Dismounting tires by hand

[kerry]

I decided to try my hand at dismounting a tire by hand today. I've never done it before except on a bicycle but used to watch a guy in a wheelchair change tires by hand in the tire shop he ran out of his garage.
Tire was an LT 235/75 16 on a Chevy rim. It went pretty well. I bought 2 Harbor Freight 24" tire irons for $5.99 each. I thought I'd have to get creative in breaking the bead but I found the tightly curved end of the tire irons worked well to break the bead free. Put the two irons about 8" apart with the curved end jammed under the rim and pried downward, working my way around the rim. The top side of the tire came out easily (I lubricated with soapy water). The bottom side was more difficult. I had to add a third pry bar to get the tire off. I ended up prying from below (rather than from the top as I did with the top side of the tire) to get it out. I think I'll buy a third tire iron which should make the job easier.
Anybody have hints to make the job easier? Overall I thought it was not as difficult as I anticipated. I'd been mislead by watching almost all tires removed by machine.

 

[Brian McVickers]

How were the Harbor Freight tire irons,
Did they flex much?
Do you think they have a few years of regular use in them or just a few tires worth?

Brian

 

[kerry]

Seemed to me they would stand up to many years of use.

 

[ntsqd]

The "far" side has always been the most problematic for me too.
Not all beads break that easily, I built and carried a bead breaker in the dune buggy. I'd offer pictures of it, but it suffered from a weird organic chemical attack and no longer exists. I need to build another one.
Basically I use the weight of the vehicle as an anchor by breaking the bead while the wheel is still bolted on. A dedicated piece of chain attached to one of the lug nuts is attached to one end of the breaker, my 24" 1/2" drive breaker bar goes in the other end for leverage, and the breaker has a 'foot' that pushes the bead off.

I mounted a pair of 31-10.50's using motorcycle tire irons. They're a whole lot smaller than those typically found for automotive use, making them much easier to carry - especially in a tiny dune buggy. It was work putting those tires on, but not impossible.
That experience makes me wonder why some folks covet split rim wheels. I have no use for them at all.

 

[kerry]

I've used tire machines in the past and it seems odd that the 'far' side seems easier on the machine but harder by hand.
I thought the bead was going to be tough after I had the full weight of my Mercedes 300TD bearing down on the bead with a scissors jack and nothing happened. I was really surprised when the tire irons worked. I think the tight curve on the HF irons was putting the right pressure in the right place. I've broken lots of beads on tire machines and I was certain I was going to be unable to do it with two simple irons.
By the way, I decided to buy a Northern Tool 30" iron ($7.99) as my third iron instead of another HF. It's longer so I can get more leverage, although it only has a slight turn and spooned on one end so I don't think it would work as well as the HF ones for breaking beads.

 

[JIMBO]

:victory: I've used the "FOOT" of the HiLift jack, placed AT the bead/rim crease and easily jacked the truck up--Then if the bead didn't break loose, I'd use a tire iron to PERSUADE it further, but usually would break all the way

Usually went very fast, then lube and pry over the narrow side of the rim!!!

:smiley_drive::safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

 

[Tumbleweed]

Straight liquid dish soap works well as a lube. Messy, but works.

 

[michaelgroves]

I've used one of these for years, and it takes the sweat out of breaking the bead:

Here's a link to them: Extremeoutback - tirepliers. I don't remember them being so expensive though!


The hard part is working the tyre off the rim with the tyre levers (and back on again). Three levers are useful, as are three hands! Also, it's easy to forget to make sure the opposite end of the tyre is properly inside the well of the rim when you're removing or refitting them - if it's anywhere on the bead you've got no chance of getting the tyre back over the edge of the rim.

I have what I consider a lot of experience at fitting tyres the hard way - we had some 40 punctures on one set of tyres, and I must have repaired half of them myself, in the bush. They were tubes, so there was no cheating by using plugs!

 

[kerry]

There are similar bead breaking devices for sale on Ebay for pretty cheap($25?) but they dont have the adjustable length rim gripper part (although it could be made adjustable with a little work). I thought about getting one until I found those HF tire irons so effective in breaking the bead.

 

[derrick]

Here is what I use to break the bead off.

 

[ntsqd]

What I built:

A short section of chain gets trapped in the slot, the other end of it attaches to a wheel stud while still on the vehicle. A Snap-On 24" Breaker Bar fits into the tubular socket on the opposite end and the angled piece lays against the bead. I've had the Hi-Lift method fail due to too little corner weight. This has yet to fail to pop a bead loose.

 

[dustboy]

NiTeSQuiD, I'm a little dense so I'm still having trouble understanding how your contraption works. But it looks trick so I'll be sending you a check. ;P

 

[ntsqd]

I was afraid that might happen. The chain was soaking in vinegar to get all of the rust & munge off of it so a pic of the set-up hasn't been possible until now. I'll see what I can do this weekend.

No production on this item - too labor intensive to build in volume, I'll return the check. :sombrero:

 

[kerry]

Cool contraption. I think I understand how it works. Loosen a lugnut, attach the chain, hook in the device, put it on the bead, install the handle and pry down. I assume you have to take off the wheel and spin it around to do the back bead? I guess you'll have to return my check too.

 

[ntsqd]

The chain has a lug bolt welded to one end of it since it was originally made for use on the dune buggy, but that's it, yes.
I built one for MISF to use his Hi-Lift jack handle instead of the breaker bar as he carries an impact wrench instead of a bar.

Most of the time the use is to pop one bead loose to patch a tire or to replace a valve stem. I carry a nut threaded onto the lug bolt just in case an off the car bead removal has to be done, like is this mock-up:

I used fancy tools to make this one, but they aren't that complicated. A drill motor & bits, some files, and a welder are all that I used to make my first one.