Changing tyres, armstrong method.

Received the new rear tyres for the Ferguson the other day. I've done plenty of smaller tyres in my time, anything from 8-26", never done a big tyre before though.....
Figured I'd just supersize the method for the smaller tyres. I took a few pictures as I went along. I'd be interested to hear of any easier ways to do it. This was pretty hard work (but succesful )

Old tyres were the originals, so they were pretty worn and fairly well stuck to the rims.
broke the bead by beating bits of angle down between the tyre and the rim. Just worked my way around the rim, eventually it popped down. Fortunately no safety bead, so it wasnt too hard.


Put in one of my mega tyre levers (bit of loader frame). Just worked around with a big screwdriver lifting the tyres off the rim.


Worked out much easier than expected. Bent the screwdriver though


Pull out the tube, it was rusted to the inside of the rim, so it took a bit of tugging.


This is the bit I always find the hardest. Its a little tight to work in. Still, once the first lever is in, just work around slowly with the screwdriver. I actually used another lever following the screwdriver around to stop the tyre popping back.


Success!


Great time for a cuppa tea.

Going in reverse, much easier IMO


BTW, make sure you put the tyre on the right way round
I tubed these, I can really do without the hassle of seating beads!


You get the idea, just using the screwdriver and my knees.


They even hold air!


Now to find some mud, look out lawn

Jim,
That looks like hard work!! thanks for sharing the pictures and story. The bits of angle to break the bead
are a great idea.
Ruffy

Another method is to try to drive another vehicle up on the tyre and pop the tyre down that way.

hope you clean the rust up some while you had them apart

I agree Jim. After looking at all the pictures, that job was the armstrong method!

Good job! again........

Easier to leave the whole thing on the tractor. Gravity & weight of the tire actually help in removing & installing these tires. Our largest tires are 20.8x38 and aren't too bad IF we leave rim on tractor. But you got the job finished, so your method is good enough! We have a heavy slide-hammer for breaking the beads, but sometimes it isn't enough, then we use a chain wrapped around tire theough rim area, then slip a hi-lift jack with the jack foot on tire next to rim & lift part on chain. Long pipe off top end of lift jack slipped over the jack...this is held to stabilize the jack while other of us work the jack. Usually the jack's foot stays put & easily pushes the bead loose. After that pry the bead over rim near bottom (where weight of tire loosens the fit). After a couple feet of tire bead is rolled over, rotate this to the top. The tire slips of easily. Putting new tire on is easy. Let tractor down till tire can be hooked onto rim & jack tractor back up. Usually the tire inside bead can be beat right onto rim with bumps from a sledge hammer (soap the beads first). The outer side pries over easily also.

If the angle to break the bead didn't work my next plan was to use the backhoe. 'Spose there are as many ways to do it as there are people to think of them.

Dan, I thought of that when I was struggling getting the rim out of the first tyre, probably would have been easier on the tractor. If I have ever to do it again I'll try leaving it on the tractor.

Looks like a lot of work but fun. I need to buy two new tires before winter, the price of tires I think is gonna make my skin crawl.

HeyBob said:

Looks like a lot of work but fun.

Click to expand...

FUN?????? I can tell arthritis hasn't visited you yet!

Don't bet on it, I am almost 50, there is hard work and there is hard "fun" work! Big difference, you ignore your physical limitations when doing "fun" work!

HeyBob said:

Don't bet on it, I am almost 50, there is hard work and there is hard "fun" work! Big difference, you ignore your physical limitations when doing "fun" work!

Click to expand...

In 2 days I hit 50. Lifetime of farming (still dairy farming) has given me & will continue to give me more than enough "hard fun work". Up before dawn & usually working till dark at one thing or another. Some days it hurts bad (arthritis) just to hold the milker to put on a cow. Changing large tractor tires has been put into the category of "un-fun" work unfortunately.

But Dan, I'll bet you wouldn't trade it all for a 9-5 office job right?!

Amazing the number of suited folks who say to me 'wish I didn't have to spend all day in an office'. I tell them if they can say the same thing when its raining and cold then they might just be suited to working outdoors.

Unless I owned the office, I'd be fired soon enough. I'd give them h#$$ after a few days cooped up sitting at a desk on the phone & the like. Nope, it'd never do for me to work confined for sure. Now a good long vacation sounds good, but then again, I'd spend it outdoors too!

Milked the cows this morning, then tilled my expanded garden area with my Massey, sowed a wheat cover crop, then used my Bush Hog D4-10 to drag harrow the seed in. Finished driving the T-posts where I moved fence over, then hung/stretched the 4 strands of barb wire. Then I used my Allis 416 to mow the yard around the house & shed. Fed silage & heading out for evening milking. I was off cow duty yesterday, but had one of those migrains, so didn't get too awful much done yesterday. Yesterday I did dig up 2 BIG shrubs with my Massey w/FEL, then dug holes & transplanted them. Wired my bathroom ceiling heater permanently...had jury rigged temporarily. Did a few other little things, but mostly took it easy yesterday. Typical weekend for me, and besides the headache it was fun! I don't mind a bit being tired from working when it's been productive. Hate those days when you try your dangdest, but everything goes wrong & nothing gets done. This weekend was nice.

Forgot to add the pic of garden & D4-10.