the asking price and smile
5. You can put the new ones on yourself, it's a whole lot easier than removing them, can usually throw the first side on, and simply pry the second one on.
5. use tire goop/slickum

I've been through this several times now, and can remove them when I have to, but if I have very many to do I gladly pay a tire shop. There are a lot of good tire folks out there, I'm not one of them and don't really care to be one either..

Grigg

Man I can respect that Grigg. I did another one tonight. Took me about another 1/2 hour. I talked to the Maintenance MGR at work and he is going to let me borrow 2 irons, probably bigger ones than mine. I know they will be the right ones for the job. I'll give myself a chance through the weekend, if not it's to the tire shop I go.

It takes a lot more than the right tire irons..
It takes knowing how to use them, and more than that it takes a lot of practice.
Not saying it's an impossible task, I removed 3 last week and another one to do tomorrow, not looking forward to it, but it's only one more.

Some task are much more enjoyable to pay a pro to do than to do yourself, drywall work as an example, and dismounting a bunch of old tires falls in that list somewhere too...

Grigg

Amen to that!

I use 3 irons. The best tips I can give you is to get the first iron in place. Get the bead of the opposite side of the tire in the center of the rim (the deepest part of the rim) and lever the bead of the tire over the edge of the rim.
Take the second lever and take a small bite as close to the first lever as possible.
Then take the third lever and go to the other side of the first lever and take the smallest bite to lever the bead of the tire over the rim.
Then take the first lever out (which is now the center lever), and take a small bite next to one of the other levers. Take the center lever out and repeat taking small bites. If you try to take too big of bites you will just work harder and could end up hurting yourself too.
Use a little dish washing liquid or any tire snot and lube the bead of the tire before you begin. Try not to get the lube on your tire irons or your hands can slip.
It's not easy, but it shouldn't be overwhelmingly hard either.
Without a bead breaker, breaking the bead is the hardest part for me. I take a block of wood and place it on the tire next to the bead and push down on it with my tractor loader. Sometimes I can use an arbor press, but on old tires on older rims, sometimes it takes brute force. My dad used to use the car jack and the weight of the car, but I think that is just dangerous.

I'm assuming you are not talking split rims- (otherwise known as suicide rims). I leave those to the pros.
Dave

Thanks Builder. Good steps to follow. All the beads are broken and just need to pry off the tires. Will try some of your suggestions this evening.

Dave, no they aren't split rims. However, when I get to the split rims I will just be taking the toires and tubes off and not reusing the rims. Is there a danger in demounting the split rims? I thought that was only when you were airing them up that they caused a problem.

The split rims require a special-shaped pry bar to fit a small slot where they join in the center. It's almost impossible to get them to separate without it. No, there's no danger once the air pressure is gone, but the beads still have to be broken down with a tire hammer on both sides before the pieces will separate. If you don't have the right tool, just let the air out and get a professional shop to dismount the tires.
Jerry

OK, thanks Jerry.

I watched someone who knew what they were doing change tires and yeah the good ones can make it look easy, but I'm tired just reading the description here.

I think I'll just hire it done should the time ever come....

Are they junk tires? If so, cut 'em off with a sawsall. I see no harm in that and it sounds like fun!

well, I only have 2 more of the junk tires to get off and I really don't want to cut them up. Have a reuse for them. Then I have the 6 good tires to get off the rims I don't want and may end up just taking those in to the tire shop with the bare wheels I'm going to keep. Probably going to run $150 for the switcheroo, but as Grigg explains, might be worth it to save much ore hassle and frustration.

When I put the 9R22.5 tires on my wheels I was afraid to take them to the tire shop, They were just back from being powder coating and I didn't trust anyone to not nick them.

I did have the old ones and the new used 9R22.5 tires removed at the shop.

To avoid scratching the wheel use plenty of tire goop to start.
Lay down a moving blanket to work on http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2062689850080251109FkJdHs
I put tape on the tire irons, but would skip that step next time, it did not last.
But do use plenty of anti-freeze jug strips, about 2"x6" works well. Place them between the tire iron and the rim. (Also works well for protecting paint when installing lock rings on wheels, you'll need more)
Again, just throw the tire on to get the first side, stand back, hold the tire back side low and front side high just a little, take a running start and land and push it on the rim.
I had done it before, but was very pleasantly surprised how well it worked last six times, no prying at all for the first side.
Pry the second side on using the plastic strips as protection
No nicks or scratches.

Grigg

For changing tubeless truck tires we have been using a Gaither tool for 20 years.



We have had a Bishman 931 tire changer sitting there doing nothing since we got the Gaither tool.

I do all mine myself. I got an old tire machine given to me years ago and repaired it. One of the best tools I have. I do all my motorcycle tires by hand and just did all the 2pc lock ring rims on my 49 2 ton myself. Just clean and inspect things and have patience and care. Took me 2 weekends to do 4 rear tires but it was satisfying to do it myself.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I just got done with the last 2 junk tires. I still need to demount the good tires, but I think I am going to just take those in. So now I'll concentrate on getting the wheels cleaned up that I'm keeping. Hope they fit in my blasting cabinet.

Ok it looks like I am going to have to put together a tech tip for the tires.
It would be easy if I could just show you all how I am not too savvy with the computer.

Fred: if you have a way to shoot video we could video me showing you how to do a tubeless and a tube type two and three piece tire assemblies. Then we could narrate it post it on you tube and give it a link in a tech tip here on the bolt.
So how about it you want to be a star ha ha. May be we could get 10micron out to be our camera man, he lives close here too.

By the way the bars that you have a proper for tubeless tire work you how ever need a duck bill hammer as well as a bucket of tire soap for lube.
I can show you how to use the weight of the tire to help in the process. Also on a tubeless wheel there will be a drop center I can show you how to look at where it is located in order to determine which side of the wheel the tire is to be mounted and dismounted from and how the drop center is used in the process.

Hi Grant, yes I have a digital hard drive camcorder and a tripod. I don't think I would be a good example to show a tech tip. Maybe I shoot you doing the tires since you know what you are doing. I can volunteer the tires and wheels for the shoot though. I am all for this. Just let me know when.

Fred

If I were taking junk tires and inner tubes off rims, I would use a reciprocating saw. I would not risk my back to remove junk in one piece!

One thing I noticed, following the advice from someone here, is that I would reach a point of frustration trying to pull the tires and I would just stop for the day. It wasn't worth hating the project to try and keep going. So then the next day I tried and got a tire or two more done eventually over the course of the week I got the 6 done. And I still like working on the bus. need to maintain the positive image for my boys so they grow up loving the old iron too. So there is more to learn here than just how to fix or rebuild a truck.

Thanks to you guys!!