Front Tire Popped Off Bead

[Paul Thornton]

I use a piece of short heavy nylon rope with a spliced eye in both ends which I put around the tire (the same way the air hose went on) and slip a crowbar through the loops and twist the bar until the bead seats on the rim. Some persuasion from a three pound hammer also helps set the bead.
R4s tend to come off because they are low on air, not easily noticed because of the stiff sidewalls.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

The "blow up" guy have more lug nugs than I have.

 

[lpakiz]

As a former truck heavy truck mechanic, I had used ether on dozens of truck tires UNTIL the tire route man told me what REALLY happens when someone gets killed.
As mentioned earlier, when the ether cools, it contracts, so you gotta be fast with the air chuck. The problem gets acute when the ether ignites, then runs out of oxygen. Once in a great while, the burning ether ignites a small, thin piece of rubber flash, inside the tire, left over from the molding process.
So, you have unburnt ether, pressure (compression), a burning wick and a source of fresh oxygen, via the air hose. The result is an explosion that bursts the tire, killing the guy putting in the oxygen.

Bottom line, DONT DO IT. Use the straps or the air tank injector method, but DO NOT use ether.

 

[Cameron Smith]

A three second squirt was more than enough on a 14.9-28 Michelin radial I was putting on a tractor. Two seconds probably would have worked. I had an air line locked on the valve and it seated completely. After its seated firmly and set for a few minutes, let the air out and refill a couple of times paying attention to the air coming out and the temperature of the air and tire. It's rare, but a fire can start INSIDE the tire and the pressures can go astronomical very fast! You don't want to be near it if it does!

 

[Credit]

… when none of that worked you got a hose that you would wrap around the tire, then fill the hose with air, compressing the tire, forcing it to seat.

What happened to the wrap-around hoses? They worked very well. Can’t find them anymore.

 

[m1garand762]

Step one. Be careful.
Step two. Spray carburetor fluid in tire.
Step three. Light a stick.
Step four. Be careful.
Step five. Touch flame near tire so she blows.
Step six. Make sure fire is out.
Step seven. Air up the tire.

Good luck!

Works great but I would suggest spraying a line 3 or 4 feet out to light it and be ready to run or put the fire out

 

[zzvyb6]

Tire and Tube Mounting Compound REM 46634-8 lb. Pail. $30. He doesn't have trouble airing the tire, just pushing the beads out to the rim. I just mounted 4 R4s on wide wheels easily with this stuff. Its like very super thick Vaseline. Gob it in the space between the tire bead and the rim on both sides. Then add air slowly. Bingo. As the tire fills, the mounting goop squeezes out and you scrape it back into the bucket it came in. Even the Cheetah tank didn't work. This stuff did very nicely.

 

[RickB]

Tire and Tube Mounting Compound REM 46634-8 lb. Pail. $30. He doesn't have trouble airing the tire, just pushing the beads out to the rim. I just mounted 4 R4s on wide wheels easily with this stuff. Its like very super thick Vaseline. Gob it in the space between the tire bead and the rim on both sides. Then add air slowly. Bingo. As the tire fills, the mounting goop squeezes out and you scrape it back into the bucket it came in. Even the Cheetah tank didn't work. This stuff did very nicely.

Murphy's Tire Soap is an equivalent product.

Don't use ether on a tire that is subject to a DOT vehicle equipment inspection. If detected you'll be put out of service.

 

[JWR]

Murphy's Tire Soap is an equivalent product.

Don't use ether on a tire that is subject to a DOT vehicle equipment inspection. If detected you'll be put out of service.

You really think DOT inspections involve testing for ether ? Any external is long gone. They'd have to be testing the air inside the tire. That is pretty far fetched. And let's say they found some, a few parts per million, ... Exactly what law or legal requirement would you be violating?

 

[dpgood1]

One item that nobody mentioned, the colder that the ambient air is, the longer it takes for whatever volatile spray you use to spread out for proper combustion. I had to use carb cleaner to reinstall a rear tire that my son had dismounted. I had tried everything I could to get it to mount, from the bead blaster to tire seating compound. The tire was too stiff to work with the 3" ratchet straps. It took several tries with the carb cleaner before I got frustrated and backed off for a while to think some more. I then experimented on the concrete floor with a small spray to see what was going on. I then found out that the cold was not letting the fluid vaporize very rapidly. That told me that I needed to spray and give it some time to vaporize before applying the fire. Worked like a champ.