The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk split rim troubles

how can someone take split rims apart without getting blown up? neither me nor bigchev46/dad have any experience with these and we prefer not learning this particular topic the hard way. thanks

What I have done.

use a couple chains and wrap the tire / wheel 180 degrees apart from each other hooking the ends to the rest of the chain in such a way to capture the ring and tire. Deflate the tire, then slowly work your way around the rim. Been doing this for a while now with no mishaps. ( Watched some old timers at a shop a while back do this and have copied it ever since )

Thanks, looks like one of those rainy day jobs

Ken

Taking the tire off the rim is not the problem, it's re-inflating it that's dangerous. Just remove the valve core and deflate the tube- - - -problem solved! It's not going to blow apart while the pressure is going out of the tube, and once it's deflated, the worst you can do is pinch a finger with a pry bar. It helps to have the proper tools- - - -a wedge-shaped hammer to drive the tire bead away from the rim, and proper-shaped pry bars to remove the lock rings. Check E-Pay for tire hammers, slide hammers and pry bars- - -they're not cheap, but the right tire tools make a tough job a lot simpler.

Re-inflating after tube repair or tire replacement can get dangerous- - - -use a heavy chain through the hand holes or use a cage with the wheel chained inside it. A loose bead ring can and will decapitate someone.
Jerry

i dont do split rims ...i avoid them... heard too much about them....semi truck guys will do the work for you.........k

If you are in a farming area, there is probably a tire shop around that still does multi piece wheels. What size are they. If they are the lock ring type, they are still being made today. If they are the RH5° that split in the middle, they should be taken out of service.

Take them to a tire shop like Crenwlge said. You can easily pull the ring like Hot rod said but breaking the bead is a major event if they are stuck to the rims. Shops have a machine that eliminates a lot of brute force. They also have tire cages and safety devices. I went through this again last spring and found I had two of the dangerous split rims and sent them to the scrap pile.

If you are scrapping the tires, I would let the air out and take a sawzall to the tires. That saves a lot of back risking labour.

As stated here, find an ag/truck tire shop, these guys deal with these all day long. A more city tire shop won't have a clue and want to charge more for same job if they can do it at all.

I found modern 8 lug rims for my 3600 as last ag tire shop in town is gone.

Way back when I was young, I worked in a service station (remember those) and when we had a split rim come in we would lower the hoist on top of the rim so one of the hoist arms was across the rim before we aired them up. Never had a problem, but I did get to see the effects of an exploding rim has, not something to mess with if you can help it. They could be called widow makers in IMO

I have seen them done under the hoist arms too. We had a tool the size of an axe with a sideways blade that was used to separate the bead from the rim.

My previous suggestion of removing scrap tires from the rims was meant to aid someone who wants to then clean the rims up, inspect them and maybe paint them. Struggling with tires that are going to be scrapped is a waste of energy and time.

Thanks a lot guys, very much appreciated

Ken

My father always handed me a sledge hammer and some flat irons when he had me break down his tires in our basement.
One time, Dad decided to give me a break. He called the local service/gas station and asked if they could work on split rims. The attendant asked, "where are they split?"
Dad hung up and got me the tools.