Tire mounting without a machine may be difficult, but it is not impossible.For those times when you need to mount tires on your wheels quickly and efficiently especially when you don’t have immediate access to an auto body shop. For those do-it-yourself mechanics who want to learn how to mount tires like a professional without a tire mounting machine. Review the basics on how you can do it manually by hand even though it may take a little longer. As a side note, it will be much more difficult if you have a low profile tire such as a performance racing tire.
Tire Mounting Step Number One:
Carefully lay down your wheels on a flat and stable surface. Next, take one of your tires and lean it on one of the wheels. A good thing to do here is to have the tire just touching the surface of the ground on the side that is directly in front of you. Make sure you always thoroughly lubricate the bead of the tire since this is the section of the tire that is in contact with the wheel itself. A variety of lubricants can be used such as oil, water, soap or any other slick lubricant that will aid in helping the bead pop onto the wheel easier therefore making the task to mount tires much less labour intensive. Now crouch down and place your knees close to the bottom of the tire and maintain a straddling position to the wheel. Then put both your hands on the top of the tire which is opposite of your knees. Apply pressure with your knees and then start pushing down with your hands using a rocking motion. If you continue to do this with enough force the tire will eventually pop down onto the wheel. Once you’ve succeeded in this first step of how to mount tires you should now have half of the tire on the wheel.
Tire Mounting Step Number Two:
To properly mount the other half of the tire onto the wheel will not be as easy and require more work. You will find that, when attempting this next step to mount tires onto all of yours wheels, the hardest part is actually getting it started. One method of this tire mounting process can be for you to simply stand on the tire and try to force the bead down onto the wheel. On the other hand, it is highly recommended that you try to take a solid piece of metal, such as a crowbar, and use it to pry the tire onto the wheel instead. You can also utilize an ‘L’ shaped tire iron to mount tires onto your wheels. Take the tire iron, or crowbar, and place the flat part of the end over the edge of the wheel. Make sure that it is properly down about ½ inch into the wheel. If done correctly the tire iron will be slightly inside the wheel. Next, carefully pry the tire iron back towards yourself. This will result in forcing the bead of the tire over the edge of the wheel. Begin working your way around the tire with your hand pushing down on the tire to get it fully on the rim of the wheel. If you begin to have difficulty in getting the tire to seat this way try placing your foot on the tire, where the tire iron is, to hold the tire down where the bead is seated. Use the tire iron to work your way around the tire, prying the tire down onto the wheel, and at the same time be extra careful not to let the previously seated part of the tire pop out.
Tire Mounting Step Number Three:
After you have completed the task to mount tires on all your wheels, the final step is to pump air into each of the tires. This last step can be actually quite dangerous so pay extra attention. When you are pumping air into the tire, the bead begins to seat on the tire and the pressure or the force can shoot the tire and wheel straight up into the air. This is because you are using compressed air for this task. Compressed air is necessary to have the amount of force and pressure needed to seat the bead correctly. The best thing to do in this step of tire mounting is to strap the tire and wheel down securely to prevent any damage or accidents. Commence inflating the tire and you will notice that the bottom bead will usually seat first. You will hear a popping sound when this happens. After that you will then see the sidewall of the tire start to bulge and then the top bead starts to come up around circumference of the tire. After about ¾ of the bead is seated you need to stop inflating the tire. Pause for about a minute, as a lot of times the pressure being applied by the air to the unseated part of the tire will cause it to seat. If it doesn’t then you can slowly add more air and then stop and pause for a moment again. A significant thing to note on this last step of how to mount tires is that it is best to have some distance between you and the tire every time you stop and pause. Even though most of the time it will only pop up a couple of inches, you do not want to be the unfortunate person standing over the tire when it accidentally shoots up with tremendous force. Safety is always a key component when tire mounting and it is always better to be safe than sorry.