Definitely NOT a safe thing to do! And the funeral expenses or major
hospital bills which might be incurred will far surpass any cost savings :)
Reid
'79 Spitfire pilot
-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Smith [mailto:CraigS@iewc.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 7:18 AM
To: 'Douglas Braun & Nadia Papakonstantinou'; Nolan Penney;
spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: Changing tires by hand
We are talking about jacking up a car with the jack sitting on the tire ! ?
I got a question how safe is this?
Really guys and girls, for five bucks I wouldn't take the chance.
It's to much work that's why God invented the tire changer
-----Original Message-----
From: Douglas Braun & Nadia Papakonstantinou [mailto:dougbert@rcn.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 9:07 AM
To: Nolan Penney; spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Changing tires by hand
I dug up my 1948 copy of "Audel's New Automobile Guide", and read the
section
on tires. It described basically the same procedure, and even had a picture
of
the "breaking the bead by jacking up a car" trick! It also showed a picture
of a bead-breaking tool that sort of looked like a giant can opener.
Doug Braun
'72 Spit
At 05:03 AM 8/4/99 -0700, Nolan Penney wrote:
>I've done it by hand, and it isn't that big a deal. Couple of tricks will
help out immensely.
>
>First, getting the bead broken free is important, and virtually impossible
with tire irons. Trick #1, use a car jack. Bumper jacks are the easiest,
but any will work. Lay the tire and wheel on the ground, put the jack on
the sidewall of the tire as close to the rim as you can, and jack up the
car. I'd suggest jacking up the heaviest car you can. The bead will
finally pop free about the time the car is up in the air. Sometimes
requires jumping up and down on the car as well. Do this on both sides of
the tires.
>
>To work the tire on and off, you want three tire irons and dish soap. You
can use screw drivers, but they are sharp, and have a habit of pinching
tubes if you're using htem, or at least boogering up the bead. Push the
tire around and get the bead down in the center of the rim. This gives you
the room needed to walk the bead up over the rim lip. You want three irons
because you'll hold the bead up with two of the irons, and have the third
working up the newer section. You don't want to work too far out, because
the forces become excessive and this is how you get a tire iron in the
teeth. Work close in, slowly working the bead up and over, and wiggle the
center iron for clearance.
>
>Use the dish soap and a cleaner and a lube. You want the rim clean so that
it can seal, and lubed up so things slide nicely.
>
>I can generally change a tire in about 45 minutes this way.
>
>To reseat the bead with a tubeless tire, use a rope. Run the rope around
the tire on the center of the tread. Tie it off to form a loop. Insert a
stout stick, and start twisting. As you twist the rope you will crush the
center of the tire down, and press the bead up against the rim progressively
firmer. This helps it seal and retain the air the compressor is blowing in.
However, I'd recommend simply going to a gas station with a peppy air
compressor and just using it.
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