DIY tire changing

An old gas station guy showed me that brake fluid will liven the rubber and help restore the seal.
Done this a few times on old tires.
I have a regular beed expander and I've use strap binders as well . the first time I used a rope and a stick like a tourniquet , , it worked .

 

I've done my own tire mounting on everything from bicycles and Snapper lawn mowers to split and non-split rim truck and tractor tires. Worked in Japan breaking down Hino dump truck tires and very large earth moving equipment tires. Never used a manual or powered machine when we were changing tires on a job site. Once you have the technique down, there's just little tires and big tires.

 

Seating stubborn beads on tubeless tires is easy with a Cheetah bead seater. I've learned to wear hearing protection when using this method, because the blast of air from the tank is as loud as a gun shot.

I've used brake clean or ether and a torch to seat plenty of beads. Yes, it might be unsafe, but it gets the job done. The dance usually goes like this: I watch half a dozen youngsters fight, curse, and strangle a tire for half an hour trying to seat a bead, then while they're taking a break I give it a shot of ether and wave the magic (torch) wand over it, and Poof! The beads are seated.

Sometimes it's fun being the old man in the shop.

 

For years I've used a cheap home made bead breaker. Take a bumper jack and insert the rail into the base upside down and weld it there. weld an extension to the now bottom of the bumper catch. Length will depend on how much reach needed to get to the bead. weld another extension, plate is on mine, to the base. Now the jack puts pressure downward rather than lifting up. Even on hard stuck beads it gives a starting point to lube and loosen the bead..Swinging a tire hammer accurately takes practice and a bent rim from a missed strike leaves a tubeless wheel pretty much worthless without a tube to install. And a chunk out of an alloy rim same thing only more so. As mentioned before re seat the bead on a tubeless tire and AT LEAST have an air pump of some sort even if it's a manual one or in a can. On my trike or in the truck I keep a plug and patch kit , includes tire boots,along with the other tools and gear.

 

Started working in a gas station at 13 years old. Boss told me I wasn't allowed to use the tire machine until I turned 14...so my first year was spent changing tires totally by hand.

 

Doing it manually really makes you appreciate the machines available for doing it, especially as you get older. .

 

I like the starting fluid system

 

If you use a little brake fluid and wet the rubber around the bead it livens the rubber ,also using a bead expander makes a big difference I've used a chain and bar like a tourniquet and it worked just fine, you just have to think fast an let things lose the moment the air is expanding the tire or the tourniquet might spin back on you with too much force to handle . A lot of things can be used to compress the diameter of the tire ,but they need to be freed simply and easily .
Ratchet straps will bind the tire but often lock up and won't free quickly.
if you've got an air compressor and do your own tire changing, then it is prudent to get a regular bead expander for the job so you can do it safely.

 

Looks like SLIME has added a few more products and are heavy on the "OK For Sensors"
http://www.slime.com/us/products/auto/sealants/tire-sensor-safe.php

 

I buy the slime by the gallon. (big tractors)