Technical Tyre change

[Kiltedboarder]

Hi all
Car just had its MOT today (or at the least it’s equivalent in Austria), it passed so all good

Some small oil leaks to address but nothing major

The guy did say the tyres could do with being replaced due to their age.

Has anybody or can you do the tyres and tubes yourself

Or is it a big pain and a bit faffy without taking it to a tyre shop

Thanks

 

[bugsymike]

Hi all
Car just had its MOT today (or at the least it’s equivalent in Austria), it passed so all good

Some small oil leaks to address but nothing major

The guy did say the tyres could do with being replaced due to their age.

Has anybody or can you do the tyres and tubes yourself

Or is it a big pain and a bit faffy without taking it to a tyre shop

Thanks

I have changed many tyres and tubes in the past using tyre levers, once deflated you have to "break the bead " tyre to rim grip, usually this is easier on a tube type tyre, you do this front and back of rim, then push the tyre into the well in the centre, this allows more movement, next carefully using the tyre levers prise off the tyre over the rim without pinching the inner tube, if you are not changing them also, which may be a good idea, next carefully push valve back into rim and pull inner tube out, then lever off the rest of the tyre in the same direction .
Washing up liquid or similar can ease the job.
Replacement is basically the reverse of previous advise.
When inner tube in and before levering outer side of tyre over rim , I sometimes find it helps to put a little air in the tube just enough for it to take shape as this helps not to pinch the tube, not too much as you will not get the tyre on.
On a tubeless tyre where it tends to stick to the rim and is harder to "break the bead" I have even driven over the tyre carefully to squash it away from the rim if no other tools available.
Don't forget you will probably still need to go to a tyre depot to get the wheels balanced if you go much more than around 40mph.
As a apprentice in the late 1960s at a garage in the farming community I often change tractor tyres including water filled etc. and split rim ones which need special care. The least popular ones were on muck spreaders which, if I was at college that day they would keep for my return.

 

[Kiltedboarder]

Thanks, I kinda thought that might be the procedure and seems it’s worth a try. Bit of elbow grease and gentle persuasion seems to be the key

Don’t fancy the muck spreaders job at all. But I suppose that is why you have apprentices -eh? If nothing else that forces you to do it quickly and effectively to reduce the exposure to stuff caked into the tread and rims. Oh the joys…..

 

[bugsymike]

It is very similar to changing a tyre on a bicycle, practice on the worse tyre.
The other joy was after the hedges had been cut then you had all the tiny thorns pushing through the tyre damaging the tube and if not all removed it could be a long job!
At the time I believe the bosses theory was "you don't have a dog and bark yourself!

 

[Toshi 975]

I got my training in a back street lock up using a crude manual tyre machine as a student Working for a dodgy second hand tyre dealer. The tyres I disliked were the 13” 8 ply van tyres.
Did quite a few 500 tyres with my hands and tyre levers. If you don’t fancy getting wet or soapy I used talcum/baby powder.

 

[bugsymike]

I got my training in a back street lock up using a crude manual tyre machine as a student Working for a dodgy second hand tyre dealer. The tyres I disliked were the 13” 8 ply van tyres.
Did quite a few 500 tyres with my hands and tyre levers. If you don’t fancy getting wet or soapy I used talcum/baby powder.

As an apprentice all we had was a Harvey Frost Manual tyre changer, it was in the days of crossply tyres and as it was an Esso fuel station also we had to fit new Esso tubeless tyres which were very thin sidewalls and had been stacked flat so nearly impossible to get onto the bead even with inflatable bands.
I had a friend who started a S/H tyre business which he later franchised off I believe and I recall the hassle with thick German van snow tyres trying to lever them onto Peugeot 504 rims with no centre hole. Mind you I also witnessed dodgy second hand car salesmen buying his products for Ferrari and Rolls Royce cars and wondering how their customers got on at high speeds!!!

 

[Bleeding Knuckles]

I fondly remember changing a 3 ton truck tyre on a military vehicle that was a 'tad' dangerous, it used a split rim but the damn thing was held together by a steel ring that had to be inserted prior to inflation - the problem was that you didn't know if the ring was in correctly until it wasn't and that happened very explosively, one chap nearly had is head taken off. They took the fun out it all when we had to use steel cages to inflate them - boring!!!
Ian.

 

[bugsymike]

I fondly remember changing a 3 ton truck tyre on a military vehicle that was a 'tad' dangerous, it used a split rim but the damn thing was held together by a steel ring that had to be inserted prior to inflation - the problem was that you didn't know if the ring was in correctly until it wasn't and that happened very explosively, one chap nearly had is head taken off. They took the fun out it all when we had to use steel cages to inflate them - boring!!!
Ian.

Several of the farm trailers I worked on as an apprentice had split rims, I seem to recall once fully deflated you had a tool to hook one end of the ring to remove it.
We had a long slide hammer to break the bead on commercial rims, back then we didn't have cages or anything , however I do recall the boss bringing in a newspaper cutting entitled "the inprint of death" which involved the shape of a man on a ceiling in a tyre depot somewhere in the Balkans I think.
One morning as I arrived at work there was a farm labourer using the "free air" to blow up the rear tyre on a tractor, some time later my mate arrived and the compressor was still working overtime so I asked him if the guy was still blowing up the tyre, as he replied yes there was an almighty bang, we went outside and there was a very dazed looking labourer beside a tractor with the tyre blown off the side of a very bent rim, it was the type that used water as ballast, we asked him when he had collected himself what pressure he had in it, as I recall it was around 90psi instead of the usual under 10psi I believe.

 

[Cornish Ian]

Several of the farm trailers I worked on as an apprentice had split rims, I seem to recall once fully deflated you had a tool to hook one end of the ring to remove it.
We had a long slide hammer to break the bead on commercial rims, back then we didn't have cages or anything , however I do recall the boss bringing in a newspaper cutting entitled "the inprint of death" which involved the shape of a man on a ceiling in a tyre depot somewhere in the Balkans I think.
One morning as I arrived at work there was a farm labourer using the "free air" to blow up the rear tyre on a tractor, some time later my mate arrived and the compressor was still working overtime so I asked him if the guy was still blowing up the tyre, as he replied yes there was an almighty bang, we went outside and there was a very dazed looking labourer beside a tractor with the tyre blown off the side of a very bent rim, it was the type that used water as ballast, we asked him when he had collected himself what pressure he had in it, as I recall it was around 90psi instead of the usual under 10psi I believe.

I remember those split rims, I never made a cage but always inflated with the ring facing away and preferably around a corner.
I believe both our hook and bead breaker were home made in the forge. Still use the breaker for my trailer tyres.

Might have been the same picture but our local tyre depot had a picture of an imprint in the roof, no doubt as a reminder. Apparently a fitter forgot a tractor tyre and it blew when he tried to disconnect.
Having lived on a farm in my early days I became well acquainted with tractor tyres, quite a weight to turn over on larger tractors. I see why they often do it all on the machine now.

 

[bugsymike]

I remember those split rims, I never made a cage but always inflated with the ring facing away and preferably around a corner.
I believe both our hook and bead breaker were home made in the forge. Still use the breaker for my trailer tyres.

Might have been the same picture but our local tyre depot had a picture of an imprint in the roof, no doubt as a reminder. Apparently a fitter forgot a tractor tyre and it blew when he tried to disconnect.
Having lived on a farm in my early days I became well acquainted with tractor tyres, quite a weight to turn over on larger tractors. I see why they often do it all on the machine now.

I seem to recall we did them laying them flat on the ground to blow up , but with the tyre inflator connected with a decent length of hose so hopefully a safe distance away if it blew upwards.
Re the forged tools, I used to have a five foot bar that had one end sort of wrapped around like a almost closed hook and the other end looked like two fingers facing sideways, it was a great tool for fitting over a leaf spring to apply pressure. Like an idiot I got rid of it.
I also had a fair size anvil with a full set of shaping tools for metal working that fitted in the square hole on the anvil, when I needed the money I sold it for around £30 including a stand , nowadays just a bare anvil like that fetches over £200, duh!

 

[Toshi 975]

Several of the farm trailers I worked on as an apprentice had split rims, I seem to recall once fully deflated you had a tool to hook one end of the ring to remove it.
We had a long slide hammer to break the bead on commercial rims, back then we didn't have cages or anything , however I do recall the boss bringing in a newspaper cutting entitled "the inprint of death" which involved the shape of a man on a ceiling in a tyre depot somewhere in the Balkans I think.
One morning as I arrived at work there was a farm labourer using the "free air" to blow up the rear tyre on a tractor, some time later my mate arrived and the compressor was still working overtime so I asked him if the guy was still blowing up the tyre, as he replied yes there was an almighty bang, we went outside and there was a very dazed looking labourer beside a tractor with the tyre blown off the side of a very bent rim, it was the type that used water as ballast, we asked him when he had collected himself what pressure he had in it, as I recall it was around 90psi instead of the usual under 10psi I believe.

The guy I worked for had exactly the same picture, it must have done the rounds. His story was that the guy inflating the tyre took a phone call which distracted him.

 

[bugsymike]

The guy I worked for had exactly the same picture, it must have done the rounds. His story was that the guy inflating the tyre took a phone call which distracted him.

Probably "faked up " for HSE to try and make people a bit more safety conscious, not.

 

[the hobbler]

Probably "faked up " for HSE to try and make people a bit more safety conscious, not.

I too remember that poster. The story that I got told (and it was a LOOOONG time before'elf and safety) was that it was in France where you used equipment where you didn't need to physically hold the air-supply pipe onto the valve---the fitter got called away to answer the phone which made him forget the tyre. When he went back to the tyre, it was "well" over pressure and as he leant across the tyre to remove the air-supply line, the tyre exploded. The force of the explosion blew him up into the ceiling, where he left his imprint.

 

[bugsymike]

I too remember that poster. The story that I got told (and it was a LOOOONG time before'elf and safety) was that it was in France where you used equipment where you didn't need to physically hold the air-supply pipe onto the valve---the fitter got called away to answer the phone which made him forget the tyre. When he went back to the tyre, it was "well" over pressure and as he leant across the tyre to remove the air-supply line, the tyre exploded. The force of the explosion blew him up into the ceiling, where he left his imprint.

A case of "Don't try this at home folks"

 

[Dougal Cawley]

We do provide a fitting service at Longstone Tyres. However fitting a Fiat 500 tyre is not really that unusual except the inner tube, and i guess you may find your self in a tyre shed where the young apprentice fitting your tyres is not accustomed to fitting inner tubes, so i guess you would ask when you are arranging an appointment.

the tyres are easily available world wide through the international distributers of the Pirelli Collezione Range of tyres.

Find Your Classic Tire Suppler

Currently these Tires are available throughout the world distributed by the worlds leading Collezione tire specialists.

www.cinturato.net

you can also watch the very cool film on the home page of ther cinturato web site.

Actually in The UK the simple thing to do is buy a set of new wheels already fitted with tyres. when you add up the cost of the tyre and Michelin Inner tube, the cost of the wheel and fitting dwindles into insignificance.

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-car-tyres/fiat/500.html

And do fit a Michelin inner tube. there is some dreadful inner tubes out there. I know the Michelin has gone up a bit recently, but when it boils down to it punctures are very borring and when you are stood on the side of the road let down by a cheap inner tube you will feel like a right idiot.