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Lately I've been seeing a lot of questions about changing tires, so I thought I'd take some pictures while I was changing mine, and give a little information about how to do this yourself.
I first want to say that having the right tools really makes a big difference. Many years ago I bought the tire changer from Harbor Freight for changing my own motorcycle tires. The changer itself sells for around $60 and works pretty well.
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Once you have removed the tire, you need to remove the valve core to allow all of the air to escape the tire. Then you place it on the floor and use the bead breaker. Flip it over and break the other side.
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Once both beads are loose, I mount it on the tire changer. At this point, I spray a little water with some dish soap around the bead for lubrication. You can then use tire spoons to remove the tire from the wheel, but remember what I said about having the right tools? I have this thing called a WonderBar from nomartirechanger.com which makes life much easier. You just inset the round nylon end of the bar in the tire, and using the center clamp as a guide, push the bar against it and remove the tire.
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Then in the same manner, remove the bottom bead and the tire is free from the rim.
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With the tire removed, this is when you clean up the inside of the rim, and change the valve stem, so that the new tire will seal well. I was very fortunate that the inside of my rims were in very good shape and didn't require much cleaning.
Next, I figured out the direction orientation of the new tire, and sprayed the bottom bead with some water/soap mixture, and placed it on the rim. You can usually get this bead on the rim just by pushing it, or you may need to use the tire spoons, but it really shouldn't take much to get this first bead on.
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The top bead is the one that can be a little tricky. Again, I wet down the bead with my mixture, and reach for my wonderbar, but tire spoons will work also. One of the tricks at this point is to make sure you push the tire down to the center of the rim as you work to give you more room. It will definitely make it easier to finish getting the rest of the bead on.
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At this point, before I install the valve core, I use the air chuck to inflate the tire to seat the bead. I got lucky and did not have any issues seating the beads to the rim, but sometimes no matter how much air you add, it just won't seal. This is when I take a nylon ratchet strap and wrap around the center of the tire, and apply just enough tension to force the beads out to the rim. Next, insert the valve core and only add enough air to make sure it doesn't leak, then remove the strap. Once the strap has been removed, finish adding air to the tire to the desired pressure.
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Remount tire and rim to the tractor, then remove next tire and repeat.
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and repeat......
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There are several ways to mount tires, however this is the way I do it. It really is not that difficult if you don't mind getting a little dirty. I did all four tires tonight in about an hour and a half or so, and really wasn't working too hard.
I first want to say that having the right tools really makes a big difference. Many years ago I bought the tire changer from Harbor Freight for changing my own motorcycle tires. The changer itself sells for around $60 and works pretty well.
Once you have removed the tire, you need to remove the valve core to allow all of the air to escape the tire. Then you place it on the floor and use the bead breaker. Flip it over and break the other side.
Once both beads are loose, I mount it on the tire changer. At this point, I spray a little water with some dish soap around the bead for lubrication. You can then use tire spoons to remove the tire from the wheel, but remember what I said about having the right tools? I have this thing called a WonderBar from nomartirechanger.com which makes life much easier. You just inset the round nylon end of the bar in the tire, and using the center clamp as a guide, push the bar against it and remove the tire.
Then in the same manner, remove the bottom bead and the tire is free from the rim.
With the tire removed, this is when you clean up the inside of the rim, and change the valve stem, so that the new tire will seal well. I was very fortunate that the inside of my rims were in very good shape and didn't require much cleaning.
Next, I figured out the direction orientation of the new tire, and sprayed the bottom bead with some water/soap mixture, and placed it on the rim. You can usually get this bead on the rim just by pushing it, or you may need to use the tire spoons, but it really shouldn't take much to get this first bead on.
The top bead is the one that can be a little tricky. Again, I wet down the bead with my mixture, and reach for my wonderbar, but tire spoons will work also. One of the tricks at this point is to make sure you push the tire down to the center of the rim as you work to give you more room. It will definitely make it easier to finish getting the rest of the bead on.
At this point, before I install the valve core, I use the air chuck to inflate the tire to seat the bead. I got lucky and did not have any issues seating the beads to the rim, but sometimes no matter how much air you add, it just won't seal. This is when I take a nylon ratchet strap and wrap around the center of the tire, and apply just enough tension to force the beads out to the rim. Next, insert the valve core and only add enough air to make sure it doesn't leak, then remove the strap. Once the strap has been removed, finish adding air to the tire to the desired pressure.
Remount tire and rim to the tractor, then remove next tire and repeat.
and repeat......
There are several ways to mount tires, however this is the way I do it. It really is not that difficult if you don't mind getting a little dirty. I did all four tires tonight in about an hour and a half or so, and really wasn't working too hard.
:crazy: :mowlawn:
