What tools are needed for DIY tires?

[visionguru]

Two of my tires are having slow leaks, loosing 2 psi/week. I guess it's rims or valves. While it's not expensive to have a shop working on it, I prefer DIY if this can be done with basic tools.

I want to be able to break the beads, clean the mating surface of rims, replacing the valves, then reinstall. What tools do I need? Will a basic tire inflator be able to pop the bead on? I'm all ears.

 

[Shiftless]

I would first submerge the tire/wheel assembly and see where the air is leaking out. You will probably have to increase the pressure to get the bubbles to show up. Maybe it’s an invisible puncture.

 

[wafrederick]

Aluminum wheels it is usually the bead part where it leaks at,this requires the tire to be removed and the beads cleaned up on the rim

 

[JeepYJ]

You can get by with just some tire irons from HF or Amazon. A good quality one like KenTool is good to have in addition to the cheap ones.
A tire changer from HF, some tire lube, spoons and you’ll be good to go. It’s all technique to get tires mounted and dismounted. A HiLift jack and a heavy truck or tractor make a good bead breaker.
*If you have nice wheels or care about them at all you’ll probably want to take them somewhere with touch less equipment.

 

[whateg01]

Minimum tooling would be a pair of large flat blade screwdrivers and a trolley or floor jack, but that's not what I would recommend.

The back can be used to break the bead but putting the front wheels on the bead and jacking against something heavy, like another vehicle. Don't expect it to go all at once. Often they require several tried moving along the bead until it slips off.

Hf has a pretty decent tire iron for not much money. Says it's forged. Mine has been through many tires without any sign of weakness. Get a couple of them.

Use something as a lubricant. They make lubes just for tire work but at the track we often use WD-40.

 

[bwringer]

I've mounted motorcycle tires myself for many years with basic hand tools and levers, and the techniques are exactly the same for car tires. Just, you know, uh, thicker wheels.

If you're looking for instructive videos from Youtube U., then you might find a lot more material under changing motorcycle tires.

I'll warn you of two things:
1) There are hundreds, if not thousands, of insanely stupid and dangerous methods for breaking the beads. Beware. Use a method that lets you control the force, direction, and speed and won't kill you or break the wheel when something slips or breaks.

2) Do NOT use dish soap as a tire mounting lubricant; the stuff is very corrosive to aluminum and steel wheels. Grab a gallon of Ru-Glyde at Napa, or some other dedicated tire mounting lubricant.

In both cases, there is an almost obsessive need for humans to invent ever weirder and more dangerous "workarounds". Apply some sense, and buy the friggin' tire lube instead of using whatever's under your kitchen sink or on your workbench.

 

[Walkers]

Get a tire machine, or just pay to have them serviced. Yes, you can do it with tire iron, and bead breakers aren’t that much, but you can also ding up your aluminum rim a lot with irons. I have a manual machine and can do up to 16” with it. I do all my trailer and equipment tires. I don’t do my truck or wife’s car tires. At 17 and 18” they are a huge pain on my machine, plus I am unable to balance them.

 

[Wrench97]

ABS valve stems or non ABS?

Edit:
I meant TPS stems or not...........................................

 

[bob15]

Bring it to the shop. Quicker, cheaper and easier.

 

[wafrederick]

Get a tire machine, or just pay to have them serviced. Yes, you can do it with tire iron, and bead breakers aren’t that much, but you can also ding up your aluminum rim a lot with irons. I have a manual machine and can do up to 16” with it. I do all my trailer and equipment tires. I don’t do my truck or wife’s car tires. At 17 and 18” they are a huge pain on my machine, plus I am unable to balance them.

Plus have to be careful around TPMS sensors in the car and truck rims.One slip near them,break the sensor real easy

 

[Qualitytools]

There are several tire retailers that offer FREE tire repair even if you didn't purchase the tires from them. Discount tire and American tires provide that service. Check out what you have near you, there maybe others, call and confirm.

 

[wayne55]

Check simple stuff first. Tighten the valve stem.

 

[paulsomlo]

I'm stubborn and mount my own tires; you'll need two tire spoons, a bead breaker, tire lube, the extraction/install tool for the valves, a good back and lots of stamina. I do this with the tire lying on the ground and I'm usually filthy and dripping in sweat by the end. The hardest part is breaking the bead, the rest is really not that difficult - watch a few Youtube videos.
Here's what I would look at, as far as a bead breaker: https://beadbuster.com/?gclid=CjwKC...FYodpCCWWensj6oB9eH30ppoZ1FU6LrBoCFwsQAvD_BwE

 

[theoldwizard1]

I'm stubborn and mount my own tires; you'll need two tire spoons, a bead breaker, tire lube, the extraction/install tool for the valves, a good back and lots of stamina. I do this with the tire lying on the ground and I'm usually filthy and dripping in sweat by the end. The hardest part is breaking the bead, the rest is really not that difficult - watch a few Youtube videos.
Here's what I would look at, as far as a bead breaker: https://beadbuster.com/?gclid=CjwKC...FYodpCCWWensj6oB9eH30ppoZ1FU6LrBoCFwsQAvD_BwE

It has been awhile, but I have done it ! The Bead Buster is an awesome tool. Worth the cost !! If you search around YouTube, you can find several different methods to "break the bead". Most require a jack (even the OEM scissors will work) and maybe a couple of pieces of 2x4.

If you have aluminum rims, break the front and back beads and then work from the BACK side first. No one will see any scratches you make ! Good tire irons (Kens Tools are the best !) and maybe a couple of locking pliers.

THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL IS PLENTY OF LUBRICANT, 50/50 DISH SOAP AND WATER !!

You absolutely need an air compressor to reseat the bead. Get a chuck that clips on because you might need both hands. Leave the valve out until the bead seats.

 

[Fedwrench]

2 PSI a week could be normal heat cycling from driving. It's going to be a small leak. Even a dunk tank might not expose the leak.
I'm old so, manually breaking down a full size radial vehicle tire isn't happening. you might as well add some beer to your list to ease the pain.
Make sure to mark the position of the valve stem on the tire, and the wheel weights on the rim before you start.

 

[seber]

Minimum tooling would be a pair of large flat blade screwdrivers and a trolley or floor jack, but that's not what I would recommend.

The back can be used to break the bead but putting the front wheels on the bead and jacking against something heavy, like another vehicle. Don't expect it to go all at once. Often they require several tried moving along the bead until it slips off.

Hf has a pretty decent tire iron for not much money. Says it's forged. Mine has been through many tires without any sign of weakness. Get a couple of them.

Use something as a lubricant. They make lubes just for tire work but at the track we often use WD-40.

I would avoid using screwdrivers. Tire spoons are cheap and will not risk tearing the rubber like a screwdriver can.

 

[seber]

First check the tire valves and stems. Spray some soapy water on them and roll the stem around to see if the rubber seal has failed. Stems can be replaced without removing the tire. Great kits are available. For mounting lube, use rubber lube, not soap.

 

[whateg01]

I would avoid using screwdrivers. Tire spoons are cheap and will not risk tearing the rubber like a screwdriver can.

I would avoid them too, but in my poorer days, I changed quite a few tires that way. Rounding over the edges helps prevent tearing up the bead.

 

[PCustoms]

I'm all for diy, but take them to a shop

Unless you spend thousands on equipment you are in for a manual struggle and will end with unbalanced tires.

 

[vpd66]

Get a Harbor Freight tire changer and do the Duck bill modification. You should be in it for less then $100.

Dismount​

 

[Jazz1]

Im looking at KENTOOL 30” straight spoons for doing car and pickup tires..Not concerned about scratching aluminum… my reasoning for 30” is more leverage, less back breaking.. Am I on the right track? I just paid $220 to have 8 tires removed from rims and then 4 mounted and balanced…

 

[paulsomlo]

Im looking at KENTOOL 30” straight spoons for doing car and pickup tires..Not concerned about scratching aluminum… my reasoning for 30” is more leverage, less back breaking.. Am I on the right track? I just paid $220 to have 8 tires removed from rims and then 4 mounted and balanced…

I use the cheap ones from Harbor Freight, $7.

 

[qqzj]

I once had tpms sensors failure right after installing four new tires. So I followed YouTube and broke the bead with a floor jack and a ratchet tie down. Not hard, not dangerous. Just dirty and exhausting. I only need to do it on one side thou. Next time I will only need to do one tire a time since I bought the Autel tpms tool TS508. The whole thing was fun. Not sure how much harder it is to do it on both sides and to remove the tire.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I've found that most car tires are easier than motorcycle tires. Breaking the bead is the hardest part resetting them is the second thing most likely to cause headaches. For sure you can find youtube videos of "how to".
Some tips:
Mark the tire and rim so you can get them back in the same position and avoid issues with balance.
Spoons or levers with rounded edges to reduce scratches. I cut up plastic bottles or jugs to make shields that go between the spoons and rim.
I typically use 3 spoon or levers. It is also handy to have a wooden stick (like a broom handle) to keep the tire from slipping back into the rim as you work around.
As you pry off one side of the bead one side push down (or put a wood block) on the opposite side so that is in the "drop center" of the rim.
A cable tool to install valve stems is cheap and makes that part of the job much easier. Most/all also will remove the core or you can get a seperate tool for that. The cores seem to be universal (one size fits all) but the stems are not. Pay attention to hole diameter, wheel thickness and tire pressure when replacing stems. These days the valve may be part of the TPMS sensor.

 

[ronkz650]

I've been changing my own motorcycle tires for nearly 50yrs. For cars/trucks though only did it once on a F350 truck. I have all kinds of levers and a big steel bead breaker I made myself but found the truck tires challenging to say the least. Breaking the inside bead was extremely difficult, the outside easy. Removing and reinstall of tires was simple. Now came the worst part, the tires are floppy sidewalls even being a radial truck tire and getting them to expand out to the wheel to fill with air was next to impossible. I guess this is where those air tank tools that release 150psi of pressure at once to blow the tire out on the wheel is necessary or improvise. Some say add lighter fluid to the tire, ignite it and boom, the tire blows onto the wheel. I had no confidence in this. I got the job done, but the moral is that it's not easy, but will vary by vehicle obviously. For me, never again.

 

[PoorUB]

2 PSI a week could be normal heat cycling from driving. It's going to be a small leak. Even a dunk tank might not expose the leak.
I'm old so, manually breaking down a full size radial vehicle tire isn't happening. you might as well add some beer to your list to ease the pain.
Make sure to mark the position of the valve stem on the tire, and the wheel weights on the rim before you start.

2 PSI a week is a leak! My wife doesn't drive much and I check the tires on her car maybe every three months and they do not go down in pressure. The same with my Ram pickup, they also hold air very well. 2 PSI in six months perhaps.

Modern car tires should be able to be pretty much ignored. If you need to check the air on them once a week they are leaking!

I have the HF tire machine and the Mojo lever demount bar.This summer I demounted, cleaned up the rims and remounted all four ties on my dad's car as they leaked 2-3 PSI a week. Afterwards they didn't leak.

Someone mentioned removing the tires from the back side of the rim so any scrathes don't bother, but often the drop center of the rim is closer to the outside of the rim for brake rotor clearance so you need to demount from the front side of the rim.

 

[MAD]

I bought the Harbor freight tire changer and I'm very happy with it after reinforcing the flimsy bead breaker arm. I also cleaned up the end of the tire lever with a flap disc to smooth out where it contacts the edge of the rim. If you are breaking down and mounting tires on your hands and knees on a piece of cardboard in your driveway with spoons, the H.F. tire changer may be the best $50 you spend all year.

Although the H.F. static bubble wheel balancer does not seem like a precision instrument upon first examination, after balancing 16 -20 tires, I have yet to have one with any noticeable vibration. I fully expect to have situations where I may end up having a shop spin balance for me, but so far my record for comebacks is better than my experience with discount type tire shops.

As with any product from the harbor, "*Your mileage may vary". I've been doing 16" and smaller passenger tires. I don't have nice rims that I'm worried about scratching and rarely exceed 75 mph. Warm temperatures and newer tires are the easiest. No way am I going to try to mount my set of 8-ply truck tires on a crisp New England winter morning.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I use the cheap ones from Harbor Freight, $7.

You can't go wrong with Kentool irons ! Length helps. If you are going to be doing anything over an 18" rim you might want something longer.

The biggest problems with DIY dismount and mount is "breaking the bead" (Bead Buster is worth the money !) And then having something to hold the tire while you are getting the bead over the rim. A second person standing on the tire is probably adequate. Also, when mounting, a third iron or some kind of cla to prevent the part of the tire already over the rim will help a lot !

LUBE, LUBE, LUBE !!! This is the secret of success ! 50/50 dish soap and water or "oil soap".

 

[paulsomlo]

The biggest problems with DIY dismount and mount is "breaking the bead" (Bead Buster is worth the money !)

I concur - after breaking the bead, the rest is fairly easy. Seating the bead can be a pain in the *** as well, though. I don't own a Bead Buster, but I've certainly considered buying one. I've used other styles of bead breaker, which are really inadequate for the task, but my latest one is home made, styled after the unobtainable (in the US) Australian one.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I concur - after breaking the bead, the rest is fairly easy. Seating the bead can be a pain in the *** as well,

I have never had a problem seating the bead that a couple of belts did not solve !

 

[bb29510]

i have gotten where I stay away from local tire dealer, if you got a nail youre buying a new tire, if you get a tire you getting a brake job even if you had one the week before. my truck has a fleet card so it get four new tires and brake job without even being ask, O think tire dealers are crooked