Please school me on changing a tire on a lawn mowr

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I have a new tube in the old tire and cannot get the outside bead back under the edge of the rim. It is a 6" wheel. TIA
 
Harbor freight sells a manual tire changing rig fairly cheap, Its perfect for mower tires. It makes the job a lot easier, but you can do it with several screwdrivers, just be careful not to puncture the inner tube.

Generally I use about 3 tire spoons to get the tire on if I am doing without the tire changing rig.
 
I just when through that ordeal myself. I have one of the HF tire changers, for a 6" wheel I only use it to break the bead. I punctured two tubes trying to get the tire back on my mower this spring. Finally, I just put the tire on without the tube and just stuffed the tube into the mounted tire.
 
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+1 on the harbor freight small tire changer. Very cheap and works great. And also for tubes so they don't pinch when inflating them I put baby powder all over the tube. Otherwise it can bunch up and tear itself when you add air. If it's an old junky looking wheel you can use several pairs of vise grips to hold the bead down as you work around the wheel.
 
Youtube has several clips to choose from. I have a set of motorcycle tire irons that are useful when I tube the old tires on my riding mower.
 
Thank you all for prompt response. I'm gonna try vise grips. The nearest HF is 25 miles away. I try to stay out of them because I am always shy a tool. I'm in need of a corded sawzall, and a cordless drill/driver. Arrgg!
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
Also, If you use the HF Tire changer, buy a jug of lube from napa. Its made specifically for mounting tires.


The stuff is call RuGlyde and the gallon jugs are somewhat expensive for just one application. A lot of tire jockeys just use a small amount of dish soap, not saying that it's the proper item to use.
 
Ruglide helps, but it really is too thin. At least the jug I have is.

You can also use Murphy's oil soap to mount the tire. Murphy's also makes tire soap. Last time I went to HF I bought another one of their 18" tire irons and left the dang thing in the buggy. I overlooked the silver tire iron in the silver buggy when I was loading the truck. It was only about $8 but HF is over an hour away.

Small tires are a pain. I worked on big trucks for a couple of years 22" tires are super easy, 17.5" trailer tires will make me walk away after a lot of cussing and sweating.
 
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I've never done a garden tractor tire, but I've done plenty of motorcycle tires by hand. A proper set of tire irons are a huge help, and like others mentioned, make sure to use plenty of lube! I have never used proper tire lube, have always used diluted dish soap and have not had any issues so far. Good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Motorcycle tire irons, dish detergent, beer, band aids.


Yep, yep, yep, yep, but not always in that exact order.
 
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Motorcycle tire irons, dish detergent, beer, band aids.


This is a job I can definitely do myself, and always bring to the local tire shop. They charge $5 extra for small wheels. Why? I didn't even get a chance to ask them why, they told me they're a PITA.

I pay the money, and happy to do so.
 
I think the trick is to keep the two tire beads as close together as possible as you spoon the bead over the wheel.

Use a lubricant such as Ruglyde and apply it liberally. Work the first bead over the wheel lip. This part goes fairly easy.

Powder up the innertube (if you're using an innertube) using baby powder to help it move about freely and insert it into the wheel at this point. I always put a bit of air into the tube so that it's straight and not bunching up. I do this to reduce the possibility of pinching it. Get the valve stem in place and keep everything loose.

And finally, lube the opposite bead of the tire and start working it over the wheel rim. This is where I use a big zip tie and sinch the beads together once I've gotten a section of both beads onto the wheel. Take small bites with your tire iron and try to keep things flat on the floor. Those tiny 6" wheels are as wide as they are round so it's like humping a basketball but you just have to go slow.

I strongly suggest using tire irons as opposed to using screw drivers since the ends are blunt/rounded and greatly reduce the risk of damage as opposed to a sharp, flat screwdriver.

That's about it - small bites and keep the beads together. Once the tire is over the lip you can cut the zip-tie out and discard it. Inflate the tire to seat the bead and you're done.
 
Originally Posted By: HangFire
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Motorcycle tire irons, dish detergent, beer, band aids.


This is a job I can definitely do myself, and always bring to the local tire shop. They charge $5 extra for small wheels. Why? I didn't even get a chance to ask them why, they told me they're a PITA.

I pay the money, and happy to do so.

I'm with you. I watched a friend of mine 'try' to do it once with a screwdriver. An exercise in frustration to put it mildly. After that, when I needed one done, took it to a local shop and let them do it. Cost of tire included the change and seemed reasonable to me. If and when ever need it again, I'll do the same.
 
Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Motorcycle tire irons, dish detergent, beer, band aids.


Yep, yep, yep, yep, but not always in that exact order.
Hold the Beer and watch me change this tire.
 
I went to Northern Tool and bought a couple new mounted wheels and tires. It was only a few bucks more than the tires I was finding online. This was for the fronts.
 
The tip on the dish soap and water and using vise grip to hold the bead under the rim worked great! The VGs especially. Thanks again
grin2.gif
 
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