Mounting Rear Tractor Tires

Another thing that I took for granted.  I learned that tidbit over 50 years ago and just never thought that someone else wouldn't know about it.....Also make sure you've got ALL the sand etc. out of the tire.  It isn't very friendly to the tube.  ATF works great for liberally smearing the rim and the tire bead to help get it on.  Oh yeah, make sure you get the valve stem in the hole before you finish.  I use a valve stem puller to hold them in place till you get it all done and inflate.  HTH

ATF will ruin the tube.  Use rubber lube, much cheaper than a new tube and the work.   MACK

Granddad taught me that trick about putting air in the tube first years ago when I learned how to change a bicycle tube! Boy, was changing bike tubes ever hard!! (For a 7 year old) Then a few years later I changed a 6.00x16 tire. Got to learn all about spoons, and how I really needed to be about twice my size to do it efficiently! Bike tubes didn't seem too bad after that!!!

What are you guys using for tire tools and bead breakers? I have 4 rear tires in my future...

What're y'all's best bead breaking tips? I had one tire that was so stubborn, even driving the truck on top and pressing the edge with the front end loader didn't help! Phfffft! 

I use my backhoe to break beads now, be careful driving a truck up on them to pop the bead, one of my friends did that a couple of years ago and instead of the bead popping, the tire/rim flipped up, got the fender and drove the mirror into the door, was a newer Chevy, the body shop bill was a couple of thousand! I hate doing tires myself, but you can't find hardly anyone around here to do one.

I use a hydraulic jack, angle iron and thread rod. Don't know ifg I have a pic but works good.

I use this to break the bead loose.

Edited by TMiller/NC - 13 Nov 2016 at 2:24pm

Doesn't everyone have a high-lift jack??



WTH is wrong with Photo Bucket?  It is SO slow.....and they are now bombarding us with ads.  They pushing for us to BUY space??

You just use the bottom of the hitch for the top jack lip and use the bottom plate of the jack against the tire bead.  Pops right off!  I just use the rope to insure that the top of the jack doesn't slip out backwards off the tongue of the hitch.

My latest investment...should have bought one years ago.

I had a very bad experience this fall breaking a bead on an 18.4x38. Still healing, I'll post a thread when it heals a bit more, telling the whole story. A split second of in-attention that I'll pay for for a long time. 

Have been told to pour gas around beads, let it soak in and they will brake loose easy. Never tried it and wouldn't want to on a good tire or tube.     MACK

MACK wrote: Have been told to pour gas around beads, let it soak in and they will brake loose easy. Never tried it and wouldn't want to on a good tire or tube.     MACK

I had a tire guy do that to a fluid filled tire I had to replace the tube on 6 years or so ago, (probably 10 if I looked it up). He pumped out the fluid, used an air powered bead breaker to get a gap started, rotated it to the top and used a dish soap bottle of gasoline and squirted enough on to run all the way around the bead, let it sit a couple minutes and it seemed easier to get the bead to break loose. He rinsed it off and used some slimy stuff rather liberally when he put it back together and so far everything is good.

How many of you have tried changing tires with the wheel still on tractor?

The first time was a new tire(maybe been on a year) with a bad tube on a combine(not mine). Tire professional had knuckle boom lift arm on his truck. Got the end of boom in the bead just like a tubeless auto tire.

The second was White 2-60 (1975) 3 or 4 years ago, original 16.9 x 30 tires on it yet. One had to be filled every day to us it a little. Looked for used tires and it sat about a year.  Guy living next door doing independent  mechanic and truck tire work had done a smaller tractor tires for $25 each. The first was done before I could leave what I was doing to see how he did it.The second one didn't go so good. He was using a regular 8 or 10 lbs tire hammer and beat until he could not swing it effectively anymore (smoking and pot use where not helping).

After he told me the first time of not taking wheel the off tractor,I assumed he had a bead breaker like Eldon pictured but so. I use to split a lot of fire wood by hand and could transfer that swing into doing alright with a tire hammer. But would be lost trying  to hit it on the tractor. Having damaged nerves in right hand I don't get a good grip anymore and wood splitting is not to good so tire beating is out altogether.

Last tires I beat I used big pry bar with a 30 degree angle at the tip and steel post pounder. Worked real good ,but was not a tire that had rusted on wheel over 30 years ether.

Eldon, since you are our expert on tire changing, how about a video of you doing one that way?!?! 

Everybody else agree??