Change tyres by hand?

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Originally Posted by Slunnie

I was told about 18 years ago that the R&R Beadbreaker is about the only one that will break a bead on a LandRover rim.

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Removed a very old tyre from a rusty steel LR rim after using a Tyre Pliers beadbreaker.
Did a few after a bit of practice but not something I want to do every day of the week.


Colin

tyre pliers and an extra of the long levers in the stock tyre plier kit, some soap and so far I havent found a landy rim I cant get the tyre off and on.

I alway tell people to have a go at changing a tyre in the front yard we’ll before they trip……..than add wind, heat amd a million flies trying to help you out.

Most decide against carrying just a tyre and buy another rim.

I’d rather carry the extra 20kg than change a tyre in the bush………

did way too many times in the ARMY…….well until we got smart and swapped them off other cars when they come into the workshop…changing 8 tyres by hand was never the smartest use of a tradie. .

With modern tyres it is very rare to have a flat anyway.

I have been around Oz twice and the GRR , Kalumburu, Tanami, Plenty, Cape York with Northern old Tele etc etc, and in the past Simpson Desert. Oh and Saudi Arabian Desert .

I have never had a blowout or ruined tyre.(Except tread separation in Saudi and I forgot a bulge in a sidewall this year when I didn't see a great big rock on the extreme LH of the track). But no deflations EVER.

I have had a couple of nails which I was able to patch with plugs.

To me the secret is that the tyres must be in good condition prior to leaving and at about minimum 80% tread. I read somewhere long ago that most deflations occur in the last 20% of tyre life.

Certainly in Saudi it was usual to see tyres blow out on road from the heat and I had some that formed bubbles from tread separation at about 30% left.

The other secret is drive to the pressures. If you have deflated tyres for dirt then don't go fast. 80 max and preferably 70Kmh, and if you have them down to 15 for sand nothing over about 50Kmh and blow them up immediately.

You can't help a misjudgment where you rip a sidewall, but it usually only happens if you slacken off your attention.
I have manually changed a tyre to practice and it ain't fun, but I just do not think it is necessary if the above is followed.
BTW I spent many hours of planning and execution to have matching wheels on my camper trailer only to never need the extra spare. Wasted Effort.
Regards PhilipA

[QUOTE=PhilipA;3111023]With modern tyres it is very rare to have a flat anyway.

Excellent post with some good accurate info.
I am a new member and also an ex tyre design engineer and test driver, so it is good to see people interested in tyres and having taken time to learn. There is a lot of misinformation out there.

A few additional comments for people interested:
Repairing a tyre can only safely be done in the tread area and only in the inner 50% of its width. Anywhere near the edges of the tyre is asking for trouble as this is too close the edges of the steel belts.
Plugs are a good stop gap measure, but cannot be considered a “permanent” repair until the tyre is removed from the rim and carefully inspected. This is to ensure that there is no internal damage. Safest is to change the wheel and use the plugged tyre as a spare until you can get it properly repaired.
Tyres that are “permanently” plugged will almost always eventually leak water into the steel belts. These will rust over time and eventually may lead to a separation. IMO from research done it is wise to consider any “permanently” plugged tyre as temp only and of limited life.

Your point about Saudi is spot on! The issue there is that with only a few bitumen roads, the locals drop pressures for the sand and then hit the bitumen and go straight up to 160km/hr plus without increasing pressures – your point is well made.

The reason why punctures are more common at lesser tread depths is that there is less rubber over the casing of the tyre. Under the tread grooves there is about 3.5mm of rubber before the belts (varies by tyre type) and about another 4mm into the tyre air space.
Punctures are more common on tyres with more aggressive treads (more tread grooves), wider tyres (larger swept area on the ground), too high a pressure for the conditions and when used in wetter conditions (water is a great lubricant).

I have changed hundreds of tyres on rims by hand in the outback whilst testing tyres, so cannot agree more – seriously sucks!!!

Couple of other things.

Check tyre pressures before leaving camp. A slow leak will tell you if something is wrong and mostly is caused by a nail or screw . Do a visual inspection if you have a slow leak as it can be the bead or valve is leaking. A little spit goes a long way.

I have been guilty of leaving a plug too long, and had 2 slow leaks repaired in Alice Springs once with mushroom patches. Long Highway miles in hot conditions will start plug leaks.

My point about the plugs is that you don't have to dismount the tyre to do it, and so reduces the need for bead breakers.

The most extreme country I have seen and driven in was Lorella springs on the NT gulf where there were hundreds/thousands of black sharp stumps sticking out of the ground from burn offs. My solution was to not drive there or only on previously driven on ground. No normal tyre could stand that . People who drive in that country tend to get those Indian cross ply iron ride tyres.
Regards PhilipA
BTW , I have owned one of those heavy cast iron jack type bead breakers for about 25 years and never used it, and for about the last 8 years has been redundant because it would destroy an alloy rim. If you buy a bead breaker,, mount it in a glass case to look at. If anyone wants it they can have it for the post cost.

Hi Fast,
Welcome. As you are an ex-tyre designer and vehicle tester you will find an endless amount of discussion on tyres and wheels on the Forum. Some links on 18" rims:
18" rims / 18" rims / 18" rims / 18" rims / 18" rims
Tyres for 18":
BFG KO2 / 18" Mud Tyres
Tyres for 19", of which there are not many choices. Some links are:
19" Goodyear Duratrac / 19" Maxxis / 19" Hankook Dynapro RF10
Anyway, nice to have met you. Welcome once again.
Best wishes,
Jeffoir

I have an old air beadbraker/ tyre changer at home. While it works ok on car rims and 4wd sunnys, it seriously struggles on factory D1 rims. Once bead is broken it's not to bad, but some can be more than a bit stubborn.
Everyone who travels off-road should enjoy the delights that is manual tyre changing at least once I recon....never know when you really really need the know how to do it.

You'll need a beadbreaker of some type - either light Tyre Pliers (as favoured by the Army), or the old-fashioned heavy slide hammer that weighs far more than a spare rim.
Two tyre levers - for alloy wheels there are hard-resin endcaps available which fit over the end of the tyre levers to protect alloy wheels, but I have made some out of hard plastic tubing, and shaped them to fit the flat end of the tyre levers using a heat gun.
A rubber hammer of decent size for putting the new tyre on, and some lubricant to make the job easier (my preference is Lux Flakes mixed with hot water to make a paste with the consistency of cake batter. Apply with a 1" paintbrush or similar.

For really stubborn tyres, to break the beads, a half-cup of diesel comes in handy. Lay the tyre flat, pour a little diesel around the bead area, go and have a cup of coffee, turn the wheel over, pour more diesel in the back bead area, go and have another cup of coffee, then flip it back over and get to work breaking the bead. The rubber of the tyre absorbs a little diesel and expands the bead area slightly. I used to use this trick when changing racing tyres by hand (the racing wheels didn't fit the tyre-changing machines we used back when I did it professionally).

For tubeless tyres, a 4-way valve tool (currently $4.30 at AutoPro, as I discovered coincidentally a couple of days ago) and a spare tubeless valve (either TR13 - for most standard car-type wheels with half-inch valve holes, or TR19 for some specialist off-road wheels with an 18.2mm hole - depending on the size of the valve hole in your rim), since you should change the tubeless valve every time you replace a tyre. The trick is to use the two tyre levers to lift the new valve up and seat it, using the threaded cross lugs on the valve tool which are used to re-cut the internal valve thread if damaged. Dang handy tool, with thread cutters for the external valve caps and the internal valve itself.

Landrover rims can be a little different. Most standard car rims are stamped somewhere with the size and profile, eg 6.00JJx15. This tells (obviously) the rim size in inches, but more importantly the rim seating bead profile. Most are JJ rims; they have a safety bead ring pressed into steel or cast into alloy on both sides to retain the tyre against the outer ridge of the rim. So in profile the bead area resembles a J shape. Landrover (and Jaguar) can use JK rims, and (more rarely these days) KK rims. The K means the bead seat doesn't have safety bead ring; instead it is a taper fit, similar in profile to the letter K (take a good look at the rim in profile without the tyre on, and you'll understand). So, JK means the front bead area has a safety bead ring, while the rear bead area is a taper or slope; KK means both sides have sloped or taper fit (used to be mostly used with tube-type tyres), and JJ means both sides have a safety bead ring, therefore designed for tubeless. JK can be either tubed or tubeless, JJ is tubeless by design (although it can be fitted with a tube, of course, in the event of a patched tyre), KK should be used with an inner tube.

Quick technique tips - when removing or re-fitting the tyre, whether levering or bead-breaking, start at the valve and finish at the valve. Use the rubber hammer only when fitting the tyre; levers stretch and damage the bead. You'll have to lever the first side off; the second side is a lot easier if you get the wheel vertical, facing you, insert a lever, from the rear pulling towards you, force down on the lever with your body weight to squash the tyre down, and strike the bead of the tyre where it abuts the lip of the rim. Usually comes off quite easily.

Oh yeah, don't be that guy who takes the beads off from both sides; force the tyre off from the narrow side only (usually the outside face, except for deep-dish alloys and some steelies), otherwise you'll end up with the wheel flopping about inside the tyre, and it's difficult to recover from this situation.

Well, that's enough about tyre fitting 101 for a first lesson....

On a little bit of a sidenote - has anyone else experienced trouble getting new tyres for their Landy because of a so called tyre shortage.
I am having trouble getting a new set of 235/85's :(
Most tyre places are telling me they don't have stock. Maybe it's just because i am after less popular brands.

I want to try out a set of the chinky Comforser tyre but all the usual places cant get them at the moment. Anyone form Perth have any info?