how to change a tire?

Question

what's the easiest way to change a tire, for a woman?

Answer 1

A Do-It-Yourself Shop-Made Tire

Richard C. Banfield

To many folks, changing the tires on a vehicle means a biannual trip to the local shop to swap snow treads for some summer tires, and perhaps a jaunt or two to pick up a newly patched flat. However-as anyone in the country can attest—changing punctured tires (say on that old workhorse pickup) can be a time-consuming chore when the nearest service station is a considerable distance away.

One summer, having spent what seemed an inordinate amount of time (and gas money) toting tattered tires to town and back, I vowed to eliminate this unnecessary expense . . . and came up with the idea of building a manual tire changer. My homemade tool—which is fashioned after the machine-shop models, with a few minor alterations incorporated into the design—has proved to be just the ticket for my tire-changing needs. And I'll wager that it would come in handy for other country folks, as well.



WHAT YOU'LL NEED

To construct the tire changer, you'll need some fundamental metalworking skills (including knowledge of welding, torch work, and basic fabricating) and the following tools: a drill with 3/8", 27/64", 1/2", and 5/8" highspeed bits, an oxyacetylene torch, a welder, a grinder, a 1/2"-13 tap, a tape measure, a hammer, and a pipe wrench (for leverage). And, although they're not necessary, an assortment of hole saws and a metal-cutting band saw will make your job easier.

Most of the tire changer's components can probably be fashioned from odds and ends around your shop, or (of course) you can buy the materials from a local scrapyard or steel supplier. Even though I purchased much of my metal from a welding shop, my tally for the tool came to just under $30 . . . and your total—even if you bought all of the material new—shouldn't come to much more than that. Furthermore, my device paid for itself in convenience in its first few uses . . . and your tool could even provide you with a bit of extra cash (or barter credit) if you offered its services to friends and neighbors. (A word of caution here, though: Don't try to change any fancy-rimmed tires until you're certain of your skill!)

LEFT TO RIGHT: The tapered end of the beading tool is used to flip the edge of the tire is repaired. BELOW: To break the bead, place the breaker shoe so that it sits next to the tire's rim and simply press-down assembly while "walking" the tool around the rim.

METALWORKING MASTERY


As you can see from the accompanying drawing and list of materials, I made my tire changer by cutting, bending, bolting, and/or welding various sizes of Schedule 40 pipe, steel plate, and flat stock. The main assembly consists of a 1/4" X 18"-diameter baseplate . . . a 1-1/2" X 40-3/4" Schedule 40 pipe stanchion . . . three 1/8" X 2" X 2" X 14" angle iron braces . . . a tire rest, cut and bent to the shape shown . . . and a mount-and-socket lug-pin apparatus. The "accessories" for the tire changer include a centering hub, which positions the to-be-changed tire . . . a snug plate, which holds the hub in place . . . a break-down assembly . . . and a beading tool.

Because the tire changer will have to be secured to the floor of your workshop, you'll need to drill three 3/8" holes, each about 1-1/2" in from the outer edge of the baseplate, to accommodate the anchoring bolts. And, in order to be able to accommodate various tire sizes, you'll also need six 5/8" holes, located on 2" centers, in the stanchion . . . with the first bore 4" below the top of the pipe. Once those holes are drilled, you can weld the base, stanchion, and angle braces in place.

To fashion the tire rest, cut a 3" X 3" X 6" X 6" kite-shaped section from each corner of a 1/4" X 18" X 21" steel plate, then—using the largest tip of your oxyacetylene torch—heat the metal to a cherry red and, with a pipe wrench and a section of pipe for leverage, bend the sides down until the corners mesh together to create a 5-1/2" X 10" platform. (For a smoother look, you can weld the joints together; however, the mount will be sufficiently sturdy as is.) Next, cut a hole in the center of the tire rest to accommodate the 1-1/2" stanchion, and, from one side of that same opening, cut a 1-1/4" X 3" slot for the lug pin.

The lug pin—a 1" X 5-3/4" piece of hotrolled rod that's tapered (using a grinder) for the first 1-1/2" so that it will fit into a tire's lug bolt hole—sits within the lug-pin socket atop a 3" spring, which in turn rests on a 3/8" X 2-1/2" machine bolt that fastens that swiveling 1"X 6" section of Schedule 40 pipe to two 1/8" X 1-1/2" X 2-1/4" mounting plates. It really isn't as complicated as it sounds. Once the lug-pin socket mounts are welded in place 24" below the top of the stanchion, you can weld the tire rest into position 6" above the mounts.

With the main assembly together, turn your attention to fashioning the accessories. To make the centering hub, cut a 2" hole in the middle of the 1/4" X 6"-diameter plate, then simply weld the collar and braces to this metal doughnut. Next, form the snug plate by cutting a 1/2" X 4" X 6" section of steel plate into a football shape, and then boring a 2" hole in its center. Measure in 1" from each of the two longer ends of the ellipse, and drill and tap 1/2"-13 holes for the 1/2" X 2-1/2" tightening bolts. (NOTE: When fashioning the snug plate or any of the other parts that call for 1/2" steel plate, keep in mind that you can use two welded-together sections of 1/4" metal if you don't have the thicker—and more expensive—material on hand.)

Next, you'll need an L-pin, which will fit into the holes in the stanchion. To make one, heat and bend a 7" piece of 1/2" hot-rolled rod to form two 2-1/2" and 4-1/2" perpendicular legs.

To make the break-down assembly, drill two 1/2" holes, one 3-3/4" from the end and the other 3/4" from the opposite end, in each of the two 1/4" X 2" X 8" mounting plates . . . bore another 1/2" hole 3/4" from one end of the swing arm . . . and drill yet another 1/2" hole 3/4" from one end of the offset arm. Next, form the breaker shoe by cutting and bending a piece of 1/4" X 2" X 9" flat stock to fit the contour of a tire rim, as shown. Then weld on the gussets and swing arm, and grind them smooth to conform with the curve of the breaker shoe. With that done, weld the pipe collar to the offset arm, and bolt the swing arm and offset arm to the two mounting plates. Finally, insert the flattened end of the 1 " X 16" (or longer) break-down handle approximately 1" into the mounts, andafter you've made sure that the swing arm will still pivot freely-weld it into place.

The beading tool is fashioned out of 1-1/4" X 30"—or longer—Schedule 40 pipe that's been tapered for 4-1/2" on one end. The opposite end of the pipe is also flattened slightly so that it can more easily accept a weldedon 1/4" X 1-1/2" X 3-1/2" section of flat stock, which is hammered into a hook (see the enlarged diagram). A triangular bead guide, cut from 1/2" X 1" X 2-1/2" flat stock and welded to the back of the hook, completes the tool.

THE EN-TIRE TECHNIQUE

My tire changer works on the same principle as do the machine-shop models. To remove a tire from its rim, place it—valve side up—on the metal rest and fit the lug pin into the tire's lug bolt hole. The centering hub is positioned next, and on top of that piece sits the snug plate. With those parts in place, fit the L-pin in the nearest stanchion hole, and then adjust the tightening bolts to secure the rim in place. At this point, remove the valve from the tire.

Now you can set the real workhorse of the machine in action. Place the break-down assembly so that the breaker shoe sits next to the tire's rim, and then simply press down on the handle and "walk" the tool around the tire to break the bead. Then flip the tire over and repeat the procedure on the other side.

Next, insert the tapered end of the beading tool between the rim and the tire, use that lever to flip the bead above the metal lip, then walk the handle around until the edge of the tire rests on top of the rim. If your tire just needs a patched or replaced tube, you should be able to fix it while the tire rests on the mount, but if you need to free the tire, you'll have to flip it over and repeat this sequence.

To put the repaired tire back on the rim, hook the curved end of the beading tool between the tire and the rim, and push down on the bead guide to pop the rubber under the rim. Then pump the good-as-new tire full of air . . . and get ready to roll!

LIST OF MATERIALS
MATERIAL
1/4" X 18"-diameter steel plate
(3) 3/8" X 2" lag bolts w/ 3/8" lead anchors
(3) 1/8" X 2" X 2" X 14" angle iron
1-1/2" X 40-3/4" Schedule 40 pipe
1/4" X 18" X 21" steel plate
1" X 5-3/4" hot-rolled rod
1" X 6" Schedule 40 pipe
(2) 1/8" X 1-1/2" X 2-1/4" flat stock
3/8" X 2-1/2" machine bolt w/double nuts
No. 47 X 3" moderate-strength spring
1/4" X 6"-diameter steel plate
(3) 1/4" X 2" X 2" X 2-7/8" steel plate
2" X 2-1/4" Schedule 40 pipe
1/2" X 4" X 6" steel plate
(2) 1/2" X 2-1/2" machine bolts
1/2" X 7" hot-rolled rod
2" X 2" Schedule 40 pipe
1" X 16" Schedule 40 pipe
1/2" X 2" X 8" flat stock
(2) 1/4" X 2" X 8" flat stock
(2) 1/2" X 2" machine bolts w/double nuts
1/4" X 2" X 9" flat stock
1/4" X 1-1/2" X 5-1/2" flat stock
1/4" X 2" X 7" flat stock
1-1/4" X 30" Schedule 40 pipe
1/4" X 1-1/2" X 3-1/2" flat stock
1/2" X 1" X 2-1/2" flat stock

PURPOSE
baseplate
anchoring bolts
braces
stanchion
tire rest
lug pin
lug-pin socket
lug-pin socket mounts
socket-mount fastener
spring
centering-hub plate
centering-hub braces
centering-hub collar
snug plate
tightening bolts
L-pin
break-down collar
breakdown handle*
offset arm
mounting plates
breakdown fasteners
breaker shoe
breaker-shoe gussets
swing arm
beading tool*
beadbreaker hook
bead guide
*NOTE: To achieve greater leverage with the break-down assembly and the beading tool, MOM's machine-shop crew suggests using 1 X 24 Schedule 40 pipe and 1-1/4" X 36" Schedule 40 pipe, respectively.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The Speedometer The speedometer in almost every vehicle runs off the speed of the transmission, not the actual tires. However, some old Volkswagens and other makes and models do have a speedometer cable that runs directly to the front wheels, but this is extremely uncommon. The gears that are rotating inside the transmission will spin at a known rate for every speed the vehicle travels at, and this is transferred to the speedometer via a magnetic current known as an "Eddy Current." The faster the gears spin, the more electromagnetic field is created and the further the needle goes up on the speedometer in the dashboard. Therefore, as long as the wheels and tires are stock sized, the speedometer will read accurately. Let's look at why changing tire size would affect the speedometer. Altered Tire Size For those who have off-road vehicles and put larger tires on for better performance on the trail, the speedometer will be affected. Since there is more surface area and a larger circumference on the outside edge of the tire, the wheels will actually spin slower at any given speed than the stock setup would. Therefore, the speedometer in the vehicle will read less than the actual speed that is being traveled. Likewise, a smaller tire on a low-rider, for instance, will have to spin faster than a stock one to maintain the same speed, and therefore will cause the speedometer to read faster than the actual rate traveled. It is important to know this for local speed laws and safety in general. The faster the vehicle goes, the further off the speedometer will be. When the vehicle is sitting still, the speedometer will read zero with either set of tires on. However, once the vehicle begins rolling, the discrepancy grows.

Answer 3

Easiest? Open your trunk, and stand there looking helpless until someone offers to help, or dial the road side assistance 800 number on your cell phone and tell them your location.

It's almost impossible to break the lug nuts loose on the flat tire with the tool they give you to do it with, and even if you do get them loose, and the car jacked up and blocked so it won't roll away, it's a dirty hard job at best. Call and get help. That applies to men also.

Answer 4

Buy a good floor jack, a half inch drive impact wrench with impact sockets. Make sure you get a good quality impact wrench too, not one of those they sell at Wal-Mart. You will need an air compressor too. If you are on the highway have someone else do it for you, or call the auto club.

Answer 5

lol have somebody else change it for you...that's the easiest way

seriously, if you have no idea about how to change a tire, check your car manual...it's the same way for both men and women

Answer 6

Get a man in, but don't expect help on a Thursday ....

Answer 7

Get a man in your life

Answer 8

Call the auto club, your husband/boyfriend (not both at the same time), or a want to be boyfriend to change it for you.

Answer 9

Short skirt and a smile works well.

Answer 10

Call AAA that's what I always do. It is worth the membership.

Answer 11

Hello, check this site, I hope it helps.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=82915711&contentId=6005311