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Wi | There is all kinds of miracle tire changing tools out there, I worked in tires for a few years and can't see the point of many of them really. With regular truck tire irons and spoons you learn the essentials of how to remove any tire, the magical truck tire changers dont work on every tire and you may be left struggling when you try something else. Believe me, truck tires are arguably the easiest tires you will ever change. Believe it or not stupid little wheel barrow tires and other small ones will kick your ass more than a lot of the bigger ones.
I just have Ken tool spoons, duck bill hammer, cheetah, and the rest of the stuff I buy through Hanson or at the dealership I used to work at. I use Tech products as I am familiar with them. one thing that is very important is that regardless of the brand you choose, you must stay with that brand. Their products are designed to work together. You don't want to be mixing brands.
If you are going to be doing your own repairs, do them properly. You will need some carbide drills, buffer, stiching tools, scrapers, reamers, and then the various size two piece plug patches and just patches themselves. Keep some baby powder around for the tubes. Also keep various valve stems around also. You will want a wire wheel to clean the wheels as well.
When you remove the tire to make the repair, which you will always do on anything other than a mower or ATV, (do not plug auto/truck/semi tires from the outside unless its an emergency, but the fix properly immediatley) mark the location of the valvestem, this will allow you to keep the balance proper without having to rebalance it. Before mounting tire clean the rim entirely. A lot of places get lazy on this step.
Personally I install a new stem every time I put a new tire on. Not for repairs though, if you are worried though you can pop one in. I keep some o rings around for the aluminum wheel stems and will change them when I do a repair.
Another tip, Stoner Skid for dismount. Makes them pop off like butter. I use Hanson lube for install though.
Make sure you get an awl to locate the hole in the tire. I am not trying to "dumb things down" but there is enough little things tire guys do that many people don't realize or do not understand what the purpose is. You use the awl to locate the hole. Just because the nail is in one spopt doesn't mean it went in straight, it may have went in at a 45* angle, if you just start drilling with the bit you will accidentally make a new hole and thats not good. You use the drill to enlarge the hole to the proper size and to clean it out some. Its nice to have a tire spreader with a light inside but you can get by without. On the inside you need to buff away the inner liner in the area that the patch will go. Don't go too deep or you can hit cords. Then use some cleaning spray and a scraper to remove the excess. Then apply the vulcanizing cement, LET IT DRY. Remove the protective wrap from your plug patch and do not touch the grey area. Apply a little cement to it for lube, then stick it though and grab it with a pliers and pull. Then stitch the patch. Remove the plastic backing and apply the security coat/liquid inner liner over the entire area you buffed off. Cut off the plug 1/8" above the tread, if you cut it off too short it can pull back in some and let moisture into the cords and cause issues. The tire can then be mounted immediatley, vacuum any residue out of it first, clean up the beads if needed, then mount.
You will need a cage for split rims, its a good idea to have a long hose with a clip on chuck and gauge anyways so you are not directley in the "danger zone:. If you get a cage its a good practice to inflate every tire in it due to the potential for zipper ruptures. Always inspect the sidewall and note if the tire has been run under inflated. When inflating the tire, if you hear snap crackle pop, get out of the way. Zipper ruptures don't happen often but they have done soe serious damage to a lot of tire professionals.
A lot of people want to do their own tire repairs to save money, in the long run you really have to do it to save time because you will invest a lot in it and not save money for a long time. What you do save is time and hassle. Instead of having to run to town, you can just do it in your shop. Now some people are slower at dong it than if they just went to town, but the nicest thing is that you can repair after hours and onm your schedule. | |
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semi tire changing tool?
