It sounds like a tough job. How do you remove and replace a car tire on a rim? But, if you own a bicycle, you may be familiar with the process because its just about exactly the same.
The main difference between changing car tires and bike tires that are on rims is how easy the bike tire is to work with. While you can more or less twist the bike tire on and off with minimal tools and effort, removing the tire of a car, in the same way, might seem impossible.
5 STEPS TO CHANGING A TIRE ON A RIM
That seeming impossibility disappears quickly when you arm yourself with the right removal tools for the job. And when you do, you can save money by swapping your winter tires for summers, and vice versa. Here are the steps to follow to change an automobile tire on a rim.
- Your Tire-Change Tool List – We mentioned the right tools and the following are a bare minimum. If you plan to regularly change your tires, it is worth investing in tire changing tools which you can find at Canadian Tire, Walmart and even on Amazon.
- Two 4-ft pry bars, preferably designed with flat ends for removing tires
- A tool for breaking the tire bead
- A rubber hammer
- A valve stem core removal tool
- Deflate the Tire – With the wheel off of the car, remove the valve core with the valve core removal tool. Removing the core could be tricky because the tire pressure could cause it to pop away from the wheel, so continue to use the tool until the core is completely removed.
- Break the Bead – Without the right tools, this could be the most difficult part of the whole job. The idea is to put enough pressure on the side of the tire to break the bead that holds it in place on the wheel. If you don’t have a tire changer tool, you can try using the pry bars, but be careful not to damage the wheel.
Some people place the tire and wheel flat on the ground and use another vehicle to drive over the tire, being careful not to drive over the wheel, to break the bead. You must break the bead on both sides of the tire. - Remove the Tire – With the tire and wheel flat on the ground, place the flat end of one of the pry bars between the tire and rim. Pull the bar back, flat across the centre of the wheel to get the first part of the tire to the outside of the rim. Leave that pry bar in place and secure it so it can’t pop out from between the tire and rim.
- Use the second pry in a similar way as you did the first, but do so on the rim about six inches from where the first bar is. The idea is to get the entire section of the tire between the pry bars over the outside edge of the rim. When you do, it should be easy to pry the remainder of the first edge of the tire over the edge of the rim.
- Turn the tire and wheel over. The edge of the rim should be outside the edge of the tire. Lift the rim until its bottom edge hits the top edge of the tire. Similar to how what you did on the first edge, get one pry bar into place between tire and rim and use the other to work around the tire
- Use the second pry in a similar way as you did the first, but do so on the rim about six inches from where the first bar is. The idea is to get the entire section of the tire between the pry bars over the outside edge of the rim. When you do, it should be easy to pry the remainder of the first edge of the tire over the edge of the rim.Turn the tire and wheel over. The edge of the rim should be outside the edge of the tire. Lift the rim until its bottom edge hits the top edge of the tire. Similar to how what you did on the first edge, get one pry bar into place between tire and rim and use the other to work around the tire.
- Put the New Tire Onto the Rim – Replace the valve stem core. It will help to spray the outside of the tire’s rim on both sides of the tire with soapy water to help it slide onto the rim. Place the tire evenly spaced over the rim. If you’re lucky you should be able to push down on the tire so the lower rim goes over the top rim of the wheel at least at one point. You can use a pry bar to get the rest of the tire rim onto the wheel and to get the top rim of the tire onto the wheel afterward.
You may still need to get the wheels balanced at an auto body shop, tire shop or service centre. But at least you won’t be paying for the entire job.
If you enjoyed this post, check out our recent article about how to boost a car.