Seating Tire Bead: Seeking Advice

[ritcheyvs]

I have a Sears lawn tractor with 8 year-old Carlsile 20-8x8 rear tires that I'm trying to replace. These original tires are dried out and they leak from cracks in the sidewall. Slime stops the leaks but I figure they really need to be replaced. I bought a set of 4-ply Duro tires via E-bay and they look OK except the beads are very close together (maybe 4 inches) and I cannot get them to seat on the wheel rim, which is 7-8 inches wide. The tires will easily flex to fit the rim but the natural set is too narrow. I tried using a cargo strap around the tread but that didn't even get close.

Currently, I've pulled the tire beads apart and blocked them open to see if they will take a set in that position. I'm hoping they will stay spread until I can snap them over the rim and put in some air, but I'm not confident this will work.

So ... I'm looking for some backup ideas on how I can get these tire beads seated on the wheel. Thanks in advance for any inputs.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I've used a strap before like you have tried. But last time I couldn't make it work. I took it to the tire dealer and he mounted for me for free. I had recently purchased 5 tires from him. I tight just be worth it to pay someone to mount them.

 

[flyerdan]

What I've done before is used on of those clip-on tire chucks with the guts pulled out so it puts out air all the time, pull the valve core, and with the bottom bead stuck on, lift the tire up so the air rushing in seats the top bead. Difficult to describe, but if you saw it demonstrated you'd know exactly what I mean.

 

[like2wheel]

What you're doing should work, stretch them as much as you can overnight & mount them again tomorrow.
a large blast of air inside the tire between the rim will help.

I've used ether to pop them out to the rim, but its not for the faint of heart.

 

[VictorW]

I had a similar problem mounting 24x12x12 tires on 12inch by 10inch wide rims for my lawnmower. I mounted them by hand but as you, I couldn't seat the bead even with a strap. I just went to a local tire dealer and he used a blaster, an air tank with a nozzle that dumps a great deal of air all at once right at the bead. He charged me $5 for both. Once seated, no problems even with only 10psi in the tires. I've seen guys do the ether trick and have done crazy stuff before but as stated, not for the faint at heart, especially if you spray in to much ether. There can be a pretty good bang when lit. The $5 was worth it for me.

 

[Gil Case]

I gave up and put a tube in.

 

[Jose G]

brake cleaner + flame = tire seated #1

I gave up on the straps.... brake cleaner is quicker since I learned how to get it done "safely"

I spray some brake cleaner around the inner tire, then I continue to spray the brake cleaner over the tire and on the ground about 6 feet from the rim + tire... finally, with a torch I just light the brake cleaner laying on the ground and WOUuuMP it goes

 

[Industrial Toys]

I made the mistake once of letting the air out of four super single tires. The ones you see on the front of cement and dump trucks. I tried everything starting with an air pig and ball valve connected to a hose that is pressed over the valve stem, without the core installed. Later I tried straps, chains with load binders, the grapple on the tractor and an air pig rigged up with ball valve and 3/4" discharge to give a huge inrush of air. Nothing worked, so I finally tried starting fluid. It took some trial and error. A wooden stick with a flame on the end, so I didn't have to get so close. Safety glasses, ear protection, face sheild. But when it worked, it worked like magic and put a smile back on my face.

I don't know if a smaller tire is more or less dangerous. You could easily use too much of whatever you choose to use

 

[ritcheyvs]

In desperation, I went to a tire shop. They used a bead seater, which is a compressed air tank with a ball valve and a pipe to shoot air between the rim and the bead. I did try some brake cleaner but it just flamed, must have been the wrong kind. Thanks for the advice.