Hey guys, my compact spare is worn down almost all the way- and I found a perfect compact spare in the junkyard from another newer Firebird. But- the bead is broken. The tire looks brand new, the wheel looks fine, so I'm not sure why the bead unseated, but it has.

Can I reseat this myself? How would I do it? Do I just spray WD-40 around the edge of the rim, and start inflating the tire with my shop air compressor- how much PSI should I inflate it to?

And is there a "stop" point to trying to get the bead to seat? I don't want this tire blowing up in my face.

Thanks!! I got the spare for $5... the rubber looks perfect and its still got the little nubs on the end, I don't think it was ever used.

 

I'd say just fillit until it seats like any other tire. Usually spare tires inflate to like 80 psi though. So maybe that would be a good point to stop at?

 

Probably 40 psi max to seat the bead, and then fill it to 60 psi. You probably won't need the wd-40 just a good air compressor.

 

Soapy water around the bead, remove the valve inside the valvestem so air will rush into the stem quickly and inflate the tire onto the bead. Once the tire is beaded,then replace the valve inside the stem and fill the tire.

Goodluck.

 

We did this eveeryday chaning tires on semi's, and some tires cna be a beeotch to seat. I'd start by leaving it out in the sun to warm up the tire and make it more pliable, hour or so in the sun/heat.

Valvestem guts removed as mentioned above since you want 100% air going into the tire. Sometimes you can just wiggle the tire back and forth on the rim trying to get it to seat just enough to start holding air, another trick we had to use sometimes was putting a ratchet strap around the tires center tread and tightening it down-this causes the sidewalls to flex out usually getting bead that much closer to sealing against he rim and will help when your adding air.

Starter fluid sprayed around bead then ignited, but this can go either way. We've had some tires just pop up onto the rim and others that did nothing more than light on fire Either way use caution andd stand back.

The best tool, which I doubt anybody has since it's tire specific, basically a portable air tank, with a piece of 2" pipe weled on the side with a LARGE 1/4 turn lever, you lay the tire/rim on the ground position the outlet pipe near the bead and open the valve quickly forcing all the tanks air into the tire and forcing it to pop into place. This was the fun way to get'em to seat when all else failed.

 

Well guys, I gave it a shot on Friday night- and it popped on! I just took out the valve core, put a ton of soapy water around the edge and inflated it... a lot of air was hissing out but finally it popped on.

Then I tried to inflate it- seemed like air was leaking out past the bead. It took me a minute or two to realize that the valve stem was torn!!! If only I had looked at that first...

So- any clever ideas on how to un-pop the bead so I can pull a new valvestem thru? Or can I wedge a valve stem thru the hole with the tire now mounted?

By the way, wow, that thing was loud when it popped on.

 

We always used a specail hammer with a blunt edge on it to break the bead loose. I think for the $4 they may charge I'd just take it to a shop and have it done-quick, easy, and very inexpensive-they might even do it for just the price of the valve stem or even free as a goodwill jesture to leave you with a good impression.

 

Since it’s a fairly tall sidewall you might be able to unseat it by just wedging it off.

I usually use a bottle jack under the trailer hitch receiver on my truck, the foot of the bottle jack happens to be almost the same shape as the bead breaker on a tire machine and works perfectly. I've actually dismounted and mounted tires doign this and using 2 crow bars...

 

IHI, who still will take off tires for $4? The last time I looked I couldn’t find anyone that would do it for less then $20.

I finally just made good friends with a shop owner that had a tire machine. Funny, he jokes (and it’s partially true) that I use their machine more then they do.

 

I keep forgetting I'm in the midwest where wages are just above minimum and prices are a bit less for services when compared to other places.

 

A bottle jack, huh? I've got one somewhere in the basement... I'll see if I can dig it up.

And, another dumb question- think it's a 0.453 hole? I looked at the parts store during lunch, they had two in different lengths, but both said "for 0.453 hole". I did a google search and it seems there's a .625 hole too, but I'd think this would use the smaller one? I didn't buy 'em, just left them on the shelf until I asked here!

Thanks guys!

 

The shop I work at does dismounts for $4. Good old Midwest.

 

Shop i work at in MN would do it for $2 for valve stem and 2$ for labor, we just break the top bead and throw a new valve stem in there. Hell, I did one for free the other day because we were hella busy and they didnt want to hold everything up to write out a work order for $4. Mid west seems to be a good place to live i guess, with the exception of the *** damned road salt..... >:-(

 

hey, the price that I quoted is at a tire place just to break the beads... valve stem will probalby cost you another $4-10 (I know the shop that I asked at last wanted $8.50 for one with the little chrome cap on it).

a shop that wasn't a tire shop would probably just charge you a minimum 1/2 hour labor, which runs about $70 +

 

..... wow..... that is like.... wow.... do they have like leather seats in the waiting room with free whiskey, cuban cigars, a roasting fire place, etc.? But seriously thats rediculous.... Send the tire to me and ill do it for free if it will be that much, shipping will be cheaper.

 

That’s the reason that I’ve worked out other ways of getting it done… it’s not that I can’t afford it, I just think that the price is insane…

 

if you live near a town fair tire, call them up. They'll patch a flat for free, and it;s always been my 1st stop for tire stuff. They're big into doing stuff for free to get your buisness later.

 

oh, nevermind. There website says the're only in ct, ma, ri, & nh. sorry.