Tractor Rim

Author: Dave
Date: 10.31.10 - 5:58am
Had to put a tube in a garden tractor tire today. Came up with a simple fixture to help get the tire off the rim.

The garden tractor rim had two holes in it. I used them to bolt the rim down to a piece of 4x4 block. Then i drilled a larger hole in between the two pilots for the lags that fit a tire iron.

Bolt the wheel to the 4x4, insert the tire iron as a post through the center hole, clamp the 4x4 in a solid vice, use a long prybar rotating around the diameter of the tire iron post and voila, tire pops right off the rim just like a commercial machine. I couldnt believe how easy it worked actually.

I didnt feel like welding up something with a tab on it for remounting, but that would have been the way to go. I wont admit to how i got that pos back on the rim, all i will say is it involved, knees, elbows, bars, and a mallet...(and almost all of those at the same time!)

But! getting the tire off the rim..at least i have that part all worked out.

Oghh yeah two more tips...

To break the bead i laid the tire on the ground and used flat head of a sledge (vertical stroke and strike to get the most surface area)

Once i had the tire half way off teh rim, I wrapped the center of the rim with several layers of duct tape. The center of the rim was welded together and had some weld spatter on it which would have killed the tube. (that isnt my trick i just remember seeing a friend whos a mechanic do it)

And, i didnt put the tube in right..the nipple didnt want to press itself against the hole so I had to hold it with pliers while inflating...I am going to loose it as it pulls itself inside the rim and i will have to puncture the tube to get it out or deflate the tire to break it down. Lets just hope i get a couple years out of it. I will consider that a 20 dollar lesson for being lazy and not correcting it when i had the chance.