Fitting tyres by hand.
Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 16, 2016 at 22:00
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Member - Kirk L
Pulled a tyre off rim today to repair. 17" navara rim with dueller tyres. Problem is despite wrestling for an hour I can't get it back on. Looked at several videos on YouTube and they just push tyres on by hand. No
tools at all. I tried plenty of lube, a rubber hammer and levers but gave up. There must be articles on exploroz but nothing comes up with all my searches in articles section. I thought there used to be a tek section. What am I doing wrong?
Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Tuesday, Aug 16, 2016 at 22:48
Tuesday, Aug 16, 2016 at 22:48
It is frustrating.
I can do the 305/70R19.5s on the OKA, but it would take me quite a while and just about kill me.
Last week I had a guy strip 4 and fit them to 4 other rims and re inflate them, all in 50 minutes. That would take me all day.
Lube is the first secret. Use good stuff. The stuff the pros use is good. This guy used Lanolin spray in a pressure pack can. Never seen that before.
And good tyre levers. His were also different. Long and with a stop welded on about 100mm from the end.
The third secret is practice & watch the pros.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome.
AnswerID:
603452
Follow Up By: Genny - Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016 at 01:59
Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016 at 01:59
And stand on the buggers. Unless that tire bead is pushed down on the bits you already have on the rim, you'll never be able to get the last bit on.
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Reply By: Member - John - Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016 at 08:59
Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016 at 08:59
or you can make up a tyre change head and refit tyres in seconds.............. I have
mine so I can fit it to the bullbar, have a long bar that fits over tyre edge and you pivot the bar around the centre pivot point, same principle as the tyre fitting machine at the tyre
places. Takes longer to set up the head than it takes to refit the tyre. Can't submit pictures at present, will have to work that out later today with Adele.
AnswerID:
603456
Reply By: Ron N - Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016 at 10:34
Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016 at 10:34
Kirk - Start with the rim lying down, valve side up. Lube the rim bead and rim edge.
Always fit the tyre to the valve side of the rim, this side has the narrowest distance from the edge of the rim to the
well.
Drop the tyre onto the rim at an angle, ensuring the lowest part of the bead is sitting in the deepest part of the rim
well.
Take your big rubber hammer and hammer the bead, several consecutive hits each side, at a 45 deg angle, right at the points where they are touching the rim edge.
Continue to ensure the bottom of the bead is still sitting right in the deepest part of the rim
well, while you are smacking the bead over the edges of the rim.
Once the inside bead is on, repeat the process with the outside bead.
Some alloy rims are a really tight fit, you have to really pound the beads to get them over the edge.
Sometimes, a tyre lever will assist with the stretch, but don't use a tyre lever at the same time as you use the rubber hammer.
Cheers, Ron.
AnswerID:
603463
Reply By: Athol W1 - Thursday, Aug 18, 2016 at 08:50
Thursday, Aug 18, 2016 at 08:50
Kirk
Whilst there is a lot of good advice given already I find it is best to be standing on the tyre (with suitable sturdy footwear) with my toes pressing down on that section of tyre already on the rim so as to push the tyre bead into the
well of the rim and at the same time using the rubber hammer to strike the bead above the rim very close to where it is to slide over the edge. This striking is to push the tyre across the wheel (pulling the bead into the
well) and it will slowly stretch itself over the edge.
Also, when removing a tyre always start at the valve, and when fitting always finish at the valve, and if fitting with a tube it may help if the tube is not between the
well in the rim and the tyre bead, a small amount of air placed into the tube, just enough to form the tube into shape, can help before fitting the second side of the tyre.
Always work on the side of the wheel that has the
well closest to the edge, there are some wheels where this will require the tyre to be fitted from the back of the wheel.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Athol
AnswerID:
603485
Reply By: Malcom M - Thursday, Aug 18, 2016 at 10:02
Thursday, Aug 18, 2016 at 10:02
Hi Kirk
I used to be a tire jockey back in the day but I never managed to fit a road car tire by hand. Some carcass rim openings are larger than others so I'm sure it can be done but I never could.
You got the carcass off, have you checked it for damage from the removal? Its dead easy to rip chunks out of the bead area and that's a recipe for disaster - basically toss the tire.
After all the advice from others, I'd also suggest you visit your local tire
shop and ask if you can watch a carcass change.
Ok its not going to be as manual a procedure as what you do but you'll see the mechanics of the operation and they don't change.
You've got the tire levers so your problem is technique and experience.
I break the bead by driving over the sidewall with the truck. Lots of soapy stuff as mentioned then I use some 3 or 4 cheap approx 600mm pry bars (Aldi) as I don't want large heavy
tools in the truck that I seldom use, the pry bars can be used for lots of things.
Then its just muscle and patience so as to not rip the bead.
AnswerID:
603487