# Anybody ever mounted their own lug tires?



## 911radioman (Jan 18, 2005)

I'm going in the next day or so to pick up some rear lugs for my GT5000. I'm wondering how difficult it would be to swap them out myself.

Has anybody done this, and what tools are needed to do the job?


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## guest2 (Dec 27, 2003)

Tom
It's a fairly easy job. Just remove the valve from the stem and let all the air out. Lay the wheel flat on hard surface like garage floor or driveway. Hit the sidewall with a sledge hammer in a few places until the bead breaks. Be careful not to hit the rim. Then turn it over and do the same on the other side. Then get at least 2 tire spoons and pry the tire off the rim being careful not to rip the edge. Long pry bars will work also but they have a sharper edge so use extra care. Install the tire by forcing the rim through it and using the spoons as needed. Be sure you have the bars on the tread going in the right direction. A good idea would be to use bead sealer on the tire/rim to avoid leaks later on. If necessary wrap a rope along the outside of the tire and use a pry bar or spoon to turn the rope to collapse the tire and spread the bead as you inflate it. Reinstall the tire valve and you're done.


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

I just want to add dismount and mount the tire from the back side of the rim. Its much easyer because the front of the rim has the deep dish and the back side has the short side.


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## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

I just did my fronts the other day. Sixer has a good descricption on how. My bigger rear ones I bring to work, and do on a tire michane though, so I kinda cop out.


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## catmando (Dec 18, 2004)

*Changing Tire*

You forgot to mention putting some soap on the bead so that it will slide on easier. Or don't you have to with the smaller tires?

I know that they were larger, 9.3" on 24 " rim (my old Powerking). Had a leak in the tube so my brother and I decided to pull it and patch the leak. The bead broke hard. Much sledge hammer swinging. Then prying it back on, and setting the bead. Inflated it to push the bead into place. Put air in, put air in. Then decided there has to be too much air in tire. Should have checked sooner as tire was inflated to 95 psi. Thank God it didn't let go!

Anyway I think a lubricant is always wise except on teeny tiny tires, and stuff like bikes.


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## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

I did not need it on my 8" tires, but did on my 12" ones. Always a good idea though. Makes it easyer for sure.


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## guest2 (Dec 27, 2003)

The soap will probably interfere with the bead sealer. When I first mounted mine, I didn't use bead sealer. Went back out a day later to see my new tires and one was flat! Put the tire in a dunk tank and saw a very slight leak in a few areas around the bead. This is why I suggest bead sealer as you're mounting them. Yeah, it's a little harder to wrestle the dry tire onto the rim, but it's not too much fun doing the job 2X either.


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## aguysmiley (Jul 2, 2004)

The toughest part of the job is usually breaking the bead on the old tires, but you shouldn't have too much trouble since your tractor is pretty new. If you use bead sealer that should be enough to lubricate the tire so that it seats ok. I don't use it much myself because it makes it that much harder the next time you change tires. I just make sure the rim is clean and smooth and use soapy water on the bead to seat it. I always check the bead with soapy water or a dunk tank after the new tire is on. When I get one that is leaking, I can usually fix it by laying the tire on the ground and hitting the sidewall with a big rubber mallet.


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## Bruceman (Jul 28, 2004)

If you're going to do it yourself, and are a novice, use soapy water on the bead. Sometimes those lug tires have a substantial gap, between the sides of the tire and the rim. To correct this: cut 3-4 blocks of wood, a couple of inches longer than your wheel is wide, prop the tires open and heat them for about 3 days in the sun. A space heater, etc. would speed up the process, just be careful.
To seat the rim when tire has the above condition without heat or chocks, buy/install tubes and inflate the heck out of them. The tire will eventually seat. Immeadiatly relieve air pressure and reinflate to desired psi.
just my 2 cents
Bruce L -


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## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

I use a ratchet strap (the cheapie tie down kind) to help bow the tire out to get the bead to seat. It's kinda like SixChows rope trick, but you can take your hands off to do any other "finagling" necessary.

Also, blasting high pressure air through the valve stem with the core out also helps get tires seated.

-=A=-


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## 911radioman (Jan 18, 2005)

Well guys, I just got back from the tire store and I have a nice set of Carlisle Super Lug 4-plys on the GT5000 now. It really makes a difference in how that thing looks!

I decided to just go ahead and have someone else mount them for me. They know what they're doing and I got a good deal on the tires, so it made my job easy.

It's raining right now, so when the weather breaks I'll pull it out and shoot some pics to upload here.

Thanks for all the advice!


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## sniknuoy49 (Nov 6, 2004)

harbor freight has some cheap tire changers i bought one and if you do it right you can do all size tires down the line in the future


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## catmando (Dec 18, 2004)

*Tire Changer*

sniknuoy49, 
I will check them out. I have had to change tires on my MTD a number of times. A changer would sure make it easier.


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## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

sniknuoy49,

How does that thing work? I have been thinking of getting one of them. I am lucky in that I work for a car dealer, and can use the tire michine to mount tires, but the small size ones will not fit. I normaly just break out the prybars, to do the small ones, but it can be a PITA sometimes.


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