How to take off tire from rim without taking to tire shop (tires, valve)

[desert sun]

I have some old rims that I want to recycle,the tires are old and no one wants them. How can I get the tire off the rim?I dont want to take to a tire shop and pay 5 bucks a tire,how would you take the tire off? Is there any thing that will cut throught the rubber and tread easily?

[Bydand]

You can get a set of tire irons, but it is a first rate PAIN to use a hand set to remove old tires. Plus even a half-decent set will run you more than $20.

Cutting them off isn't the hard part. Just about any heavy bladed knife will do the trick. It is the bead that you will have a HARD time with.

Personally I would cough up the $20 and have a tire shop remove them. Skinned knuckles and a bucket of sweat and a few hours of work would be with it I would think.

[scottv]

You could probably hacksaw through the tire and bead with decent results-or if you have a grinder that would work.

[Ultrarunner]

First, you have to remove the valve core or just pull out the entire valve stem if you're junking everything anyway and the stem is rubber... just grab with pliers and pull.

Next, you have to "Break" the bead or in other words, compress the sidewalls enough to force them off the rim and to the center.

Sometimes this is as easy as stepping on the tire... usually, it is much harder.

I've had a few that were tough and I ended up jacking up my truck, sliding the edge of the tire under a back wheel and lowering the jack so the weight of the truck would come down and force the sidewall from the rim.

It is a real workout, it can be done... but a tire shop might give you a price break because there will not be any mounting of new tires or balancing or installation of wheels.

[BudinAk]

Ultrarunner is right...just take the tires off the rims...don't waste time trying to cut the tires off, because it is FASTER to pry them off with tire irons. Why? Because....with nearly ALL modern tires you are going to run into TEMPORED hardened steel wires under the tread, and especially in the beads.(where you won't be able to cut them with the rim in the way) It would take you seemingly forever to cut through all them...even with a hacksaw.
Just remove the valve stems and let all the air out. Any old pickup truck makes this job far easier, here's how:
Throw the tire flat on the ground under a bumper. Then take a bumper jack and place the bottem of the jack on the sidewall of the tire. Using the jack against the bumper, raise the jack so that the weight of the truck forces the tire bead off the rim. It will "pop" loose, all of a sudden like. Then turn the tire over and do the same to the other side. Then use the tire irons to pry the tire off the rim. An experienced mechanic can do this in something like 5 minutes...it's not all that hard. (I had to do this once on a 5' tall, 14" wide backhoe tire....now that was HARD!)

Bud

[flburgos]

just pay 10$ to get them off and don't risk breaking a hand or a finger.

[burdell]

If you can break the bead taking a tire off with irons is no big deal. Especially if you let it sit in the sun and get nice and pliable and lube it up well before you start prying.

[EdJones]

Another vote here for the tire shop. Don't be that cheap..... is only 20 bucks!

Seriously, yes, it can be done at home. But as others stated above, I don't personally believe is worth the trouble. You have a 90% chance that it will be a pain to do it.

good luck.

[Coldjensens]

Put the rims on your car. let the ar out of the tires and drive around. The tires will come off.

[dynimagelv]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Put the rims on your car. let the ar out of the tires and drive around. The tires will come off.

but the bead will stay on....unless to drive enough to grind the rims down even with the bead

TIRESHOP!!!!!!!!!!